Council Performance

The Council is committed to improving the District and and improving the quality and delivery of services. However, the Council cannot hope to do everything to the same degree and extent. Therefore, it has to be clear about what its priorities are and where its available resources should be focused. In order to do this, the Council has developed the following Strategic Objectives -

• Improve the appearance of the District
• Improve service to customers and be a well managed council
• Regenerate our communities
• Improve benefits performance
• Improve opportunities for sport, leisure and culture
• Strengthen the Council's financial position

The achievement of these objectives is supported by the Council's Corporate Plan 2006-2009, which sets out the key outcomes and milestones against each objective over the next 3 years, and by Service Plans, which outline how each service area will contribute to the strategic objectives.

Performance is key to everything we do and Performance Management is how we achieve the goals we set ourselves. This requires more than measuring and monitoring - it means taking the time to keep on course, celebrate success and take action when we realise we’re not on course to meet our goals.

How does the Council manage performance?

The Council has a variety of methods at its disposal in order to monitor, evaluate and manage performance. Underpinning these methods is the Council's Performance Management Framework. This document outlines the planning, monitoring and reporting of performance, both financial and output. It provides a clear framework that supports the achievement of the Council's priorities and importantly demonstrates the link between the corporate and service planning process, the development of individual performance targets and the budget setting and monitoring process.

As part of the framework, Performance Management reports are produced on a quarterly basis and presented before the Corporate Management Team, Cabinet and Corporate Scrutiny Committee. These reports provide an update on how the Council is progressing against the Strategic Objectives according to range of performance measures found in the Corporate Plan.

In order to compare our performance against other authorities and track performance over a period of time, the Council records information called Best Value Performance Indicators. More commonly referred to as PI's or BVPI's, performance indicators are a way for the Government, ourselves and the wider community to measure our performance.  They come in two forms - national and local.  The national indicators are specified by central government and must be reported.  Local indicators are measures developed by the Council itself, and provide the opportunity to record results that are specific to our District and give a clearer indication of how we are performing against local needs.

As well as our own internal monitoring, the Council is subject to external assessment, primarily by the Audit Commission. They are an independent public body responsible for ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently, and effectively in the areas of local government. Through inspections of local services they assess their quality and cost effectiveness, and help local authorities to continually improve. In addition to this, the Council undergoes a range of reviews and assessments by other authorities, by the IDeA and by other inspectorate bodies, such as the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate.

Through all these different methods, the Council continues to embed a culture of performance management throughout the whole organisation to ensure that staff at all levels are aware of their roles and responsibilities in providing high quality, value for money services to improve the well being of Shepway.

Officer Responsiblities

The Policy and Performance team are responsible for promoting performance management across the organisation, and challenging the Council's performance in delivering against its Strategic Objectives. The team welcome all comments from residents on the performance of the Council, and they can be contacted online:

Useful Links

The Audit Commission: www.audit-commission.gov.uk

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: http://www.communities.gov.uk

The Improvement and Development Agency: http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=1