Agenda item

A presentation will be given in respect of the Council Plan and Performance Update Report for Quarter 2 2025-2026, with reference to the report submitted to Cabinet on 2^nd December 2025.

This report also incorporates an update in respect of the transformation priorities.

Contact: Mike Henry – Head of Data and Insight

Councillor Carole Pattison, the Leader of the Council introduced the report in respect of the Council Plan and Performance for Quarter 2 of 2025/26, supported by Mike Henry, Head of Data and Insight.

The report had been submitted to Cabinet on 2^nd December 2025 and included:

·       Details on activity and delivery against the four priorities within the Council Plan and planned activity for Quarter 3.

·       The latest data against the Council’s Key Measures for 2025/2026, including a summary of the direction of travel and planned activity for Quarter 3.

·       Benchmarking data to contextualise the demand and performance trends and enable comparison of Kirklees with regional and national rates.

·       Update in respect of transformation activities/priorities.

The following points were highlighted:

·       The timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) had continued to improve.

·       The proportion of children looked after in the same placement for two or more years had improved.

·       The percentage of freedom of information requests completed in time had increased.

·       Collection of business rates was higher than twelve months previously.

·       The number of open damp, mould and condensation cases continued to reduce and the number of non-emergency housing repairs completed within the timescale had improved.

·       The percentage of mothers smoking during pregnancy had reduced.

·       The number of people accessing adult social care services had increased.

·       Collection rates for Council Tax were lower than twelve months previously.

·       The level of sickness absence for employees was 0.19 FTE days higher than 12 months ago and this was a priority for action.

·       The Transformation Portfolio brought together a range of programmes and initiatives designed to deliver the ambitions set out in the Council Plan:

-       The aim was to improve outcomes for residents, communities and the organisation, foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, achieve better value for money and enhance customer experience and service delivery.

-       The governance, oversight and assurance arrangements, which included a dashboard with RAG ratings for each programme.

-       It was suggested that if there were queries in respect of specific programmes then these might be best addressed through the relevant Scrutiny Panel.

Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·       There had been a slight increase in levels of sickness, but it was considered that this may be due, in part, to better recording as a result of a focus on this issue. In areas where levels were high, action plans to address the issue had been requested.

·       There were issues in respect of anxiety and mental health issues and staff were supported through ‘Care First’ and Employee Healthcare provision, including access to counselling.

·       Assessing the effectiveness of counselling was a complex area acknowledging that different approaches worked for different people. A new technique called EMDR had been introduced and appeared to be having positive results.

·       It was noted that early access to support could be helpful in preventing people going off sick.

·       The service worked alongside colleagues from the NHS to try and ensure that staff got access to the services they needed.

·       Monitoring was undertaken both from the perspective of Employee Healthcare and through managers using the sickness absence procedures.

·       Assurance was given in respect of the Health and Safety at Work Act plans being in place and early assessments being undertaken for any staff that may be at risk of particular conditions. Rigorous reporting was in place for workplace incidents and accidents to ensure continuous learning.

·       The Chair had recently had a briefing in respect of the People Strategy, which had included information in respect of sickness monitoring and this would be shared with the other members of the Committee.

·       Work related stress was not concentrated within any particular service areas. It was acknowledged that it could become an issue in areas that were undergoing significant service change.

·       The results of a recent examination of the data had indicated that in many cases where staff were off work due to anxiety, this was not work related. Work was being undertaken to identify how staff, such as those with caring responsibilities, could be supported to avoid this leading to them being off sick.

·       An update in respect of the People Strategy would be included on the Committee’s future work programme.

·       Up-to-date figures in respect of the collection rates for Council Tax would be available the following week. A slight decrease had been anticipated associated with changes to support.

·       The improvements in respect of EHCPs was welcomed and the importance of ensuring that this continued was stressed. Changes had been made in terms of customer communication, to try and ensure that assessments were completed and that clients were kept updated as much as possible.

·       In relation to whether the performance indicators were able to demonstrate outcomes and improvements in the quality of life of residents, it was pointed out that there had been a significant increase in the amount of data provided. Part of the data development agenda was to consider if there were more appropriate measures to accurately reflect residents’ experience.

·       There was an item on the Growth and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel Work Programme, provisionally scheduled for January 2026, associated with building safety compliance, which included damp, mould and condensation so specific questions on that issue could be dealt with at that meeting.

RESOLVED -

(1)      That the Leader of Council and officers be thanked for attending to present the update.

(2)      That the current position be noted and it be recommended that these reports continue to be submitted to the Committee on a regular basis so that Lead Members can pick up any items within the remit of their Panel that may require further scrutiny.