Agenda item

LRoberts introduced the report and advised the KPIs are embedded in the report.  Overall performance is positive for qtr 3.  Adventure Playground attendance remains a slight concern, had to remove some structures due to safety issues, currently exploring use of some s.106 monies for more compliant structures.  Would like to highlight how well CSU have performed in last quarter.  

LRoberts invited questions.

Cllr Johnson referred to 3.3.1; signing in app at Reception, commenting that he recently attended a meeting, went through the process of signing in and it occurred to him afterwards, in terms of GDPR, how long is the information kept and stored?  LRoberts responded it is just kept on the system for that day then clears, it is not stored.

Cllr Mahmood referred to adventure playgrounds and concerns about numbers going down, asking; why did we not do a proper report to say, when we take out the equipment, this is what we will put in its place?  LRoberts responded it was not a planned removal, it had to be taken out for H&S reasons. 

Cllr Mahmood asked, is it in this budget?  LRoberts advised she would have to check and come back, adding that they are looking to apply to s.106 monies to apply for these scheme, in process of trying to identify which s.106 has been delivered against what areas to see what is available.

Action: LRoberts to check budget position re. replacing structures at Adventure Playgrounds

Cllr Mahmood referred to Old Town Hall and asked; is its utilisation better than last year?  LRoberts responded it is at a steady state.  A lot of work goes into promotion but it is a competitive market. 

Cllr England referred to page 91 of the report; CSU call handling and commented that looking at last year’s results, the call time answering target appears to have been relaxed against, referring to item CSU10 on page 91.  LRoberts confirmed last year’s shows as 210 second target, and this year is 300 second target, she confirmed she would take this back to check.

Cllr England asked, do you have data on how many people have called and have been waiting for more than 300 seconds?  LRoberts confirmed she would get that information and come back to Cllr England on both points.

Action: LRoberts to check call answering target increase & number of callers waiting more than target

Cllr England stated that he called in recently and was on hold for 20 minutes.  LRoberts stressed that if that happens, it is really important that you email in and give the date and time so it can be looked into.  LRoberts and Cllr Banks comment that it is important that we let TLancashire know if there are issues like this so she can look into the particular call, encouraging Members to email TLancashire with the specific call information such as date and time of call and what you asked the automated system for, so it can be properly investigated.

Cllr Mahmood commented that he had a similar issue with a website query he logged and has not received response for 2 months, asking; who is responsible for web enquiries?  LRoberts responded that it would be relevant service the query related to (in this case Clean, Safe & Green).  Cllr Imarni commented she has found CThorpe to be very efficient, whenever she’s had a problem and escalated anything to him he acts very quickly.

Cllr Imarni referred to concerns around mental health, hoarding & modern day slavery, asking; what support do we give to tenants that have hoarding issues, as they fall into a very special category in that they don’t necessarily pose a nuisance to neighbours, may pay their rent on time etc, but sometimes they are threatened with eviction? 

LWarden responded that the intention is to roll out 5 year health checks, to be more proactive in inspecting properties and hopefully meaning early intervention.   Hoarding can cause H&S risks and risk to the property in terms of fire etc . Have been looking at setting a project up with MIND, we have a number of tenants and leaseholders who have gone through that process and found it beneficial.  Some tenants are also referred to the Tenancy Sustainment team who do more intensive work with those individuals.  Eviction is a last resort, it is not beneficial to us or them. 

Cllr Imarni referred to Community Partnerships and Christmas Light events, noting that 6 events were supported by the team and commented that 6 seems a very low number.  Cllr Imarni expressed her understanding that the cost of the events is making it prohibitive to Community Centres.  LRoberts confirmed that she would look into this further. 

Action: LRoberts to provide feedback regarding Christmas Light events/costs

Cllr Banks advised that originally, the neighbourhoods that had lights were associated with the Neighbourhood Action Group areas, networks that were set up and supported by Council officers to engage with communities that had been identified as areas of deprivation.  That is how it originated.  Some neighbourhoods have since dropped out.  One of the biggest issues is that there needs to be a group (such as a resident, neighbour or traders association) to enable issuing of funds as they need to be given to a ‘body’.  Cllr Banks expressed that she would be keen to see Christmas Light events expanded across all neighbourhoods.  Some wards may struggle in the absence of any set up associations.  Would be happy to speak to others about how they make is successful at Grovehill.

Cllr England referred to Adeyfield and advised Nicky McIntyre (Officer) has always helped with this and emailed Councillors and asked County Councillors if they want to use any of their locality budget for this purpose.

Action: Cllr Banks welcomed emails/enquires from any Members/Community Centres who might require support for bids for Christmas Lights