Scottish Borders Council

Agenda item

Quarterly Performance Reporting

Minutes:

4 (a)     SB Cares Budget Monitoring as at 31 December 2015

            With reference to paragraph 4(a) of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Finance and Commercial Director of SB Cares informing the Strategic Governance Group of the financial position for SB Cares at 31 December 2015.  A further update summary was circulated at the meeting.  Members were advised that SB Cares Senior Management Team had reviewed the progress made to deliver agreed efficiencies and new business and a profit of £471k was now predicted for Quarter 3.  With reference to expenditure, Ms Collins explained that direct costs had been higher than expected in January 2016.  Over the 2015/16 festive period, a high proportion of staff who had worked on the statutory holidays had opted to be paid rather than take the hours back at another time.  This had not been anticipated by management and was the main pressure that contributed to a loss of £75k in January 2016, giving a shortfall figure of £99k against the Quarter 3 forecast for the month.  The resultant increase in the payroll would be reflected in the figures for January 2016.  Fewer staff took holidays during the months of January and February and as this had not been factored into the figures presented in the report, it was possible that the forecast for the year would improve.  Ms Collins went on to explain that the overall income for January 2016 was in line with the forecast of £1.545m and that the revised forecast had increased by £106k due to orders received for the ability equipment for the month of February 2016.  Discussion followed and Mrs Torrance explained that, as the level of care often varied over the festive period, a review of the way in which holidays and Public Holidays were managed during these times would be beneficial to the service.  Mr Barr advised that all measures were being taken to bring the financial position back on target and he was confident that the Financial Plan would be delivered for 2015/16.  Ms Collins added that SB Cares was working with the Council's HR section to review the arrangements for Public Holiday working and Members were advised that no errors in payments had been identified.  Members requested further information about the festive period payments and it was agreed that a detailed analysis would be provided to the Group at its meeting on 17 May 2016. 

 

DECISION

(a)     NOTED:-

 

          (i)      SB Cares financial position at 31 December 2015; and

 

          (ii)     that information would be shared with Scottish Borders Council to inform the revenue monitoring position.

 

(b)     AGREED that a detailed analysis of the payments made to staff for hours worked over the festive period 2015/16 would be provided to the Group at its meeting on 17 May 2016.

 

4(b)               Key Performance Indicators for SB Cares

            (i)      With reference to paragraph 4(b) of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Finance and Commercial Director of SB Cares updating the Strategic Governance Group on the development of SB Cares Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as at 31 December 2015.  The agreed KPIs for 2015/16 were detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.  The number of clients supported across the services to 31 December 2015 had reduced slightly and Members were advised that this was mainly due to families provided more support over the festive period.  The average number of carers supporting clients had remained consistent over this period.  It was noted that the level and complexity of care could change for clients on a regular basis and this would have an impact on these figures.  Ms Collins explained that absence levels had been identified as an area for improvement and SB Cares Senior Management had been working with the Council's HR Shared Services team to develop reports to monitor and manage absence.  The figures now produced included all staff and the revised figures showed an absence rate of 6.69% for July 2015 compared to 5.81% reported in November 2015.  With regard to the number of staff employed, Members were advised that the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff had increased by 2 and the number of staff paid had decreased by 15.  Ms Collins explained that this was due to the recruitment of permanent homecare staff employed to support additional contracts.  A "spike" in the number of staff paid was the result of back pay being paid to all staff, including relief workers.  There were 7 posts currently being recruited and included homecare staff, maternity leave cover and vacant posts due to retirement.  The report advised that KPIs for 2016/17 were being developed to monitor service quality; efficient delivery of services; sales targets; and staff.  These KPIs would include targets and would form part of the Business Plan to be presented to the Group in March 2016.

           

            (ii)      Discussion followed and officers provided clarification on a number of points.  Ms Crombie acknowledged that, in terms of recruitment, there were challenges in some areas of the Borders but she was confident that all posts would be filled.  With regard to the number of hours worked by each carer, Ms Crombie explained that this depended on the care required; in some cases a client might require 6 visits per day and because of complex needs, this could involve 2 carers for each visit.  In addition, it was noted that clients preferred familiar carers and this was also taken into consideration whenever possible.  On a point of clarification, Ms Crombie explained that when the report mentioned "FTE staff", this referred to the average number of staff based on 37 hours per week; the "number of staff" was used in reference to the actual number of staff paid.  Members asked that this be made clear in future reports.  With regard to absence management, it was noted that a number of measures such as utilising the Council's Occupational Health facility had been implemented to assist in the management of staff absence.  Mr Barr confirmed that target levels would be set and that benchmarking would assist in that process.  Officers provided clarification on further points raised by Members and additional information would be included in the report being presented to the Strategic Governance Group at its special meeting in March 2016. 

 

DECISION                                                      

(a)     NOTED:-

         

          (i)      the current KPIs for SB Cares; and

 

          (ii)     (b)            the continuing development of KPIs for SB Cares.

 

(b)     AGREED that the difference between "Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff" and the "number of staff" be made clear in future reports.

 

 

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