Annual Report 07/08: Performance

(Fulfilling the requirement to publish a Best Value Performance Plan)

All Councils look at how well they perform against a set of standard measures. Measures include how satisfied the public is with the Council, how quickly we process a benefit application and how clean the streets are.

By comparing how we did this year to how we did last year we can see if our performance in a particular area has improved, stayed the same or got worse.

This year, our performance was better this year compared to last year in 66% of the measures used.

We can also compare ourselves to other Councils delivering the same services. For each performance measure we can tell whether we are in the top 25%, above average, below average or bottom 25%. We won't be able to confirm how well we have performed against other Councils until later in the year.

Our best estimate of how we have done compared to other Councils is that 63% of our measures are in the top 25% and 80% are above average. Only 12% are in the bottom 25%.

Graph showing performance improving compared to other Councils

Best value performance Indicators (recorded by all local authorities delivering district council functions in England)

Description		2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	COMMENT	TARGET
BV2a The level of the Equality Standard for local government to which the Authority conforms in respect of gender, race and disability (level) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	1	2	2	2
	Target	1	2	2	2		2
	Alert		=	=	=
BV2b The quality of an Authority's Race Equality Scheme (RES) and the improvements resulting from its application (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	59	98	100	100
	Target	59	92	100	100		100
	Alert	=	+	=	=
BV8 Percentage of invoices for commercial goods & services paid by the Authority within 30 days of receipt or within the agreed payment terms (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	96.06	93.44	96.37	97.93
	Target	95	95	97	97.5		98
	Alert	+	-	-	+
BV9 The percentage of council tax collected by the Authority in the year (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	99.1	98.9	98.7	98.7
	Target	99	99.1	99.01	99.02		99.03
	Alert	+	-	-	-
BV10 Percentage of Non-domestic Rates collected by the Authority in the year (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	98.5	99.8	99.7	98.5
	Target	99	98.5	99.1	99.2		99.3
	Alert	-	+	+	-
BV11a Percentage of top-paid 5% of local authority staff who are women (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	21	35.7	38.46	50
	Target	21	31.57	40	40		46
	Alert	=	+	-	+
BV11b The percentage of the top 5% of Local Authority staff who are from an ethnic minority (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	5	7.1	7.69	10
	Target	5	5	7.1	7.69		7.69
	Alert	=	+	+	+
BV11c Percentage of the top paid 5% of staff who have a disability. (excluding those in maintained schools) (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	0	0	15.38	20
	Target	0	5	0	15.38		23
	Alert	=	-	+	+
BV12 The number of working days/shifts lost to the Local Authority due to sickness absence (Number) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	12.73	14.6	11.28	7.7
	Target	10	11	10.5	9.5		8.5
	Alert	-	-	-	+
BV14 The percentage of employees retiring early (excluding ill-health retirements) as a percentage of the total work force (Percentage) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	1.56	0.4	0.8	0.47
	Target	0.5	0.5	1.5	0.5		0.5
	Alert	-	+	+	+
BV15 The percentage of local authority employees retiring on grounds of ill health as a percentage of the total workforce (Percentage) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	0	1.2	0	0.47
	Target	0	1.68	0	0.53		0
	Alert	=	+	=	+
BV16a The percentage of local authority employees with a disability (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	1.4	1.64	6.89	5.6
	Target	2.33	1.68	3.4	7.2		9
	Alert	-	-	+	-
BV16b The percentage of the economically active population in the local authority area who have a disability (Percentage) [PlanIsBest]	Actual	14.54	14.54	14.54	14.54
	Target	14.54	14.54	14.54	14.54		14.54
	Alert	=	=	=	=
BV17a The percentage of local authority employees from ethnic minority communities (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	0.56	1	2.1	1.86
	Target	0.56	1.12	1	2.8		2.9
	Alert	=	-	+	-
BV64 Number of non-local authority-owned vacant dwellings returned to occupation or demolished during the financial year as a direct result of action by the local authority (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	16	20	3	35
	Target	16	20	16	6		40
	Alert	=	=	-	+
BV76b The number of fraud investigators employed by the Local Authority, per 1,000 caseload (Number per 1000) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	0.5	0.48	0.47	0.35
	Target	0.5	0.48	0.47	0.35		0.35
	Alert	=	=	=	=
BV76c The number of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (HB/CTB) fraud investigations carried out by the Local Authority per year, per 1,000 caseload (Number per 1000) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	45.62	51.7	46.81	38.04
	Target	25	50	53	22.5		20
	Alert	+	+	-	+
BV76d The number of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (HB/CTB) prosecutions and sanctions, per year, per 1,000 caseload, in the Local Authority area (Number per 1000) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	5.07	8.1	6.08	7.51
	Target	2.5	6	7.1	7.48		7.51
	Alert	+	+	-	+
BV78a The average processing time taken for all new Housing and Council Tax Benefit (HB/CTB) claims submitted to the Local Authority, for which the date of decision is within the financial year being reported (Days) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	24	22.5	20.6	20.5
	Target	33	22	21	20		19
	Alert	+	-	+	-
BV78b The average processing time taken for all written notifications to the Local Authority of changes to a claimant's circumstance that require a new decision on behalf of the Authority (Days) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	5	8.2	8.3	5.9
	Target	25	4	8	8		7.5
	Alert	+	-	-	+
BV079a The percentage of cases within a random sample for which the Authority's calculation of Housing and Council Tax Benefit (HB/CTB) is found to be correct (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	98	99.2	99.2	99.2
	Target	98	99	99.2	99.2		99.2
	Alert	=	+	=	=
BV79bi The amount of Housing Benefit overpayments (HB) recovered during the period being reported on as a percentage of HB deemed recoverable overpayments (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		57.2	66.39	80.59
	Target		45	60	70		53.65
	Alert		+	+	+
BV79bii HB overpayments recovered during the period as a percentage of the total amount of HB overpayment debt outstanding at the start of the period plus amount of HB overpayments identified during the period (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		24.8	33.17	29.59
	Target		30	30	34		20
	Alert		-	+	-
BV79biii Housing Benefit (HB) overpayments written off during the period as a percentage of the total amount of HB overpayment debt outstanding at the start of the period, plus amount of HB overpayments identified during the period (Percentage) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual		4.1	3.36	5.46
	Target		3.8	3.8	3.2		5.5
	Alert		-	+	-
BV82ai Percentage of household waste arisings which have been sent by the Authority for recycling (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	6	10.61	13.03	14.1	Provisional
	Target	8.5	10	16.5	13.4		17
	Alert	-	+	-	+
BV82aii Total tonnage of household waste arisings which have been sent by the Authority for recycling (Tonnes) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		2969	3584.6	3955.43	Provisional
	Target		2000	4480	4178.89		4630.29
	Alert		+	-	-
BV82bi The percentage of household waste sent by the Authority for composting or treatment by anaerobic digestion (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	23.3	27.88	27.9	37.35	Provisional
	Target	13.9	15	28	32.5		32.7
	Alert	+	+	-	+
BV82bii The tonnage of household waste sent by the Authority for composting or treatment by anaerobic digestion (Tonnes) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		7801	7676.89	9660.07	Provisional
	Target		8500	7600	8764.28		8906.5
	Alert		-	+	+
BV84a Number of kilograms of household waste collected per head of the population (kgs) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	488	477	465.6	423.5	Provisional
	Target	430	480	460	452		452.65
	Alert	-	+	-	+
BV84b Percentage change from the previous financial year in the number of kilograms of household waste collected per head of the population (Percentage) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual		-2.25	-2.4	-3.75	Provisional
	Target		-2	-3.56	-0.45		-0.15
	Alert		+	-	+
BV86 Cost of household waste collection per household (£s) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual			91.35	85.77
	Target			85.53	87.58
	Alert			-	+
BV91a Percentage of households resident in the authority's area served by kerbside collection of recyclables (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	93.1	100	100	100	Provisional
	Target	95	95	100	100		100
	Alert	-	+	=	+
BV91b Percentage of households resident in the authority's area served by kerbside collection of at least two recyclables (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		100	100	100	Provisional
	Target		95	100	100		100
	Alert		+	=	=
BV106 Percentage of new homes built on previously developed land (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual			47.6	45.36
	Target			49	60		55
	Alert			-	-
BV109a Percentage of major applications determined within 13 weeks (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	44	68.8	69.23	79.07
	Target	64	65	71	73		76
	Alert	-	+	-	+
BV109b Percentage of minor applications determined within 8 weeks (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	60	73	77.32	84.63
	Target	69	70	75	81		83
	Alert	-	+	+	+
BV109c Percentage of 'other' applications determined within 8 weeks (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	76	88.6	89.09	93.1
	Target	75	80	90	92		93
	Alert	+	+	-	+
BV126a Domestic burglaries per year, per 1,000 households in the Local Authority area (Number per 1000) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	5.56	4.74	4.2	3.89
	Target	5.56	2.2	4.54	4.43
	Alert	=	-	+	+
BV127a Violent crime per year, 1,000 population in the Local Authority area (Number per 1000) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	9.53	9.53	11.62	10.81
	Target	9.53	9.53	10.23	12.13
	Alert	=	=	-	+
BV127b Robberies per year, per 1,000 population in the Local Authority area (Number per 1000) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	2.69	0.08	0.08	0.05
	Target	2.69	0.14	0.09	0.08
	Alert	=	+	+	+
BV128a The number of vehicle crimes per year, per 1,000 population in the Local Authority area (Number per 1000) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	6.25	5.39	4.77	4.69
	Target	6.25	6	5.48	5.14
	Alert	=	+	+	+
BV156 The percentage of authority buildings open to the public in which all public areas are suitable for, and accessible to, disabled people (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	25	84.6	87.5	87.5
	Target		84.6	80	87.5		87.5
	Alert		=	+	=
BV166a Score against a checklist of best practice for Environmental Health (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	85	85.04	90	100
	Target	85	85	90	100		100
	Alert	=	+	=	=
BV174 The number of racial incidents reported to the Local Authority, and subsequently recorded, per 100,000 population (per 100,000) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		5	3.38	3.38
	Target		7	8.51	8.46		3.38
	Alert		-	-	-
BV175 The percentage of racial incidents reported to the Local Authority that resulted in further action (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter	Actual		100	100	100
	Target		100	60	100		100
	Alert		=	+	=
NS BV183a The average length of stay hostel accommodation of households that are unintentionally homeless and in priority need (Weeks) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	0	7	6	3.57
	Target			6	5		3.57
	Alert			=	+
BV199a The proportion of relevant land and highways (expressed as a percentage) that is assessed as having combined deposits of litter and detritus that fall below an acceptable level (Percentage) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual		20	5	4
	Target		15	15	4		3
	Alert		-	+	=
BV199b The proportion of relevant land and highways (expressed as a percentage) from which unacceptable levels of graffiti are visible (Percentage) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual		7	4	2
	Target		15	6	3		2
	Alert		+	+	+
BV199c The proportion of relevant land and highways (expressed as a percentage) from which unacceptable levels of fly-posting are visible (Percentage) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual		2	2	1
	Target		15	2	1		0
	Alert		+	=	=
BV199d The year-on-year reduction in total number of incidents and increase in total number of enforcement actions taken to deal with 'fly-tipping' (Number) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual			2	3	Provisional
	Target			3	3		2
	Alert			+	+
BV200a Did the local planning authority submit the Local Development Scheme (LDS) by 28th March 2005 and thereafter maintain a 3-year rolling programme? (Yes/No) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual			Yes	No
	Target			Yes	Yes
	Alert			=	=
BV200b Has the local planning authority met the milestones which the current Local Development Scheme (LDS) sets out? (Yes/No) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual			No	No
	Target			Yes	No
	Alert			-	=
BV202 The number of people sleeping rough on a single night within the area of the authority (Number) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	2	2	2	0
	Target	2	0	2	0		0
	Alert	=	-	=	=
BV204 The number of planning appeal decisions allowed against the authority's decision to refuse on planning applications, as a percentage of the total number of planning appeals against refusals of planning applications (Number) [SmallerIsBetter]	Actual	16	41	25.8	26.31
	Target	16	20	27	25		24
	Alert	=	-	+	-
BV205 The local authority's score against a 'quality of planning services' checklist (Number) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual	55	77	94.4	100
	Target	55	66	90	95		100
	Alert	=	+	+	+
BV213 Number of households who considered themselves as homeless, who approached the local housing authority's housing advice service(s), and for whom housing advice casework intervention resolved their situation (Number) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		0	1	3
	Target			0.42	2		3
	Alert			+	+
BV216a Number of 'sites of potential concern' [within the local authority area], with respect to land contamination (Percentage) [PlanIsBest]	Actual		690	683	679
	Target		690	683	683		675
	Alert		=	=	=
BV216b Number of sites for which sufficient detailed information is available to decide whether remediation of the land is necessary, as a percentage of all 'sites of potential concern' (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		1	2	n/a
	Target		1.01	1.01	2		3
	Alert		-	+	+
BV217 Percentage of pollution control improvements to existing installations completed on time (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		94.7	100	100
	Target		90	100	100		100
	Alert		+	=	=
BV218a Percentage of new reports of abandoned vehicles investigated within 24hrs of notification (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		68	100	100
	Target		68	75	100		100
	Alert		=	+	=
BV218b Percentage of abandoned vehicles removed within 24 hours from the point at which the Authority is legally entitled to remove the vehicle (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		96	100	100
	Target		95	96.5	100		100
	Alert		+	+	=
BV225 The purpose of this BVPI is to assess the overall provision and effectiveness of local authority services designed to help victims of domestic violence and prevent further domestic violence (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		36.36	45.45	72.7
	Target		54.5	54.5	72.7		81
	Alert		-	-	-
BV226a Total amount spent by the Local Authority on Advice and Guidance services provided by external organisations (£s) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		58983	60057	67427
	Target				61558
	Alert				+
BV226b Percentage of monies spent on advice and guidance services provision which was given to organisations holding the CLS Quality Mark at 'General Help' level and above (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		62	46	59
	Target				46
	Alert				+
BV226c Total amount spent on Advice and Guidance in the areas of housing, welfare benefits and consumer matters which is provided directly by the authority to the public (£s) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual		495641	262737	300573
	Target				269305
	Alert				+

Local performance Indicators (recorded by only by North Shropshire District Council for internal management purposes) Local performance Indicators (recorded by only by North Shropshire District Council for internal management purposes)

Description		2004/5	2005/6	2006/7	2007/8	TARGET
BC01 Percentage of Council car parks where a charge is levied achieving the 'Park Mark' Safer Parking Award (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual			67	66.66
	Target				66.66	67
	Alert
Benf02 Percentage increase of households in receipt of benefits (Percentage) [BiggerIsBetter]	Actual			1.04	-0.33
	Target