We have to put together annual reviews of our performance across a number of areas, looking at all of the areas where the council works – things like education, adult social care, the environment, highways, the economy and others.
And the results of those reviews are published in our annual Focused On Our Performance reports.
The Focused On Our Performance report for 2018/19 is now available to view, and will be discussed by our Executive Board next week.
It measures our performance against the objectives in our 2018-19 Council Plan, and the four important themes it sets out – economy, people, place and organisation.
It’s not an all-round check-up on everything we do, but instead looks at how we’re performing in key areas.
This year’s Focused On Our Performance report will be discussed at the Executive Board on Tuesday, October 8.
Let’s take a look at a few of the key areas set out in the report.
Where we’re doing well
The report points out a number of areas where we’re doing well, which are rated green.
Some of the improvements outlined in the report include:
- more than £5million worth of investment in the physical regeneration of our markets and town centre;
- 84% of all commercial property in the county borough occupied;
- More than 11,000 recorded businesses operating in the area – including 72 new business start-ups in the last year;
- More than 10,000 recorded visits to our leisure facilities – a big increase on last year;
- 93 new units of affordable housing, and 35 empty properties brought back into use;
- High percentages of council homes meeting the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS)
- 66 per cent of all waste recycled
That covers things like how much visitors are spending in the county borough; the amount of commercial properties occupied; the number of carers we’ve worked or engage with; the amount of visits to our leisure centres; the amount of empty properties we’ve brought back into use – and many others.
Where we want to improve
There are other areas in the Focused On Our Performance report where we haven’t made the improvements we want, or need to do better, and are rated either amber or red in the report.
- On average, it takes about 206 days to deliver a Disabled Facilities Grant, allowing home improvements to help people live more independently at home.
- In the most recent Perceptions of Safety survey – the results for which will be published soon – only 35 per cent of respondents said they felt safe in Wrexham town centre.
- In the same survey, about 72 per cent of respondents said they felt safe in their home areas
- The percentage of A-roads in poor overall condition is 3.3 per cent; while the number of B-roads in poor condition is 2.6 per cent.
Some of the above areas are heading in the right direction – but we still want to work hard to make improvements where we can.
To watch the debate on the Focused On Our Performance report, watch the live webcast from the meeting of our Executive Board at 10am on Tuesday, October 7.
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