Agenda item

The Area Council Manager introduced a report giving an update on the performance of services commissioned by the Area Council and the service level agreement with BMBC, together with the progress of projects supported by the Dearne Development Fund, for the period January to March 2018.

The meeting noted in particular that the Twiggs clean and tidy project was exceeding targets, which had been reviewed and increased.  The Kingdom environmental enforcement commission was showing some underachievement of targets, and a formal performance report from the company was delayed but had now been received.  However, the Area Manager was aware of a number of staffing issues that had contributed to this and she was seeking to address these with Kingdom.  The Area Manager was aware that dog fouling remained a considerable concern for Elected Members and it was hoped to target better the offenders and Members were asked to identify particular areas for attention.  In relation to private sector housing enforcement, although performance for this quarter was low, progress overall was good.  It was noted that a vacant post and then newly appointed person had contributed to this lull in performance.  It was proposed to review the targets for this SLA where it was not possible for the activity to show that impact. 

The meeting noted that the problems in progressing car parking enforcement was partly due to the issue of “no parking” signs not being in place and the meeting noted work to address this issue.  The parking restrictions at the Post Office on Market Street continued to be of concern and Councillor Gardiner agreed to investigate the background to the introduction of these restrictions.

The meeting noted the progress of projects funded from the Dearne Development Fund, and the slight overspend from 2017/18 that would be carried over into 2018/19.  The Development Fund continued to provide good value for money, with the DIAL project, for example, bringing in £22 to the area for every £1 spent.  Dearne Electronic Village had now seen 14 of its learners move into employment and by the end of the project over 60 learners will have achieved an OCR qualification.  The project was directly related to one of the Council’s overall priorities and was achieving a major impact for a very small investment, and the project was now receiving referrals from the Job Centre. 

RESOLVED that the report be noted.