DATA LABEL: OFFICIAL

PERFORMANCE COMMITTEE

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BENCHMARKING FRAMEWORK

REPORT BY HEAD OF CORPORATE SERVICES

A. PURPOSE OF REPORT

This report provides analysis of the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) data for 2016/17, including high level comparative analysis of the council’s 2016/17 performance against previous years and other local authority performance.

B. RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that the Performance Committee notes the council’s comparative performance in the LGBF 2016/17.

C. SUMMARY OF IMPLICATIONS

I. Council Values  Focusing on customers’ needs  Being honest, open and accountable

II. Policy and Legal Compliance with the Code of Corporate Governance requirements

III. Implications for Scheme of No implications. Delegations to Officers

IV. Impact on performance and The council is required to publish Specified performance indicators Performance Indicators in accordance with the Local Government () Act 2003.

V. Relevance to Single Outcome The LGBF contains indicators across the main Agreement domains of council activities. Some of these indicators are included within the council’s performance reporting arrangements for outcomes and priorities.

VI. Resources (Financial, Staffing and From existing budget Property)

VII. Consideration at PDSP/Executive A report on the council’s comparative Committee required performance in the LGBF will be taken to Performance Committee in September 2018.

VIII. Details of consultations None

1 D. TERMS OF REPORT

D.1 Local Government Benchmarking Framework Overview

The Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) is focused on providing a consistent approach to benchmarking local authority performance, with an evolving dataset reported each year to the public.

The comparative performance of the 32 Scottish local authorities is published in a national report each year that identifies national trends across eight thematic categories of council activity.

Following the publication of the national report in February 2018, a refreshed LGBF 2016/17 dataset was issued to councils by the Improvement Service on 31 March 2018. This report provides an analysis of the council’s performance in the framework using the final dataset for 2016/17.

D.2 LGBF Overview Report 2016/17

The LGBF Overview Report 2016/17 compares Scottish councils’ performance across 70 performance indicators, a decrease on the 77 performance indicators used for 2015/16. The LGBF performance indicators are grouped under the following eight categories:

 Children’s Services  Corporate Services  Corporate Assets  Adult Social Care  Culture and Leisure  Environmental Services  Housing Services  Economic Development

The dataset in each category generally focuses on how much councils have spent on particular services, the service performance and how satisfied people are with the major services provided by councils.

LGBF Family Groups Councils are allocated to a family group of authorities with similar characteristics. The council is a member of family group 3, with the general characteristics set out in table 1:

Table 1: Family Group Allocation Categories Characteristic Family People Service categories: Allocation based on   Children deprivation /   Social Work affluence   Housing   West Council Categories Characteristic Family Other Services categories: Allocation based on  Angus  Environmental population  Clackmannanshire  Culture and Leisure   Corporate  2  Property (Corporate) Assets   Renfrewshire  South Lanarkshire  Council

Grouping councils with relevant comparators enables better analysis of the LGBF dataset by ensuring that the variation and causal impact in relation to local priorities and policy choices are understood. This is facilitated by councils working within their family groups to interrogate the data and these networks also serve as a forum for learning and knowledge share.

D.3 Analysis of LGBF 2016/17 Comparative Performance

The council’s 2016/17 performance in comparison to 2015/16 performance, and changes in ranking by performance indicator, are summarised in table 2:

Table 2: Summary Position of Performance 2015/16 to 2016/17 Number of Category Improvement Decline No change PIs Adult Social Care 4 3 1 0 Children’s Services 24 7 7 10 Corporate Services 8 2 2 4 Corporate Assets 2 1 1 0 Environmental Services 14 2 7 5 Housing Services 5 2 2 1 Economic Development 5 2 3 0 Culture and Leisure 8 3 3 2 West Lothian Council 70 22 26 22

The council’s actual performance and ranking in each indicator can be viewed on the council website.

Average Category Ranking 2016/17 The council’s average category ranking has improved in four out of eight categories since the previous year and declined in four categories, as summarised in table 3.

Table 3: Changes in WLC Average Ranking (since February) WLC Ranking WLC Ranking Category Top Ranked Authority 2015/16 2016/17 Refresh Adult Social Care 23 27 Dumfries and Galloway Children’s Services 8 6 East Renfrewshire Corporate Services 5 3 Corporate Assets 1 2 Environmental Services 5 10 Housing Services 2 1 West Lothian Economic Development 8 10 Dumfries & Galloway Culture and Leisure 6 5 Islands Overall 3 1 West Lothian Council

The council ranked an average of first in Scotland overall in 2016/17.

3 Appendix 1 contains the average ranking of the 32 local authorities in each category.

Comparative Analysis of New Performance Indicators Table 4 provides a breakdown by quartile of the LGBF indicators in comparison to the initial dataset published in 2015/16.

Table 4: Changes in WLC Quartile Rankings (since February) Quartile Number of PIs 2015/16 Number of PIs 2016/17 Quartile 1 28 30 Quartile 2 23 16 Quartile 3 20 14 Quartile 4 6 10

This shows that the council continues to have a high proportion of performance indicators in the top two quartiles.

E. CONCLUSION

The LGBF is intended to support councils to improve performance in key activities, inform strategic planning and forms a critical part of the sector’s response to requirements for public performance reporting and benchmarking.

The council continues to perform well in comparison to other authorities across a range of key indicators in the LGBF and had an average ranking of first overall in Scotland in 2016/17.

F. BACKGROUND REFERENCES

Local Government Benchmarking Framework Overview Report 2016/17 West Lothian Council performance in LGBF 2016/17

Appendices/Attachments: Appendices: 1

Appendix 1: LGBF Average Rankings 2016/17

Contact Person: Rebecca Kelly E mail: [email protected] Phone 01506 281891

Julie Whitelaw Head of Corporate Services 3 September 2018

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