Annual Self-Assessment 2021-22

Executive summary SA1 - Strategy and Performance

To provide a visible and transparent way of measuring where we are on our improvement journey through time each sub-theme is scored using the system set out below, and provides both a current and forward looking perspective.

• Score 1: Current performance - Excellent; Improvement phase - Effective
• Score 2: Current performance - Good; Improvement phase - Embedding
• Score 3: Current performance - Fair; Improvement phase - Evolving
• Score 4: Current performance - Poor; Improvement phase - Emerging

 

SA1.1 Programme for the Administration and Corporate Strategy

SA1.2 Corporate performance management

SA1.3: Medium term service planning

 

SA1.1: Programme for the Administration and Corporate Strategy

• Current performance: 3 - Fair
• Improvement phase: 3 - Evolving

Assessment of current performance (how well are we doing?)

At the outset of the last municipal cycle Cabinet produced a Programme for the Administration setting out its political priorities and aspirations for the term. This document was subject to a review in April 2021 to reflect what had been delivered by Cabinet to that date and to capture emerging priorities which had risen in profile in the intervening period, such as poverty and economic regeneration. It is expected that following the local government elections in May 2022, the new Cabinet will produce a new Programme for the Administration setting out the strategic priorities for the next 5 years.

This work has clear links to the Council’s forward looking corporate planning process (the annual ‘Corporate Plan’) which has effectively been hold since the Covid pandemic, with the last iteration being approved by Council in October 2020. The Authority has articulated a clear need to put corporate planning on a longer term footing (as opposed to an annual process), and placed within the context of an overall vision for Pembrokeshire, and aligned more clearly with the new Cabinet’s Programme for the Administration. Accordingly, a key task for 2022 will be the development of a new 5 year Corporate Strategy that reflects the political aspirations set out in the new Programme for the Administration, and which communicates clearly to residents and stakeholders what the Council’s priorities are and how these will be delivered.  The proximity of the May 2022 elections and continuing pressure on resources due to COVID in 2021-22 meant it was pragmatic to re-schedule this work for 2022-23.

The Council’s new Strategy also needs to align with the work of partners on the Public Services Board’s (PSB) Well-being Plan, which is due to be produced by May 2023. The PSB will be undertaking significant engagement and visioning work as part of the development of its Plan and the Council can draw on this work to inform the vision for Pembrokeshire which will sit at the heart of the new Corporate Strategy

Evidence (how do we know?)

Meeting of Cabinet 28 June 2021 at which the revised Programme for the Administration was approved

Meeting of Cabinet 10 January 2022 at which Cabinet agreed to work with PSB partners to develop a collective shared vision for the longer term future of Pembrokeshire

Agenda and papers for the PSB meeting held on 14 December 2021 where PSB partners agreed to develop a collective shared vision for the longer term future of Pembrokeshire within which the next Well-being Plan would be framed

Improvement actions (what can we do better and how?)

• To hold a visioning away day with Cabinet and SLT to support the identification of the administration’s strategic priorities for the next 5 years
• To hold a visioning workshop for ELT/SLT to provide an internal perspective on the above to support that work
• To hold visioning and engagement workshops to be held with the PSB and various key stakeholder and community groups to support the development of the next Well-being Plan
• To produce a new Programme for the Administration reflecting political priorities and aspirations for the next 5 years
• To produce a new 5 year Corporate Strategy, aligned to the above, by autumn 2022.  The Corporate Strategy will reflect workforce issues identified in the staff survey undertaken in autumn 2022, the emerging 2023 – 2027 Medium Term Financial Plan and longer term visioning work. Through the Corporate Strategy, and the aforementioned plans, we want to get a much closer alignment between financial and strategic planning.

 

SA1.2: Corporate performance management

• Current performance: 3 - Fair
• Improvement phase: 3 - Evolving

Assessment of current performance (how well are we doing?)

Following discussions at the then Corporate Management Team during January & February 2021, a decision was made to review the Council’s approach to corporate performance monitoring. This work was supported by an improvement expert seconded to the Council from the Local Government Association.  Accordingly work was undertaken with across the senior leadership and extended leadership groups to identify a cross-organisational suite of key performance measures which would provide a broad overview of corporate and organisation health.  A new Corporate Performance Scorecard was developed to provide timely data to senior officers and members with the aim of better identifying issues needing intervention.

As part of strengthening the Council’s collective approach to understanding and monitoring performance, regular meetings between Cabinet and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to go through the Corporate Performance Scorecard have been established and this provides a space for constructive challenge and oversight between the Executive and senior officers. In addition, the Scorecard has been used as a driver to identify areas within the organisation which appear to be underperforming and whereby specific focus and improvement activity can be targeted.  One of the organisational areas which was subject to this ‘deep dive’ approach is the Contact Centre and customer response times. Performance in this area has improved significantly recently, and while extra resource and capacity is the main reason for this, the specific focus and attention on the area provided by Cabinet and SLT has no doubt assisted with the improvement effort.

The Scorecard has also been presented regularly to the Extended Leadership Team (ELT) to ensure senior officers from across the organisation have the opportunity to understand and contribute to the development of a stronger performance culture in the Council. In addition, performance monitoring reporting via the Corporate Scorecard has also been re-introduced into the Overview and Scrutiny work programming cycle to enable non-executive Members to have oversight of performance, and while this is positive it is fair to say that further work is required with members of Overview and Scrutiny Committees to fully enable them to deliver value through this process.

There is somewhat of a disconnect between financial and performance monitoring and further work is required understand the relationship between performance and financial implications in terms of improvement, and the impact financial constraints have on certain key performance indicators.

Evidence (how do we know?)

Development of new Corporate Scorecard reflecting key corporate and some service specific measures which present a broad overview of organisational health.  A meeting of Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 20 January 2022, which includes a copy of the Corporate Scorecard and the measures contained within it:

Regular corporate performance meetings between Cabinet and SLT introduced; provides forum for Executive and senior leaders to discuss issues of performance and identify areas for ‘deep dives’ and targeted improvement.

Improvement actions (what can we do better and how?)

• Continue to review and refine Corporate Performance Scorecard to ensure the measures contained in it are fit for purpose in providing the necessary management information to enable areas for improvement to be identified. Part of this development work is linking financial monitoring with performance monitoring and we will explore what fora can add value to this (for instance the Performance and Budget Challenge Board). Consideration to be given to the benefits of re-introducing the Integrated Report bringing together financial monitoring, performance monitoring, risk management and internal control.
• Member development – roll out training for Members around performance management and how to better understand and interpret performance data to enable more effective oversight and scrutiny.
• Contribute to work to improve the Council’s approach to data and insights particularly in regards to how this work relates to the Corporate Scorecard and how new technology and can support it.
• Produce new Performance Management Framework, addressing recommendation from external service reviews, to ensure how the Council monitors and reports performance information is accurate and up to date, reflecting recent changes. This will feed through to the Council’s performance appraisal system.

 

SA1.3: Medium term service planning  

• Current performance: 3 - Fair
• Improvement phase: 3 - Evolving

Assessment of current performance (how well are we doing?)

Service planning is an essential and crucial element in the effective management of services and is part of the ‘golden thread’ which aligns service delivery with organisational strategic priorities. In early 2021, and following a hiatus in the process due to the Covid pandemic, it was determined to review the service planning process in the Council, and to move the focus of service plans from an annual basis to a 4-year medium term horizon.  This review was timely in view of related work happening at that time such as the Corporate Findings report and an external review of the Policy and Partnerships team. 

The development of this new process was supported by the LGA, and also the independent consultants who were working with the Council on external service reviews. These external experts provided best practice advice and perspectives brought from experiences of working with other Councils and helped develop a process which met the Council’s particular needs and circumstances. In addition, the Senior Leadership team (SLT), Extended Leadership team (ELT) and Managers Forum all contributed to the process.

Accordingly, new service planning guidance and templates were produced which reflected the move from an annual (short term) focus toward the medium term. The process of developing and producing medium-term service plans was undertaken by Heads of Service/Corporate Managers through June to August, with support from the Policy and Partnerships team, prior to consideration by SLT in September 2021.

Following the completion of the service planning process through a first cycle, the process was reviewed at ELT in February 2022 where colleagues offered views on what had worked well and what requires further improvement in order to learn lessons in readiness for the 2022 cycle. 

While this change has been positive and re-embedded the principles and importance of effective service planning across the organisation, there is still work to do to ensure that the discipline of service planning is mainstreamed into the work of Heads of Service/Corporate Managers.  In particular, the alignment between service priorities and budget affordability remains challenging, reflecting similar conclusions set out in SA1.2 in relation to performance measures. Due in part to annual budget setting, service plans have not fully taken the opportunity to project over the medium term, focussing instead on short term and more immediate priorities.

Evidence (how do we know?)

Service Plan Guidance 2021-22

Service Plan template

ELT agenda 16 February 2022

Improvement actions (what can we do better and how?)

• Continue to embed the discipline of multi-year service planning in the culture of the organisation and forward planning cycle
• Strengthen the medium-term focus of multi-year plans and rebalance in relation to a predominant focus on immediate priorities and challenges, better reflecting the life cycle of the Programme for the Administration and the Corporate Strategy.
• Further improve the alignment and integration between the financial and service planning cycles