Chris Lee highlighted 3 areas of concern for his department. These were:

Waste collection (missed bins) -  the council was struggling to meet the target set, in part, due to the availability of drivers and vehicles. Work is in hand to improve reliability through the purchase of 2^nd hand vehicles and also through the training of more HGV drivers . This will improve resilience Phase C procurement is also ongoing.

Litter and street cleanliness – there has been an increase in concerns from customers and sickness/absence is not being covered as previously as the council are not bringing in agency staff at an additional cost. However, sickness levels have also decreased in the short and long term.

Planning – Performance in the main is ok on minor applications but struggling on major planning applications.  There are also a large number of planning applications received with no fee attached. With improved economic conditions, the number of developments and planning applications has never been higher in the borough. Competition for planning officers is also high. Merton is unable to match salaries that are offered in the private sector. Maintaining a service with a limited financial budget is also a challenge.

Councillor Daniel Holden asked if any planning appeals had been lost due to non determination. James McGinlay explained that there were very few where non determination was the result and that officer’s work with applicants.

Councillor John Sargeant asked what was being done to address staff turnover. Chris Lee explained that the department are working with HR and are obtaining comparable benchmarking data to make the business case for additional staff.

Councillor John Sargeant asked if the ‘any bin will do’ scheme was still in operation as residents had complained about bins being full and overflowing. Chris Lee confirmed that this scheme was still in place and that the council were trying to stay on top of emptying them.

Councillor Jeff Hanna asked about street cleaning and the annual measure for resident satisfaction which stood at 54%. Chris Lee explained that the annual resident’s survey gathers this data. Councillor Jeff Hanna added that he felt that the question was not appropriately worded at present to enable reliable data on resident satisfaction to be captured. Chris Lee explained that the survey asks about satisfaction on a range of services and that the Panels concerns would be fed back to the community engagement team.

Councillor Daniel Holden enquired about the measures taken to reduce levels of sickness amongst street cleaners and also to retain planning officers. James McGinlay explained that there is little turnover amongst permanent staff but more within agency staff for Planning. There are a number of factors that affect retaining planning officers; this includes baseline pay compared to other local authorities, retention and performance bonuses and caseloads. The council are trying to ensure they have the right skill set amongst planning officers for the range of applications they receive and looking at opportunities for career progression in Merton. However, in the short term remuneration is something that can be addressed.

RESOLVED: Panel noted the performance data received.