ALL_SAPR2021-22_For_P&R
Argyll and Bute Council · 11 August 2022
Back to Policy and Resources Committee — 11 August 2022 and its agenda
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 1 NAME OF SERVICE: FINANCIAL SERVICES PERIOD: FINANCIAL YEAR 2021/22 1. DELIVERING OUR OUTCOMES Our case studies help illustrate the positive contribution the Service has made to our communities and provides examples of good service delivery. Corporate Outcome - People Live Active Healthier And Independent Lives Business Outcome BO102: We Provide Support, Prevention And Opportunities To Help People Make Better Lifestyle Choices a) £521,815 in Scottish Welfare Fund grants were paid to support vulnerable people. b) The average processing time for New Housing Benefit claims was 25.19 days and 4.41 days for changes in circumstances against targets of 21 days and 6 days respectively. c) £906,187 of Discretionary Housing Payments was distributed to households in need. d) We have paid out £269,950 in grants to cover food and fuel for people in poverty and successfully referred them for support to advice agencies. As at the year-end 1,007 families have been supported to maximise benefit income and reduced fuel costs to the value of £1.324m. e) Our Social Work Team successfully delivered two rates changes during the year in line with Scottish Government Policy to increase the basic pay of carers and personal assistants who look after adults in our communities. Corporate Outcome - Our Economy Is Diverse And Thriving Business Outcome BO110: We Support Businesses, Employment and Development Opportunities Success Measure: FIS110_01-Increase the total value of Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) relief awarded a) We worked alongside other Council colleagues to support the payment of £2.7 million to support local businesses, protect the local economy and jobs, prevent business closure and promote economic recovery as lockdown restrictions eased and businesses started to re-open. b) We awarded nearly £24.5 million of Non-Domestic Rates reliefs to support local businesses.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 2 Corporate Outcome - Getting it right Business Outcome BO115: We Are Efficient And Cost Effective a) We have implemented a new Counter Fraud Team on a two-year pilot basis to enhance the Council’s zero tolerance to fraud and protect the public purse. During 2021-22 the team rebilled £659k as a direct consequence of their work and have recovered £572k of that total to date. b) We collected 96.28% of Council Tax exceeding the target of 96.00%. c) The External Audit of the 2020/21 Annual Accounts was completed by the statutory deadline and an unqualified Audit Certificate received. d) Positive External Audit Annual Audit Report received and reported to Policy and Resources Committee in December 2021. e) Financial monitoring packs were submitted to each Policy & Resources Committee. f) The average investment rate for 2021-22 was 0.418% compared to the average 7-day LIBID (London Interbank Bid Rate) rate of -0.74%. The investments generated £0.485m of interest in 2021-22. g) The Creditors Team processed 96.6% of invoices due within 30 days, exceeding the target of 95.5%. h) The Payroll Team processed the 2021/22 Teacher’s pay rise within 1 month of being notified of the pay settlement, one of the few Councils to do so by April 2022. i) The 2021/22 internal audit plan was fully completed and reported by the target date of the June Audit and Scrutiny Committee. j) The service closely monitored the financial impact of Covid on the Council throughout the year, regularly updating assumptions and projections, to ensure that the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) returns were robust, and the Council would receive the appropriate levels of Covid specific Scottish Government funding.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 3 2. SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES The significant challenges faced by the Service during 2021/22. These challenges either created specific pressures on the Success Measures or impacted on delivery. Specific additional activity or mitigating actions were carried out to reduce the negative impact on service delivery. Corporate Outcome - People Live Active Healthier And Independent Lives Business Outcome BO102: We Provide Support, Prevention And Opportunities To Help People Make Better Lifestyle Choices a) Due to financial impact of Covid on social care providers the Income Max team were under increased pressure to get contracts and payments to providers for delivering care home services. The Social Work Finance Team continued to deliver a financial sustainability scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government to provide financial support to local care providers to help them deal with the cost pressures placed upon them by the pandemic which is an ongoing piece of work. b) The 300% weekly increase in the volume of Self Isolation Support Grants (SISG) received from December 2021 through to April 2022 due to Omicron caused a significant challenge for the service. Benefit Assessor staff had to be redeployed to help with the administration of SISG and this introduced delays in processing Housing Benefit. The service therefore failed to process new claims for Housing Benefit in 21 days. We were unable to recruit additional Benefit Assessors locally to assist the service. Corporate Outcome - Our Economy Is Diverse And Thriving Business Outcome BO110: We support businesses, employment and development opportunities a) Significant resource requirement to administer a range of Covid related Business Support Grants which required redeployment of staff in Revenues and Benefits and Internal Audit and created increased pressure on Creditors and Treasury Management officers to manage the volume of payments and movement in funds. Corporate Outcome - Getting it right Business Outcome BO115: We Are Efficient And Cost Effective a) The service has continued to deliver business as usual whilst undertaking additional work to manage and report on the wide range of additional Covid funding provided by the Scottish Government to our front-line services.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 4 b) During the year, the service started a project to implement a new financial management system to replace Oracle system which had been in place for several years and was reaching the end of its supported life. This is a substantial project which has been undertaken at pace to ensure that the new Oracle Fusion system is in place before the existing system must be decommissioned at the end of July 2022. c) The service has been actively involved with ICT in exploring the benefits which could arise from the analysis of the data which the Council holds to help identify vulnerable people who could benefit from support from the Council and/or our partners. We are also exploring how the data could be used to support evidence-based decision making and service provision. d) The Revenues and Benefits Teams administered the Argyll and Bute Flexible Food Fund with partners Bute Advice and ALIenergy. During the year, the Fund supported 1,000 to achieve a client gain of £1.325m and were highly commended by the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation at their annual performance awards in the category Excellence and Innovation (Service Delivery). e) The Revenues and Benefits Team worked in partnership with the Social Work Finance Team and colleagues in Adult Social Care to implement an improved process to support people entering care homes and their families through the assessment of their entitlement to funding towards their care home placement. 3. CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT - WE ASKED, YOU SAID, WE DID…. The following are all the consultations and resulting actions that the Service has carried out during this period. a) We asked what could be done to reduce the numbers of people relying on foodbanks for support during the pandemic. Foodbank providers advised us through the Argyll and Bute Community Food Forum that more welfare rights and fuel poverty related support and advice for people with food insecurity attending the foodbanks would be beneficial. b) We continued to deliver the Argyll and Bute Flexible Food Fund which incentivises people in hardship to get this professional advice by making two monthly payments to families, the first one before the referral is made for professional support and the second one after the support has been delivered. This maximised engagement and helped find significantly more benefits for families in hardship. c) In response to increasing energy costs, we have built on the success of the Flexible Food Fund to introduce an additional support called Heat Your Home, Manage Rising Costs to work in partnership with advice agencies in the area to provide a joined-up support service for families living in fuel poverty.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 5 d) We are engaging with the Scottish Government across several work streams aimed at supporting the sustainability of social care and reducing social care charges for service users. These are related to the proposed introduction of the National Care Service and a review focussed on a proposal to remove charging for non-residential care, both of which came out of the Review of Adult Social Care.
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FINANCIAL SERVICES – ANNUAL SCORECARD 2021/22_FINAL
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 1 NAME OF SERVICE: COMMUNITIES PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PERIOD: FINANCIAL YEAR 2021/22 1. DELIVERING OUR OUTCOMES Our case studies help illustrate the positive contribution the Service has made to our communities and provides examples of good service delivery. Corporate Outcome - Getting it Right Business Outcome: BO116 We Engage and Work with Our Customers, Staff and Partners Success Measure: CPD 116_01 The information provided to our community groups, individuals and partners is easy to understand The Communities and Partnership Team send out regular information bulletins. A 2021/22 survey returned 272 respondents, of which 96% rated the information easy to understand. a) Information for Communities Bulletin: this bulletin developed from needs of community groups in 2020 to access information about Covid and volunteering safely, since then, it has expanded to include consultations, training opportunities, events and signposting to funding opportunities. It is sent fortnightly to over 300 community groups across Argyll and Bute and is well received. b) Funding Alert: The Funding Alert is issued monthly. The funders are organised into categories of funding streams, with details of eligibility criteria with hyperlinks to the funders webpages. Deadlines are helpfully highlighted. Over 1,500 people access funding alert each month either through direct e- mail receipt or via the webpage. We are currently working with our partners to support their engagement with our Funding Alert and funding search function on our webpage, as funding is a significant need arising for our community groups and third sector. Corporate Outcome - Getting it Right Business Outcome: BO116 We Engage and Work with Our Customers, Staff and Partners Success Measure: CPD 116_02 All issues raised at Area Community Planning Groups are considered and responded to by the Management Committee a) Issues raised at Area Community Planning Groups are put before the Management Committee as a matter of course. The target and benchmark of 100% of issues raised has been met.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 2 This year issues raised were in relation to response to Covid and also to the climate emergency. A Climate Change working group was established, chaired by NatureScot on behalf of the CPP. The Community Planning and Development Team supported the group’s membership to develop and produced a webpage with information on climate actions undertaken by partners and community organisations across Argyll and Bute: Community Planning Partnership - Climate Change (argyll-bute.gov.uk) Corporate Outcome - People Will Live in Safer and Stronger communities Business Outcome: BO104 Our Communities are Supported and Protected Success Measure: CPD 104_01 Number of capacity building sessions held with community groups a) The number of capacity building sessions for 2021/22 was 217, not including a further 65 support sessions undertaken as part of the Supporting Communities Fund support to groups and organisations. There is a slight reduction on previous years due to unforeseen sickness absence impacting Community Development staffing. Capacity sessions, consist of support and advice based on needs arising for groups such as Community Led Action Plans, help to form links with partner organisations, matters arising from Covid response work in communities. Organisations supported included Crossroads Caring for Carers (B&C) Tiree Community Council, Dochas Centre and Kirkmichael Community Development Group. Corporate Outcome - People Will Live in Safer and Stronger Communities Business Outcome: BO104 Our Communities are Supported and Protected Success Measure: CPD104_02-Percentage of groups who say their effectiveness has increased as a result of capacity building the team a) 100% Groups responding to this annual review positively highlighted successful interaction with the Community Development Team. The community groups had a focus in 2021/22 of delivering Covid impact support to their communities and engaged with the Council’s Community Development Team for support and advice. Support included regular meetings, access to the Council’s wellbeing service through Health Assured to support resiliency of volunteers and funding advice. Our work to create the right conditions for community groups to be supported, and to empower community groups within their communities and in particular in response to Covid was recognised as an example of Best Practice within Audit Scotland’s Community Empowerment: Covid report: Support for local networking: Garelochhead Station Trust's experience during Covid — Communities Channel Scotland (communityscot.org.uk)
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 3 b) Training for Community Organisations The Community Development Team have sourced and delivered a range of training courses in response to identified needs within communities across Argyll and Bute: • The Community Development Team worked in partnership with the Third Sector Interface in May 2021 to deliver an ‘Introduction to Evaluation’ online training course to give community organisations tools and techniques to help explain the difference their work makes which is essential for reporting on and applying for funding. • In August 2021, the Community Development Team facilitated an online training session run in partnership with the Council’s Procurement Service to help community and third sector organisations learn about how to bid for public sector contracts. This interactive session offered hints and tips on the tender process, outlined the regulations and gave details of where to look for Council contracts. • A face to face ‘Equality and Diversity’ training course was successfully delivered for Trustees of Garelochhead Station Trust in March 2022. In addition we provided access to online ‘Equality and Diversity’ training module on the Council’s website. • The Community Development Team delivered training on ‘Community Asset Transfer’ in partnership with COSS (Community Ownership Support Service) in October 2021 covering the full transfer of ownership, the leasing of licensing and other uses of publicly-owned assets including assets owned by local authorities and public bodies. Corporate Outcome - People Will Live in Safer and Stronger Communities Business Outcome: BO104 Our Communities are Supported and Protected Success Measure: CPD104_03-Percentage of groups whose users say they have an increase in confidence or wellbeing a) 100% Responses from groups positively highlighted successful interaction with the Community Development Team. These groups had a focus in 2021/22 of delivering Covid impact support to their communities and engaged with the Council’s Community Development Team for support and advice. b) Case Studies: the positive contribution made to our communities and good service delivery in the form of Case Studies. Scotland’s Census 2022 The Community Development Team has supported staff from National Records for Scotland (NRS) to reach key population groups who have been identified as requiring additional support to complete the Census. This has included those on low incomes, people with disabilities, Gaelic speakers and veterans.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 4 The team worked in partnership with Live Argyll and Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface (TSI) to organise and host an Argyll and Bute specific session for community organisations interested in finding out how to support their service users and wider communities. During the final weeks of the extended census data collection period, NRS identified low return rates on Coll and Tiree. Community Development Officer for OLI, worked with the NRS Community Engagement and Enumerator teams and community leaders on the islands to identify occupied properties and holiday rentals or second homes, and to identify the best ways to reach these groups. Community groups rallied to raise local awareness of the census and ensure the needs of the island populations are represented as fully as possible. Ongoing engagement with Covid response groups During 2021/22, the Community Development Team continued to co-ordinate monthly meetings of the Covid Community Response Groups. These meetings brought together groups who supported the emergency response to the Covid pandemic in their communities, and who have been active in recovery. Members swapped experiences (whether of tough times or heartening successes), networked and shared practice, and the Community Development Team were able to provide support and updates, and respond to requests for information from the Council and Community Planning Partnership. For example, the team was able to offer group members’ staff or volunteers access to the Council’s ‘My Healthy Advantage’ app, which offers access to counselling and wellbeing services. An evaluation of the group showed that members had found it very valuable, reporting that support from the Community Development Team had increased the effectiveness of their organisations and that they in turn had seen an increase in confidence and wellbeing of their service users. During the emergence of the Omicron variant, groups reported difficulty in finding accurate information on the dates and locations of vaccination clinics. The team rapidly checked and circulated the up to date data, meaning that group members could help more vulnerable members of the community to attend clinics. On response to concerns about how to re-start community activities safely, Community Development officers also collated and shared information on free training opportunities on a range of relevant topics. Our work to create the right conditions for community groups to be supported, and to empower community groups within their communities and in particular in response to Covid was recognised as an example of Best Practice within Audit Scotland’s Community Empowerment: Covid report: Support for local networking: Garelochhead Station Trust's experience during Covid — Communities Channel Scotland (communityscot.org.uk) Micro-Grants to aid Post-Covid Recovery The Community Planning and Development Team, on behalf of the council, developed and ran a micro-grant fund to meet needs arising post in the summer of 2021. 63 Village Halls and community organisations were awarded up to £500 to aid recovery of their facilities or organisations activities after the Covid pandemic. Applications underwent a robust assessment to confirm eligibility and fit with Covid recovery criteria. Applicants offered an award demonstrated how their project will help communities to recover from the impacts of Covid.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 5 Support for community engagement with Community Planning Partnership Climate Change group The Community Development Team supported increased engagement with the CPP’s Climate Change working group from community groups and Development Trusts. These participants are helping to shape the group’s engagement plans and sharing good practice from community-led climate action across the region. The team also helped identify regional leads for the four Area Community Planning Groups (ACPG) and encouraged community organisations to share their projects and progress at the ACPGs and through the Climate Change signposting page. 2. SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES Our case studies help illustrate the positive contribution the Service has made to our communities and provides examples of good service delivery. Corporate Outcome - People Will Live in Safer and Stronger Communities Business Outcome: BO104 Our Communities are Supported and Protected Success Measure: CPD 104_01 Number of capacity building sessions held with community groups a) There was limited staff resource available due to significant long term absences with 50% of the Community Development Team and the induction of new members of staff within the overall team took time to embed. Support to community organisations has continued during this time, with resources being dedicated to support the Covid response and the delivery of targeted projects including the Micro Grants Fund for village halls and community organisations. Elements of this targeted support have not been reflected within this quantitative measure. The delivery of capacity building support to develop the skills and confidence of communities across Argyll and Bute, continues to be a priority for the team. • In conjunction with Community Learning and Development Partners, the Community Development Team are undertaking a training needs analysis with community groups. Working in partnership enables the service to meet any fluctuations in staffing due to unforeseen absence and associated impacts on community organisations. 3. CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT - WE ASKED, YOU SAID, WE DID…. Our case studies help illustrate the positive contribution the Service has made to our communities and provides examples of good service delivery. a) In 2021, we ran a Community Gaelic Research Survey to understand Scottish Gaelic needs and requirements across Argyll and Bute from people with no knowledge of Gaelic as well as for fluent speakers. Under the National Gaelic Plan, there should be more opportunities for communities and networks of Gaelic speakers of all kinds to use Gaelic and increased use of the language in community activities and services and the survey, together with the Argyll Gaelic Gathering, held in 2022 supported that aspiration.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 6 The Community Gaelic Research Survey had 1,300 respondents. The responses helped frame the priorities for a programme of work to be led by the Gaelic Development Officer working in partnership with communities and partners. This includes: • Support for the development of community hubs where Gaelic can be shared • Need for the provision of information and raising awareness of resources available to help learners Full details of the survey response can be found on the council ‘You said, We Did’ page. b) The Argyll Gaelic Gathering consisted of three events and also an art project. Adults and young people across Argyll and Bute and Scotland were involved. The Argyll Gaelic Gathering was supported with funding from Bòrd na Gàidhlig. The Gathering is a commitment by Argyll and Bute Council as part of their Gaelic Language Plan and aims to be delivered every two years. The organisation of the Gathering was led by the Council’s Gaelic Development Worker (a post jointly funded by the Council and Bòrd na Gàidhlig) and was the product of a collaborative working group which included Argyll and Bute Council, Comunn na Gàidhlig, CHARTS, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, Furan Gaelic Centre, Helensburgh Gaelic Group and Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 7 c) Community Planning and Development Information Survey - Our team supports community organisations and community planning partners. In doing this we send information through regular e-bulletins (Community Development, Funding, Community Planning, Gaelic) and we provide information on queries about Community Empowerment and Community Development (Assets, Participation Requests). We also provide information on general funding and training opportunities, and on how to take things forward in community and partnership projects such as developing action plans and engaging to develop these. We surveyed the recipients of our various bulletins to ensure that the information we provide is easily understandable we and received 272 responses. 96% of respondents agreed that the information provided by the team is easily understandable. d) The Community Development Team, Live Argyll and Argyll Third Sector Interface created a training needs survey for community organisations. The survey will help us to understand what training groups need to deliver the best possible support and services to communities across Argyll and Bute. Additional insights on the needs of Gaelic language speakers and of social enterprises were provided by colleagues within the Communities and Partnerships team. The survey is due to go live on the 10th June 2022 and the results will be used to shape our training programme.
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COMMUNITY PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT – ANNUAL SCORECARD 2021/22_FINAL
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 1 NAME OF SERVICE: LEGAL & REGULATORY SUPPORT PERIOD: FINANCIAL YEAR 2021/22 1. DELIVERING OUR OUTCOMES Our case studies help illustrate the positive contribution the Service has made to our communities and provides examples of good service delivery. Corporate Outcome - People Live Active Healthier And Independent Lives Business Outcome BO102: We Provide Support, Prevention And Opportunities To Help People Make Better Lifestyle Choices Success Measure: LRS102_01-Advice and assistance from Welfare Rights is provided to Clients to ensure they maximise their income. a) We worked with service partners to deliver the redesigned advice service to cope with demand from vulnerable and non-vulnerable clients. Advice and assistance from Welfare Rights is provided to Clients to ensure they maximise their income. We achieved 99.2% of targets despite difficult delivery. Corporate Outcome - People Will Live In Safer And Stronger Communities Business Outcome BO104: Our Communities Are Protected And Supported a) The Trading Standards Team initially maintained a reactive presence, which, as restrictions allowed moved to a proactive planned approach. This despite Covid impacts allowed the Team to deal with a high proportion of all premises identified as high risk. b) Developed the Community Safety Partnership Strategy 2021-2023 which underpins the Argyll and Bute Outcome Improvement Plan and sets out strategic priorities in relation to: • We live in a safe and positive community • We encourage safer road and water use • Our natural and built environment is protected • Our communities are supported and included It also identifies how key partners including the Council, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, HM Coastguard, Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP), Third Sector Interface (TSI) and local groups will bring together resources to ensure that Argyll and Bute is a safer place to live, work and visit.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 2 Corporate Outcome - Our Economy Is Diverse And Thriving Business Outcome BO110: We support businesses, employment and development opportunities a) The Procurement, Commercial and Contract Management Team provided a strong lead to ensure we continued the percentage of Council spend that is under a contract or service level agreement while also maintaining the percentage of all Small Medium Enterprises that win council contracts. We also worked to improve the delivery of contract management on all high risk contracts. We effectively planned and coordinated the release of tenders to avoid overwhelming the market, in particular the local market – by issuing invitations to tender where the regulations allowed. For 2021/22, we awarded 151 contracts and of these 119 were Quick Quotes (ITQ’s). Our procurement processes were simplified and streamlined, ensuring that documentation was as straightforward as possible and engaged with local Economic Development colleagues and other collaborative stakeholders, to support emerging priorities that will support the economic recovery within Argyll and Bute. The percentage of total bids by and contracts awarded to local and SME suppliers is monitored monthly, however, not all requirements can be fulfilled by the local supply market. To gain a better understanding of performance, the number of tenders bid for and subsequently won by local suppliers is also monitored and detailed below. 2021/22 - Total No. of Tenders 2021/22 - Total receiving local bids 2021/22 - Total won by local bidders 2021/22 % Success Rate 151 51 40 78.4% The level of local spend was monitored in 2021/22, and the overall percentage with our local suppliers was 29.9%. The team recognises the strategic importance of maximising the economic benefits from directing Council spend to local businesses in terms of benefiting the local economy. Whilst it would not be acceptable to give preference to local businesses during any particular procurement, efforts are made to ensure that local businesses are upskilled so as to have the greatest chance of being successful in winning Council and other public sector business. Argyll and Bute Council took part in the Meet the Buyer: Live Virtual Event on 8th June 2021.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 3 b) Civic & Liquor Licensing- we put in place arrangements for continuing to deliver the civic and liquor licensing functions including the holding of virtual Board meetings and a system for the fast tracking of occasional applications for the licensing of outdoor areas. The tri-annual review and renewal of Civic licensing fees took place during 2021/22 and revised arrangements were put in place to facilitate this. c) As part of the continuing easing of lockdown measures, agreements were put in place to enable businesses to utilise public spaces identified by the Council Corporate Outcome - Getting it right Business Outcome BO115: We Are Efficient And Cost Effective a) Delivered 1 local by-election during 2021/22 , a Scottish Parliamentary Election and worked to delivering the Local Government Election in May 2022 all while continuing to meet the electoral performance standards as set by the Electoral Commission. New processes, risk assessments and procedures were devised and implemented to meet Covid-19 responsibilities while delivering a successful outcome. b) Increased Elected Member Transactions through paperless processes e.g. improved iPad functionality, arrangements for on-line surgeries and on-line expenses. These arrangements and technological developments facilitated the move to virtual ways of working throughout the year and supported the continued functioning of committees and Elected Member decision making and operating processes throughout the year which placed a heavy reliance on harnessing technology and new ways of working. c) Development and Delivery of on-line/ virtual programme of seminars and training events to support Elected Member Development, Elected Member Induction and Election Administration and Delivery. d) Supported key Council services to improve process and response times to Elected Members' enquiries through Casebook, the electronic case management system used by Elected Members to record and manage constituent enquiries. e) Review of the Charitable Trusts and Bequests and Trust Funds to simplify and update processes where possible and ensure ongoing compliance with charity regulations and the original terms of the bequests. The review took cognisance of the fact that a large number of the charitable funds managed in trust by Area Committees were established many years ago, and as a consequence of changes in society over time the intended beneficiaries of the bequests are no longer easily identified. f) Provided a strong Governance presence which allows the Council to continue to meet target response times where possible for Freedom of information requests, subject Access Requests and complaints resolved at Stage 1. All of which have been impacted by Covid and high volumes of requests.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 4 g) The review and improvement programme of Pecos, which aids the user experience, increase PECOS usage, improves control arrangement, governance and contracted spend. Corporate Outcome - Getting it right Business Outcome BO116: We Engage And Work With Our Customers, Staff And Partners a) Continue to lead the Council’s Tactical Group and provided a co-ordinated response across Legal & Regulatory Support Teams who lead on Health & Safety and the implementation of Council Wide suite of emergency and resilience plans throughout 2021/22 presence which allows the Council to continue to meet its ongoing obligations. b) Extended the Customer Service Excellence Award to include all aspects of the Legal and Regulatory Support service. Accreditation was achieved with a number of additional criteria being upgraded to compliance plus. Achievement of this nationally recognised external accreditation demonstrates our commitment to positive and constructive relations ships with customers and partner and how we use this to drive continuous improvement in our services. c) The Governance Team extended the provision of governance and committee support to the Integrated Joint Board and the meeting reports and minutes for key strategic committees are all hosted on ModGov. In addition arrangements were put in place to support virtual meetings and undertake recorded sessions which are also posted on ModGov. 2. SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES The significant challenges faced by the Service during 2021/22. These challenges either created specific pressures on the Success Measures or impacted on delivery. Specific additional activity or mitigating actions were carried out to reduce the negative impact on service delivery. Corporate Outcome - Our Economy Is Diverse And Thriving Business Outcome BO110: We support businesses, employment and development opportunities a) Additional requirement at short notice to administer 3 separate Taxi Support Fund tranches in addition to business as usual. Required new forms, procedures and appeals process with around 250 plus applications dealt with. All processed and paid within the deadline.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 5 Corporate Outcome - Getting it right Business Outcome BO115: We Are Efficient And Cost Effective a) Delivered 1 local by-election during 2021/22 and Scottish Parliamentary election while continuing to meet the electoral performance standards as set by the Electoral Commission. New processes and procedures were devised and implemented to meet Covid-19 responsibilities while delivering a successful outcome. This was completed while the Election Team were also putting arrangements in place for the Local Government Election in 5th May 2022. A significant volume of works was undertaken in relation to the planning arrangements. Business Outcome BO116: We Engage And Work With Our Customers, Staff And Partners b) Review and redevelop the Elected Member Induction Programme ahead of the 2022 local government elections. The Elected Member induction programme underwent a review based on feedback arising from the previous local government elections and this provided the basis for the development of a virtual programme to support election of three new Councillors during 2021/22. 3. CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT - WE ASKED, YOU SAID, WE DID…. The following are all the consultations and resulting actions that the Service has carried out during this period. a) A review of Taxi Fares was conducted during 2021/22. In terms of Section 17 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, the Local Authority requires to fix maximum fares and other charges in connection with the hire of taxis operating in their area and to review the scales for taxi fares and other charges on a regular basis. The review process commenced in summer 2021 and as a result it was proposed that there would be increases to the existing scales. This was advertised with responses invited within a month. Adverts were placed in local newspapers with a deadline given for any responses. After review of the responses the Head of Legal & Regulatory Supports and the Chair of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee (PPSL) agreed subsequent increases to the current fares. b) Procurement, Commercial and Contract Management Team conduct regular Customer and Supplier Surveys. The feedback from our Customers on previous surveys was very positive in areas such as obtaining advice and assistance, awareness of contracts available and goods or services accurately corresponded to requirements. The feedback from our Suppliers was also positive with an increase in supplier satisfaction in knowing where to find contract opportunities, clearly defined performance measures, attending regular meetings to ensure effective contract delivery and happy with the way the Council engages with their business over the term of the contract. c) Procurement, Commercial and Contract Management Team carried out wide consultation on the Council’s Procurement Strategy – received wide ranging responses and addressed each one in reporting to Council on refreshed Strategy.
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LEGAL AND REGULATORY SUPPORT – ANNUAL SCORECARD 2021/22_FINAL
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 1 NAME OF SERVICE: COMMERCIAL SERVICES PERIOD: FINANCIAL YEAR 2021/22 1. DELIVERING OUR OUTCOMES Our case studies help illustrate the positive contribution the Service has made to our communities and provides examples of good service delivery. Corporate Outcome - Children and Young People have the Best Possible Start Business Outcome 107 The Support And Lifestyle Needs Of Our Children, Young People And Their Families Are Met CATERING AND CLEANING a) The Council continues to offer fresh, healthy and sustainable school lunches, and hold the Soil Association Scotland’s Bronze Food for Life Served Here award. This award is a widely respected and independently assessed scheme, supported by the Scottish Government, which helps local authorities to source food from the local area for school meals so that children benefit from freshly prepared, sustainable meals. It recognises Councils that serve food made from fresh ingredients, free from genetically modified ingredients and undesirable additives, using free-range eggs and high-welfare meat. The catering service serves 4,300 Food for Life accredited meals a day. b) The Catering Department has implemented a new menu compliant with the requirements of the Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. This means our pupils are receiving a nutritious meal, lower in sugar, a decrease in red meat and an increase in fruit and vegetables. There are also changes to the permitted products in secondary schools and a change to how the secondary meals are analysed. c) The Catering department had a surveillance audit for continued accreditation for ISO 9001:2015. d) The Catering and Cleaning Innovations projection was successfully completed, which led to a redesign of the service that will be fit for future purpose and will assist in the services continuing to provide a service for our children and young people. e) In January 2022, P4 and P5 children were included in the provision of Universal Free School Meals. This has been successfully implemented throughout Argyll and Bute. f) Successful implementation of the new allergen legislation resulting in full compliance by the implementation date in all our secondary schools. g) The Beach Café in Oban has opened and is being run by Argyll and Bute Council Catering Department. This has been a hugely successful operation, and has proved popular with visitors and locals, and is used extensively by users of the centre as well as special catering provision.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 2 h) Positive recovery of events as we begin to emerge from the pandemic. i) Argyll and Bute Council were awarded the Footprint Foodservice award for the Community Food Project. Corporate Outcome - We Have An Infrastructure That Supports Sustainable Growth Business Outcome BO113:Our infrastructure is safe and fit for the future ESTATES a) During 2021/22 the Estates Section met its targets for marketing properties identified as ‘held for sale’ and delivered significant capital receipts disposing of properties to meet the longer term capital targets. This not only generates income to be reinvested in the wider priorities of the Council but also reduces ongoing running costs, maintenance and insurance risk in addition to providing accommodation for new enterprises to develop. A good example of this was the disposal of Blairvadach House and grounds which generated a capital receipt and also transferred a listed building to a developer which reduced the Council’s risk exposure and will bring the property back into beneficial use. MAJOR PROJECTS Success Measure: COM113_03-The Council's Capital Plan is delivered within the approved budget tolerances as at the investment decision stage In the Reporting Year, 5 projects, from the Council’s Capital Plan, were being delivered by the Programme and Project Management Services Team within Commercial Services i.e. b) Oban Transit Berthing Facility (OTBF) – Practical Completion Achieved and Facility Operational. Closing out remaining defect, following appointment of specialist marine engineering consultant to review, assess and report on root cause and mitigation. c) Rothesay Pavilion Adaptive Restoration (RPN) – Original Contractor entered into Administration. Services of replacement Tier 1 Contractor secured, Robertson Construction Central West, for the delivery of Phase 1 Pre-Construction Activities, and Phase 2 Construction Works to Completion. Due to emerging cost/budget issues, the Phase 2 Construction Works are currently on hold whilst additional capital funding support is sought. d) Helensburgh Waterfront Development (HWD) – Main Contract Awarded to Heron Bros Ltd on 14 July 2020 with works commencing on site in August 2020. Section 1 works i.e. the construction of coastal flood defences, car parking and public realm, and new Leisure Building are well advanced, and on programme to be handed over to the Council on 29 July 2022. e) Kilmory Business Park – a joint public (Argyll and Bute Council) and private sector (M&K MacLeod Ltd) development to provide the area with a new facility is being progressed, supported by funding contributions from the Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Fund; Argyll and Bute Council; Highlands and Islands Enterprise; and M&K MacLeod Ltd. The Planning application has been submitted and validated, the funding from the
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 3 Scottish Government has been secured, and we are in the process of finalising the various legal agreements (funding, construction, land/property/access rights etc.) to facilitate the delivery of the works later in FY22/23. f) Lochgilphead Front Green – providing project management support and mentoring to the Projects and Renewables team within Development and Economic Growth for the delivery of significant public realm improvements in Lochgilphead, with the project programmed to achieve Practical Completion in FQ1 FY22/23. Success Measure: COM113_04-The Council's Capital Plan is delivered on time. In the reporting year, 4 projects from the Council’s Capital Plan were being delivered by the Programme and Project Management Services Team within Commercial Services a) Oban Transit Berthing Facility (OTBF) – Closing out remaining defects: b) Oban Maritime Visitor Facility (OMVF) – Project being formally closed out, following on from which some additional works will be implemented. c) Rothesay Pavilion Adaptive Restoration (RPN): Main Contractor in Administration, with works 70% Complete. Replacement Contractor to be procured for works required to achieve Practical Completion. • Original Forecast Completion – FQ2 FY19/20 • Revised Forecast Completion – TBC subject to positive resolution of funding shortfall d) Helensburgh Waterfront Development (HWD) – Main Contract Awarded on 14 July 2020 to Heron Bros Ltd, construction works have commenced on site. • Original Forecast Completion – FQ4 FY22/23 • SECTION 1 Practical Completion – 29 July 2022 • SECTION 2 Practical Completion – FQ4 FY22/23 PROPERTY SERVICES a) The Property Maintenance Team’s continued partnership approach to term maintenance contracts has resulted in locally based contractors being awarded contracts resulting in significant benefit to the Argyll and Bute economy. In addition, training and employment opportunities are being provided to Argyll and Bute residents through the community benefit requirements of these contracts. b) Working in conjunction with colleagues in the Education Service, the Council’s Property Design Team substantially delivered projects in Early Years settings to allow the provision of 1140 hours of pre-school education.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 4 c) Combinations of the Energy & Building Services Team and the Property Maintenance Team have again successfully delivered the emergency, planned and statutory maintenance programmes associated with the £2Million+ annual/revenue Central Repairs Account. For 2021/22, additional challenges have included the additional costs associated with COVID and earlier processing dates to meet the end of financial year deadlines resulting from the proposed upgrading of Council financial systems. Business Outcome BO114 Our Communities are Cleaner and Greener PROPERTY SERVICES a) The Energy & Building Services Team utilised the Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Framework (NDEEF) to invest £1.2m in carbon friendly energy solutions (LED Lighting, Air Source Heat Pumps, Solar PV panels) which will provide the Council with a simple payback on the investment of 10 years. As a result the Council’s carbon footprint will reduce by circa 460 Tonnes/annum. Most ‘mini-projects’ have been delivered with a modest balance scheduled to be implemented at the start of the 22/23 delivery year. b) The Energy & Building Services Team accessed £60K grant funding to support internal Fleet colleagues with the installation of Electric Vehicle charging points – 14 no. individual charging points across 5 properties. c) The property Maintenance Team continued to take opportunities to improve insulation and replace single glazing with double glazing while carrying out normal building maintenance to our properties. Corporate Outcome - Getting It Right Business Outcome BO115 We are Efficient and Cost Effective PROPERTY SERVICES a) Agreement was reached to review the staffing and team structure within Property Services. This had a particular focus on the reorganisation of the Major Projects Team and Property Services given the opportunities for synergies and enhanced programme management whilst refocusing towards contract management, client management and climate change priorities. These structural changes will be implemented/delivered during 2022/23. b) The Energy & Building Services Team commenced a large-scale project to review water, waste water and drainage charges for the whole Council. While at an early stage, a Council target to save £25K-£50K per annum was achieved during 2021/22 and further savings opportunities are being explored for delivery in 2022/23.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 5 Business Outcome BO116: We engage and work with our customers, staff and partners ESTATES a) An innovative project which was completed in 2021/22 was the lease of a derelict site at Lochside Street, Oban. The ground had been vacant for some time and there were title concerns but after extended marketing a lease was agreed for a garden centre with a rooftop bar based on a temporary building structure. This generated a good income, redeveloped a derelict but central site and also generated new employment opportunities. b) Marketing a former schoolhouse on Islay during the pandemic was always going to be a challenge. However using a combination of marketing on Rightmove, video tours and staff visiting the island the school house was sold in 2022 with a local family acquiring it which also supports the challenges of housing in our island communities. c) Part of the team’s role under the One Council approach was to take on more valuation work internally which makes savings for the council and also builds the knowledge and experience of the team. During 2021/22 the team completed the annual update of the asset valuation programme which is regulated by the terms and conditions of engagement with Finance as the client department. Team members were able to attend CIPFA and RICS courses as part of this learning experience and also utilise an online training facility (asset valuation circle) to develop wider knowledge which will benefit the individuals involved. d) Working with partners is a key component of an estates management service but it can also be challenging as the Council has a number of interactions with partners and not all are to deliver good news. However over the last 12 months the team have worked well with large landowners such as Argyll Estates and Luss Estates along with developing key relationships with ACHA and Fyne Homes who deliver social housing in the area. This has led to long running issues around car park leases and civic amenity sites being resolved along with progressing development schemes with the housing associations.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 6 2. SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES The significant challenges faced by the Service during 2021/22. These challenges either created specific pressures on the Success Measures or impacted on delivery. Specific additional activity or mitigating actions were carried out to reduce the negative impact on service delivery. Corporate Outcome - Children and Young People have the Best Possible Start Business Outcome 107 The Support And Lifestyle Needs Of Our Children, Young People And Their Families Are Met CATERING AND CLEANING a) Delivering an enhanced cleaning service has been challenging as prior to the pandemic the cleaning standards in schools and offices was already at the lower end of acceptable. Limited logistics funding has enabled some enhanced cleaning to be delivered in schools however this is not sustainable in the long term without committed funding and permanently increased hours. b) The Soil Association have implemented a new inspection portal which has meant the reaccreditation process is extremely challenging. c) The service has continued to prepare for the roll out of UFSMs for P6 and P7s, breakfast and holiday provision. This has been challenging due to lack of clarity on budgets, information and resources to continue with the implementation. d) In addition to price increases there have been on-going supply issues in the food industry. e) Continued recovery of commercial catering and events income. The increase in events is promising but will need continued support and nurturing to continue and increase. Corporate Outcome - We Have An Infrastructure That Supports Sustainable Growth Business Outcome BO113: Our infrastructure is safe and fit for the future ESTATES a) During the last 12 months the wider economy has suffered and this has in turn put pressure on local and national businesses. It is anticipated that this will remain a challenge for some time and this will have an ongoing impact on the ability of businesses to meet ongoing commitments such as rental payments. In addition the pressure on finances has led to less investment and developers looking to progress with projects which has impacted on capital receipts and the progress of development schemes. There is also pressure on the supply of building materials which is causing construction cost price inflation which may make development schemes unaffordable. Finally there has been a noticeable increase in the workload of the team in
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 7 the last 2 years which can be challenging for a small team to meet and lead to a firefighting approach which increases the risk of incorrect decision making. b) The Council’s insurers identified in 2021 that a revaluation of the full property portfolio is required. This is a significant task and relies on property data which has been highlighted as being of variable quality across the asset base. It will be a challenge for the team to complete this along with other tasks. c) A number of large property projects have been moving forward at the same time and while this is positive from the wider council viewpoint it will be increasingly challenging for a small team to progress this in addition to the day to day workload. Additional external support has been procured but the time taken to complete the procurement and management of the consultants also requires to be factored into the demand on the team. MAJOR PROJECTS Success Measure: COM113_03-The Council's Capital Plan is delivered within the approved budget tolerances as at the investment decision stage. Success Measure: COM113_04-The Council's Capital Plan is delivered on time. a) Rothesay Pavilion Adaptive Restoration - Following the insolvency of the Main Contractor (CBC) in Mar-20 the Council procured the services of Robertson Construction Central West, through the SCAPE Procure National Construction Framework, to deliver: (1) Pre-Construction Activities i.e. develop a Schedule of Activities and Tendered Price to take the project through to Practical Completion. b) In December 2021 the Council was advised that the cost of completing the works would significantly exceed the available and approved budget, by some £12million. At that point the Council took the decision to ‘pause’ the works at the end of the Pre-Construction Activities, and to lobby for additional capital funding support from external organisations, including the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments. c) The Project Team, including the Design Team, Cost Consultants and the Contractor, are developing proposals for interim works, which might be delivered within the remaining available budget, and which would help protect the significant investment already made in the building. d) Project Affordability – given the unprecedented impact of recent global events e.g. COVID-19 Pandemic, the UK withdrawal from the EU, and most recently the Russian invasion of Ukraine, national and global economies have been adversely affected, and the cost of construction materials, equipment, plant, and resources has risen significantly. This raises significant issues for the on-going delivery of capital works projects at a time when not only is the Council’s capital budget being reduced, but also its ability to finance the cost of borrowing, using revenue funding, is also being reduced.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 8 PROPERTY SERVICES a) Irrespective of whether works/contracts are funded from revenue or capital, we continue to have access to only a limited number of contractors. This creates difficulty in delivery of programmes of work especially where availability of sites is restricted such as school holiday periods. Additionally, our contractors are suffering from the nationwide skills shortage and again this causes difficulty in being able to deliver a service within the desired timescales. b) The annual revenue Central Repairs Account continues to be under pressure across all services to conduct essential maintenance. There are however particular ‘hotspots’ ( Depots, HSCP, Airfields) where funding allocations are below that required to limit H&S risks and maintain business continuity. Business Outcome BO114 Our Communities are Cleaner and Greener PROPERTY SERVICES a) The significant progress that has been made in reducing the Council’s property-related carbon footprint has primarily been as a result of dealing with the more straightforward and cost effective solutions. The journey to net-zero requires the delivery of more complicated solutions which are more costly and there is challenge in balancing the need for carbon reduction at a time when budgets/resources are reducing. b) Many areas within Argyll and Bute are off gas grid and the electrical grid has limitations in terms of capacity/constraints. These issues continue to impact on the Council (and the wider community) in terms of resilience and delivering renewables solutions, EV charging etc. Corporate Outcome - Getting it Right Business Outcome BO115 We are Efficient and Cost Effective PROPERTY SERVICES a) Elements of the Property Team had longer-term staffing shortages during the year. This made service delivery particularly challenging but it is anticipated that this will be resolved during 2022/23. 3. CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT - WE ASKED, YOU SAID, WE DID…. Please list all consultations and resulting actions that the Service has carried out during this period. NO CONSULTATIONS TOOK PLACE.
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COMMERCIAL SERVICES – ANNUAL SCORECARD 2021/22_FINAL
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 1 NAME OF SERVICE: CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES PERIOD: FINANCIAL YEAR 2021/22 1. DELIVERING OUR OUTCOMES Our case studies help illustrate the positive contribution the Service has made to our communities and provides examples of good service delivery. Corporate Outcome - People Live Active, Healthier and Independent Lives Business Outcome BO101 We Ensure Information and Support is Available for Everyone a). Success Measure: CSS101_01-Improve the accuracy rate for registration for our births, deaths and marriages by the council’s Registration Service. The National Records of Scotland independently audit all council registration services for accuracy of registration and look back on the previous full year, hence in 21/22 they examined the registrations for 20/21. Our target was to have to have no more than 2.1% error rate, but the actual audited rate was 3.5%. However it must be remembered that the target was set before the Covid pandemic struck. That pandemic resulted in massive operational changes for registrars; including the remote recording of Death Registrations, a torrent of new Covid related registration regulations to absorb and excess death workloads that put the service under tremendous strain; including at times the introduction of 7 day working and post lockdown surges in pent up wedding demand. Hence a total of only 80 errors across 2,315 registration events was regarded by the independent Examiner as an excellent performance. The Registrars speedily adopted both remote digital Death Registration service and virtual Citizenship Ceremonies (Brexit led to a spike in demand for them too). They also adapted the Tell Us Once death notification service for 1,124 customers, put in place a new appointment based face to face service for Birth Registrations, used the Marriage Website, social media and a digital Wedding Diary to inform and accommodate those seeking weddings and civil partnerships. In the most recent customer Satisfaction Survey in FQ3/4 of 2021/22 97% of 127 respondents were Very Satisfied with the registration service provided. In addition many of the Registrars (who also staff our Customer Service Points) were also deployed to undertake the pro-active support calls to those customers required to self-isolate by Covid regulations. Between October 2020 and end of April 2022 6,128 self-isolating customers were contacted and offered domestic or financial support. Of these 2,925 submitted claims for the £500 Self Isolation Support Grant. A number were referred to Community Groups for domestic or transport assistance. In November and December 2021 the Customer Service Points/Registration resource also provided emergency assistance to NHS Highland to help them cope with customer contacts regarding the Vaccine Booster Programme. In a four week period they handled 2,738 enquiries for the Vaccination Hub and helped NHS Highland meet its target of having over 80% of over 18 year olds offered a vaccination by the end of December.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 2 b). Success Measure: CSS101_02-Increase public use of corporate social media sites on three categories of information: council news, community success and general use. Our success measure was to increase the percentage of corporate social media sites. During the period we responded to 700+ media enquiries, issued 220+ media releases, 50 weekly new round up subscription emails, 50+ staff Newsflash emails, posted up to three times a day across various social media channels. We increased our social media following to: Facebook = 17,000+; Twitter = 15,000+; Instagram = 7,000+; Linkedin = 3,600+ c). Success Measure: CSS101_03 Increase the percentage of telephony enquiries received by Customer Service Centre that are dealt with at first point of contact. The Contact Centre agents handled over 152,000 enquiries from customers in 2021/22 and 112,000 were by telephone. The aim of the CSC is to resolve as many of these calls there and then either by fully providing the information or service requested, or by logging a request for service for action by the relevant council team. This allows operational staff to focus on service delivery without being distracted by constant phone calls. The target was to resolve 82% of phone enquires without transfer to the back offices, but it actually achieved 94.4%. In addition to this the council’s ongoing investment in 24/7 voice automated services continued to deliver excellent results, with 8919 customers making automated payments (worth £1.63m) and 41,605 uses of the automated directory. The Coronavirus Helpline was also used 1501 times in 2021/22. Contact Centre technology has been deployed to the HR Team and Scottish Welfare Fund Team to help them manage call demands effectively and in 2021/22 a new rolling program of call quality evaluation was introduced called Agent Evaluation so that qualitative as well as quantitative management was tracked and used for continual improvement. The whole CSC system was upgraded to the latest “Liberty Converse” version with greatly enhanced real time monitoring dashboards. Corporate Outcome - Our economy is Diverse and Thriving Business Outcome BO112 Argyll & Bute Is Promoted To Everyone. a).#abplace2b campaign Purpose - promote the lifestyle and career opportunities on offer, to attract new residents and skills How? - develop and encourage public/partner use of #abplace2b on social media, develop www.abplace2b.scot to showcase the area, jobs on offer, local businesses, lifestyle etc.. Progress - Partners and public are using #abplace2b. Our #abplace2b Instagram account is the most followed of all of Scotland’s councils. Partner use of #abplace2b continues to grow
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 3 Continued to increase use of #abplace2b as a budget-free way of promoting Argyll and Bute as a great place to live and work; this is based on promoting the great lifestyle the geography of Argyll and Bute allows for, and which sets the area apart from other locations. Members of the public and partner agencies are increasingly using it. This will be complemented and developed by www.abplace2b.scot, which we are updating for relaunch in 2022. b). Community life - responsible staycation tourism In response to community concerns as tourism opened up after Covid restrictions, we developed and promoted our ‘Have a great time. Be a great visitor’ message and campaign, bringing together information from different organisations. The campaign received a positive public response. c). Connecting with Employees Launched www.mycouncilworks.co.uk to connect the council and its employees more easily.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 4 d) Connecting with our Communities - Health and wellbeing We issued free weekly news email subscription: by adapting its content to include more Covid-health, and other topical non-council news, we supported our communities’ wellbeing e.g. “Thank you for such regular, clear newsletters. So comforting to know we in isolation are included in outside life!....and I trust it!” e) Great place to live and work – Promoting Argyll and Bute f) Oban bid for city status The Communications Team developed the strapline for the council’s city status bid, and evidenced public backing for city status. Both elements formed key parts of the council’s bid. g) Rural Growth Deal The Communications Team developed the story of the deal: Connecting: our high value business sectors with national and international business markets; our local economic successes with national strategic priorities. Attracting: additional skills, training and learning opportunities; new residents, visitors and businesses. Growing: doing more of what works; making more of our natural and built resources. h) A healthy workforce and a healthy working environment A healthy workforce and a healthy working environment are essential to achieving higher levels of attendance and providing high quality services. The Wellbeing Team reviewed, updated and relaunched two key procedures, The Reducing Stress in the Workplace procedure and the Supporting Attendance procedure. In order to ensure that employees and managers were fully aware of the changes and the support that is available to them in managing their health, wellbeing and attendance at work the following were delivered: • Promotion via newsflash and Wellbeing Wednesday • Availability of updated procedures and supporting documents on both The Hub and My Council Works • A programme of drop in supporting attendance webinars for employees and line managers to attend to learn more about changes to the new procedure and ask questions. • A programme of drop in webinars for line managers to learn about the updated reducing stress procedure and the importance of preventative action
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 5 • A reducing stress workshop delivered by EAP provider Health Assured • A webinar guide for managers on accessing EAP support for themselves and those they manage • Having a conversation about stress guidance document • Reducing stress in the workplace eLearning currently awaiting launch • Access to wellness action plans to support line managers and employees to discuss appropriate support for mental health conditions Corporate Outcome - We Have An Infrastructure That Supports Sustainable Growth Business Outcome BO113: Our Infrastructure Is Safe And Fit For The Future a). Success Measure: CSS113_02-Deliver the ICT and Digital Strategy Action Plan ICT and Digital Team - Our aims • Our networks and systems are secure, accessible and current • ICT provides value, and enables and empowers both customers and staff to make tasks easier • Our people have the knowledge and capabilities to use ICT effectively We continue to network and engage with Scottish Local Government Digital Office, Society For Innovation Technology and Modernisation (SOCITM) and Scottish Government Digital Team to ensure that we achieve best practice, share our experience and expertise, maximise public sector joint working on ICT and digital and achieve the highest levels of value for money we can through active procurement and contract management. b). With approximately 100 actions associated with the 2021-24 ICT and Digital Strategy Action Plan, the following are highlights but the majority of actions are progressing satisfactorily and to target: • We have been accredited Public Services Network (PSN) and CE+ for 2022/23 as planned. • We have implemented MS 365, migrating all 2000 corporate mailboxes to Exchange online and migrating all H: drive content to OneDrive. • We have implemented MS Teams and established appropriate guidance and governance for both MS Teams and a selection of MS365 Apps. • We continue to refresh our hardware assets and keep them up to date through the capital Asset Sustainability programme as planned. • We have demonstrated engagement more widely with our customers through the completion of the 2021 Customer Service Questionnaire. • We continue to improve the accessibility of our corporate network through the completion of upgrades of bandwidth capacity at both Kilmory and GWITC (Graham Whitefield IT Centre). All existing circuit speeds increased in bandwidth (doubled at Kilmory).
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 6 • We continue to increase the provision of services on a digital platform wherever possible. This is exemplified by the extension of the Parent Evening Booking System to additional schools and facilitate remote parent evening via video call. Parents/ carers can select and amend an appointment to suit their needs. • We continue to support delivery of digital learning through the deployment of additional devices provided under the digital poverty initiative funded by the Scottish Government. • An illustration of joining up our systems through more integration using available technologies is the implementation of live streaming from the council chambers for selected committee meetings with integration to Modern.Gov and MS teams. • We have reviewed and continue to improve our disaster recovery and business continuity plans and technologies. • We have worked with the Customer Engagement Team to achieve Customer Service Excellence accreditation. • We directed the upgrade IKEN case management system to the latest version and have upgraded the technology platform for improved performance and compatibility. • We have developed a replacement system to ensure the continued recording of pastoral notes records for Education following the withdrawal of the functionality in SEEMiS (education management information system). c). Success Measure: CSS113_06-Maintain the average time to resolve ICT incidents We have operated well within our service level targets with service levels at or above previous levels and our response times were as good as previous years. Corporate Outcome - Getting It Right Business Outcome BO115 We are Efficient and Cost Effective a). Success Measure: CSS115_01-Increasing percentage of self service and automated contacts through the Customer Service Centre and Website. The target was 62% however the percentage achieved was 73%, or 410,000 out of 563,000 customer interactions through the Contact Centre’s various channels: This maintained the significant shift to digital prompted by Covid lockdown the previous year and the ongoing provision of high quality online and automated services that customers prefer to use for 24/7 convenience. Despite there being a large reduction in coronavirus related enquiries and support requests compared to 2020/21, the value of efficiencies attributable to use of online services was maintained at £912k.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 7 Significant new online developments in 2021/22 included: • The launch of the council’s Alexa smart speaker service with its “when’s my bin day?” service, which now has 1216 subscribers who used the service 7,257 times last year. • Roll out of a number of new satellite websites including the Staycation Site, Invest in Argyll site, over a dozen new school sites recreated using Wordpress, Period Product access and sites for partners such as the Helensburgh Museum site. • Implementation of a new marketing and notification system called Eloqua to refresh the Keep in the Loop service, which now has 10,489 subscribers and the addition of new Ferry disruption alerts to that service, which issued 17,000 alerts to subscribers over the winter. • Implementation of a next generation web chat bot called Abbot to the council website. • In addition, the online services retained an exemplary record for accessibility of content, which is crucial not only from an equality point of view, but also to ensure the website is as usable as possible for customers with a range of abilities. Hence in March 2022 we scored a 99% standard and ranked as 13th best in the UK out of over 400 council websites on the independent Silktide standard. b). Scottish Local Government Living Wage Consolidation Following delivery of an options appraisal for reconfiguration of the pay and grading model to accommodate the Scottish Local Government Living Wage (SLGLW), the agreed model was delivered. This included a review of the pay and grading structure to accommodate the SLGLW and modernisation of terms and conditions. A review, rationalisation and streamlining was carried out into allowances and expenses and a consultative ballot by the Joint Trade Unions on the proposed method of consolidating the (SLG) Living Wage into the council’s Local Government Employee (LGE) pay scale as well as the proposed changes to the conditions of service document
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 8 Business Outcome: BO117 We encourage creativity and innovation to ensure our workforce is fit for the future a) Quality Conversations Changes were made to the PRD (Performance Review & Development) process to put quality conversations at the heart of how we do our business. Our updated approach moved away from the prescribed PRD template and is focused on an ongoing dialogue that captures conversations between the line manager and their staff about objectives, behaviours, skills and development and career/development aspirations. The change was communicated via newsflash and a guidance document was launched to help managers in finding an approach to these conversations that works for them and their team. A series of drop in webinars were delivered for employees to gain further insight into the new approach, ask questions and discuss with their peers. This approach also encouraged managers to consider how quality conversations can support wider communication at team level on agreeing objectives and key activities and monitoring progress. 2. SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES The significant challenges faced by the Service during 2021/22. These challenges either created specific pressures on the Success Measures or impacted on delivery. Specific additional activity or mitigating actions were carried out to reduce the negative impact on service delivery. Corporate Outcome - We Have An Infrastructure That Supports Sustainable Growth Business Outcome BO113: Our infrastructure is safe and fit for the future a) Cyber-attacks 2021/22 saw an unprecedented increase in the level of risk associated with cyber-attacks. The public sector has repeatedly experienced significant cyber-attacks which disrupted services and cost millions of pounds to remediate. This has been a global phenomenon, and with heightened geo- political tensions there is an increasing risk that an attack targeted at a specific sector or organisation will escape into the wider world and have serious worldwide consequences. The need for our ICT teams to be ever more vigilant and responsive has never been greater. Our ICT teams have responded admirably to each and every emerging threat but the additional day to day challenges inevitably impact their workload in order to maintain the very high levels of service being delivered.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 9 b) MicroSoft365 The accelerated implementation of MS365 to enable Teams as part of the Pandemic response resulted in the need to reallocate team resource from other priorities. This enabled a fast and effective transition with minimum disruption to the business and the creation of a secure operational environment in the Cloud. Corporate Outcome - Getting it Right Business Outcome BO115 We are Efficient and Cost Effective a) Recruitment • Our Communication Team is a small team and has been reduced by as much as 40% for a prolonged period due to difficulties in recruiting to two different vacant posts. We redesigned the role and hours of one post, which is now filled; and we are in the process of redesigning the second post. • Our HROD Team has experienced recruitment challenges in terms of being able to attract suitable candidates. Sickness absence in some areas of the team as well as increased demand due to Covid have led to issues in the team’s ability to meet service delivery expectations in some areas such as learning and development, departmental support and Systems development. Some projects experienced delayed in implementation. Actions taken to address the situation include a review of job descriptions, improved wording of adverts and increased profile on social media as well as support for team members on sickness absence. 3. CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT - WE ASKED, YOU SAID, WE DID…. Please list all consultations and resulting actions that the Service has carried out during this period. a) Whilst there has been no formal customer consultation from during this period, the Communication Team has received positive feedback from the campaigns we have run and communications that we have sent out. b). Customer Satisfaction and Insight Surveys The Customer Engagement Team operates a number of automated customer satisfaction and customer insight surveys that allow customers to provide input on the quality of customer service and elements that could be improved or enhanced. Surveys include: • A pop up satisfaction/feedback survey on the website • An automated quality survey put on acknowledgements after online forms have been completed • A “what else would you like to see on the website” survey after website interactions • An automated customer satisfaction survey offered to callers on certain lines in to the Customer Service Centre • A quality of service survey offered to every person who registered a birth, death or marriage with our Registration Service • A complaints handling procedure satisfaction survey.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 10 The feedback on these are used as part of continual improvements and are reported e.g. in the Quarterly Web Report c) SOCITM customer satisfaction The SOCITM (Society For Innovation Technology and Modernisation) customer satisfaction survey takes place 2 yearly and is due to be reported on in 2022. Recent comments from customers received by the team include: • The excellent preparedness by the team ensured that we were able to make a full and rapid transition to remote working from the beginning of Covid. • I have found ICT to be helpful, responsive and flexible even when being asked for support outside their area of responsibility • I have been incredibly impressed by our ICT team's ability to react and implement a first class service during very trying times. • ICT service has improved immensely over the past few years. One example is that you can get through immediately to an engineer, thus the problem can be rectified immediately.
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SERVICE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 11 d) Wellbeing Survey A survey was issued to all employees to understand their views on current wellbeing provision and how they viewed their own current health and wellbeing. From this the following actions were identified: • We will be including suggested topics in forthcoming Wellbeing Wednesday issues • We will be encouraging you to share with us your experiences • We will be developing tools for line managers to assist them to support you. • We will be considering corporate initiatives in relation to commitment for wellbeing d) Corporate Training Needs A survey was issued to establish the types of training that employees felt would be most beneficial to them and how they would prefer to receive training in the future. The results were used to establish a corporate training offering for 2022 and beyond that is suited to the new ways of working and future service delivery and meets the needs of employees. e) Hybrid Working Survey The feedback from this survey was used by the Hybrid Working Short Life Working Group alongside benchmarking information gathered from other councils and approaches taken by other employers in their development of a hybrid working policy. It was determined that one prescriptive approach to hybrid working is unlikely to suit everyone as individual circumstances are important to consider and that these can change over time. The policy provides detail and a set of principles which will support a change in the way we work, while not being prescriptive about what that approach will look like.
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CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES – ANNUAL SCORECARD 2021/22_FINAL
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