Council criticised over targets
David Rendel (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central) has accused the council's executive of failing to consult over its targets
A WEST Berkshire councillor has attacked the council's ruling executive for allegedly failing to consult adequately over its targets for this year.
At a meeting of West Berkshire Council's Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission last Tuesday (September 20), councillors were presented with the Quarter 1 (April to June) outcomes against its targets for this year.
The report revealed that the council was on track to meet 28 of 31 accountable measures aimed to be achieved by the end of the financial year.
Two measures were highlighted as ‘amber' - a warning symbol meaning that the council was behind its anticipated performance but was still expecting to achieve the target by the end of the financial year. These were targets for the number of children's social care core assessments conducted on time and the number of high priority housing grants approved within nine weeks.
Data was unavailable for a target over the levels of litter and graffiti across the district, while a further eight targets were described as annual indicators that could only be assessed at a single point in time.
However, David Rendel (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central) bemoaned the lack of consultation with the scrutiny body over the targets set for this year, adding that he felt it was a pity the council's executive had not set more “stretching targets.”
He said: “Only three of the ‘reds' [targets that were not met] from last year are included this year and it seems the council is saying we didn't achieve 28 and we will ignore 25.
“That seems unacceptable to me and I think we have a right to complain about that.”
The council has reduced its number of key targets from 107 last year to 39 this year.
Conservative councillor Emma Webster (Con, Birch Copse) defended the council's position and said: “Sometimes, we get too caught up in targets.
“Having looked at service delivery plans, we always strive to do the best for the people of West Berkshire.
“I think the targets have understandably moved and there is always a rationale to it [the stopping of some targets].”
Councillors also shared concerns at the meeting that some targets were being presented as ‘green' (on target) when in actual fact the council appeared to be behind the expected performance.
The council's performance, research and consultation manager, Jason Teal, explained that the council would expect different results at different stages during the year.
Meanwhile, councillors also expressed concern about some planning targets and requested the attendance of a planning officer at their next meeting to discuss the department's performance in registering and determining planning applications.