This meeting was to include discussions on the performance of City of Doncaster Council, the council owned company St. Leger Homes of Doncaster, the council's Quarter 2 Finance and Performance Improvement Report, the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan and the council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions. The meeting was scheduled to include the opportunity for public participation, with up to 5 members of the public being invited to make statements.

City of Doncaster Council 2024-25 Quarter 2 Finance and Performance Improvement Report

The report states that the council's projected financial position is balanced, but that this is in part due to the council using one-off contingency budgets. There are overspends projected in a number of areas, including £3.7m in Adult Social Care and £1.8m in Children’s Social Care. There is an underspend in Council Wide budgets of £1.4m due to the assumption that the 2024/25 pay award will be less than that budgeted. The report details performance against the council's 'Great 8 Priorities', these include:

Building Opportunities for Healthier, Happier & Longer Lives for All

The report says that:

The number of permanent admissions to residential care for working age adults (age 18-64) in quarter 2 was 7.02 against a target of 9.40.

Creating Safer, Stronger, Greener & Cleaner Communities Where Everyone Belongs

The report notes that:

Stronger Communities Teams have continued to identify and support victims of crime and anti-social behaviour where vulnerability triggers are met. The number identified and or supported has increased during quarter 2, from 75 in quarter 1 to 90 in this quarter.

It also states that:

The measure for the number of rough sleepers have been redefined in line with reported figures to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. There were 60 reported individuals who were rough sleeping within the quarter.

Nurturing a Child & Family-Friendly Borough Everyone Belongs

The report states that:

Early Help case work continued to evidence positive impacts for children, young people, and families. At quarter 2, 2024-25, there were 144 MY STARS completed with children and young people, 78% of families had an improved score.

Making Doncaster The Best Place to Do Business & Create Good Jobs

The report states that:

At the end of quarter 2, there was £14.5 million of new inward investment delivered into Doncaster, supported by Business Doncaster, which was above the £9 million target.

The report also notes that there were only 11 new jobs created over £31k salary per annum, against a target of 45. It also says that:

The pipeline of new investments and business productivity support for businesses remains strong so it is hoped this target will improve in quarter 3.

Developing The Skills To Thrive In Life & Work

The report details that:

In quarter 2 there have been 115 refugees, both asylum and resettlement, supported into English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), training, education and/or employment.

Tackling Climate Change

The report notes that the council continues to administer four domestic energy efficiency schemes:

The number of homes receiving grants and measures installed up to September is 274 compared to 141 in quarter 1 and the number of energy efficiency measure is 566 compared to 284 in quarter 1.

Building Transport & Digital Connections Fit For The Future

The report says that:

As we create a safer and more connected network of walking and cycling paths around Doncaster, we are continuing to improve our Active Travel infrastructure. Schemes completed in 2024-25 so far include 920m of uni-directional and 370m of bidirectional cycle track in Balby, 850m segregated cycle track and 850m of improved footways along Thorne Road and improved footways along Doncaster Train Station to Doncaster College.

Promoting The Borough & Its Cultural, Sporting & Heritage Opportunities

The report details that:

Customer satisfaction levels reported at City of Doncaster Archives remain consistently above target, the good customer satisfaction rate puts the service well ahead of application to The National Archives for Accreditation in 2025

Fit For Purpose Council

The report states that:

In quarter 2 Customer Services received 50,114 calls, 76% being answered within 150 seconds against a target of 90%.

It also says that:

Customer Services have had several vacant Customer Service Advisor posts, with the number increasing throughout the quarter. The recruitment process carried out at the beginning of the quarter was unsuccessful, we've been out to recruitment again and have recruited 4 Customer Service Advisors and 2 apprentices who will start in October.

Workforce

The report notes that the council's turnover rate has increased slightly to 12.87%, but remains below the local government average.

It also says that mandatory training completion rates need to be improved:

Completion rates include:

• Equality in the Workplace is at 81%
• Data Protection is at 84%,
• Cyber Security is at 75%
• Protecting Vulnerable Children and Adults is 82% for all staff.
• Health and Safety training for all managers is 72%

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The report says that:

Following on from our baseline assessment using the Local government Association Equalities Framework we have developed four EDI objectives that help us to progress against areas we have identified as important. We continue to progress a range of activity against these objectives before revisiting our baseline assessment in 2025.

It also states that:

The Council have been working with the Fairness and Inclusion Forum to undertake a review of the current position of the I&FF. This 2024 review aims to assess the alignment of I&FF’s objectives with Doncaster’s strategic goals, update governance frameworks, and address the evolving needs of the community.

Think Local Act Personal – Thrive Update

The report states that Thrive leadership development away days have been taking place to develop the council's Think Local Act Personal - Thrive programme. It says that work on the programme in the North Locality has begun, with the formation of the Your Neighbourhood Delivery Team and the first meeting of the North Locality Partnership Group.

Market Asset Management (MAM) Doncaster Ltd.

The report says that Doncaster Market occupancy levels have remained at 87% and that there are 5 vacant units at Mexborough Market. It also details that quarter 2 2024/25 has seen a decrease in footfall at Doncaster Market.

St. Leger Homes of Doncaster Limited (SLHD) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) update for Quarter 2 (Q2) ended 30th September 2024 (2024/25)

The report details performance for St. Leger Homes of Doncaster for Quarter 2, and highlights a number of areas for improvement. The report states that 18 of the 27 KPIs measured during quarter 2 were met, or were within tolerance. The report highlights the increase in rent arrears and void rent loss. It says that:

After a strong year-end performance, rent arrears have increased at the end of September with arrears at 3.01% which is slightly up on the same period last year (2.92%) and up also on Q1 (2.74%).

It also says that:

Acquisition properties are impacting negatively on Void Rent Loss (VRL) performance and we are continuing to see an increase in the number of very poor condition voids coming in which require major work and are extremely labour intense.

The report also notes that the average number of days to re-let standard properties has increased to 25.4 days, and that the number of complaints is above target. It says that:

All complaints totalled 793, comprising 713 Stage 1 and 80 Stage 2, and all were received fairly evenly throughout the quarter.

It also notes that:

The majority of complaints are again due to four main themes, in order; policy, time taken, staffing and service delivery.

Performance on emergency and non-emergency repairs is below target:

Month on month performance remains disappointing but stable. Due to demand on the repairs service and the repairs team working through the backlog there is limited availability in the calendar.

The report states that:

The definition of emergency calls and how these are managed in the system needs closer analysis.

The report highlights the positive performance in supporting residents into training, education or employment:

Q2 performance remained high, largely due to the starting of 18 new apprentices, two student placements and four new World of Work (WOW) cleaners.

Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2024-25 and Councils Forward Plan of Key Decisions

The report details that there are two items included for decision:

Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2024-25

The report provides the work plan for Overview and Scrutiny for the remainder of the municipal year. This lists what each of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels will be discussing at their meetings. The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee's work plan includes scrutiny of the council's Corporate Plan, the budget and the Think Local Act Personal - Thrive programme. The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel is scheduled to discuss Elective Home Education. The Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel will consider the work of the Doncaster Youth Council, eating disorders and educational outcomes. The Regeneration and Housing Scrutiny Panel will discuss updates on Mexborough Market, the Levelling Up Fund, the homelessness and rough sleeping strategy and an update on the city centre. The Communities and Environment Scrutiny Panel will discuss flooding, the council's Waste Contract, road safety, street scene, asset management and road maintenance.

The report also details possible items for future consideration, including:

• an update on the Local Plan
• a visit from EPIC
• consideration of the South Yorkshire Joint Waste Plan
• discussion of the transport franchise
• consideration of the Tenancy Agreement
• an update on the airport

Councils Forward Plan of Key Decisions

The Forward Plan for the period 1 January 2025 to 30 April 2025 is provided. This details decisions that are scheduled to be made over the coming months. The report states that:

A Key Decision is an executive decision which is likely... to result in the Local Authority incurring expenditure which is, or the making of savings which are, significant having regard to the Local Authority’s budget... or to be significant in terms of its effects on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards.

The following Key Decisions are included in the Forward Plan:

• A new discretionary Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme for Business Rates.
• Approval of the Adult Social Care local account.
• Approval of the Council Tax Base for 2025/26
• Approval of the Capital Strategy & Capital Budget 2025/26 - 2028/29
• Approval of the Revenue Budget 2025/26 - 2027/28
• Approval of the Housing Revenue Account Budget 2025/26 to 2028/29
• Approval of the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2025/26 - 2028/29
• Approval of the Council's Corporate Plan 2025/26
• Approval of the level of Council Tax for 2025/26 and to pass appropriate statutory resolutions, including the Council Tax requirement for 2025/26
• School admission arrangements for the 2026/27 Academic Year.
• The award of the main works contract for the delivery of the Doncaster Town Deal Station Gateway Project.

The Forward Plan also details the Cabinet members responsible for the decisions.