Agenda item

To inform the Committee of the performance of the Public Protection Partnership in line with the operating model and business plan, and provide an update setting out service delivery in the period up to the end of Q3.

Sean Murphy introduced the report (Agenda Item 7) which informed the Committee of the performance of the Public Protection Partnership in line with the operating model and business plan, and provided an update setting out service delivery in the period up to the end of Q3.

Sean Murphy apologised to the Committee for the missing data for Q3, which was due to the data transfer to the new system. The data would be presented to the next meeting if it was available.

In terms of finance, a relatively small underspend (£80k) was forecast and this followed success in attracting grant funding as well as careful budget management. An overspend could otherwise have been reported. The Committee would determine how any underspend would be utilised into the next financial year.

Three new trainees had been recruited and a fourth was pending. Work also continued in developing existing staff so they could progress to professional roles and a number of officers had come forward to do so.

Customer satisfaction was reported in excess of 80% among residents and businesses, with very few service complaints.

Another positive was the level of Member engagement in Ward related issues which in turn helped residents.

Rosalynd Gater described work undertaken to assist residents with issues of damp and mould. Officers were responding to reports urgently whenever necessary, inspecting properties and providing advice to residents and landlords on mitigating actions that could be taken. For example in relation to heating and ventilation.

Another area of focus was in relation to ensuring that premises which had converted from commercial to residential use met required standards. This involved colleagues from Building Control and the Fire Service.

Councillor John Harrison noted the expectation that the Homes for Ukraine programme would be winding down as the PPP had inspected homes which were hosting Ukrainian families, and asked what the next major challenge for the Partnership would be. Sean Murphy reported that 360 inspections had been undertaken across the two local authority areas. He acknowledged that this work was reducing but there were still arrivals from Ukraine and inspections were also needed where families were moving to a new host.

In terms of future challenges, Sean Murphy explained that work in responding to reports of damp and mould was ongoing together with awareness raising of the issue. Concerns were also being raised in relation to the sale of counterfeit goods, and issues relating to tobacco, alcohol and vaping. There were also extended projects relating to the conversion of commercial to residential properties, around air quality, and in the finalising of the Contaminated Land Strategy for West Berkshire. The Bracknell Forest Strategy had already been approved.

Councillor John Harrison asked if there were the specialist skill sets available within the Partnership to meet these requirements or if new staff needed to be recruited. Sean Murphy responded that the PPP was fortunate in having a number of very good specialists in key areas. Particular strengths of the shared service was the ability to pool skills, build capacity and have a flexible workforce. Damian James concurred, but added that there were instances where the Partnership would recruit in order to fulfil specialist tasks, citing the response to fly tipping reports as an example.

Councillor Cole referred to customer satisfaction and queried the conflicting statements of no negative ratings in response to a satisfaction survey whilst separately six service complaints had been received. Sean Murphy responded that the small number of complainants might not necessarily have completed the survey, so it should not be assumed that there was 100% satisfaction, but the results were positive.

Councillor Cole asked whether the Partnership worked with Penny Post for communications. Sean Murphy confirmed that they did, and that he had recently engaged in a cost of living interview with them. Sean Murphy added that he was investigating the use of the Nextdoor community based app that could be used for targeted communications in local areas.

The Chairman thanked officers for all their hard work. He was pleased to note that the new system had gone live.

RESOLVED to note the Service Update since the last meeting.