Agenda item

That the Council’s progress during the 2019/20 financial year as demonstrated through the key achievements against the Five Year Plan be noted.

The Service Lead Strategy & Performance gave a presentation summarising the Corporate Annual Report for the 2019/20 financial year.

The Annual Report included case studies to illustrate the change the Council had brought about for people who live and work in Slough such as I-Talk, the Co-Production Network and The Creative Academy; key achievements against each of the five outcomes areas in the Five Year Plan; and performance against the indicators included in the Corporate Balanced Scorecard.  The highlights included high levels of educational attainment in Slough, the extension of the Active Movement physical activity programme and investment in affordable housing and regeneration projects.

Lead Members commented that Covid-19 would impact on a number of performance indicators in the scorecard and that it would be important to contextualise the data and clearly explain performance issues in future reports.  It was noted that the Quarter 1 performance report was due to be reported to Cabinet in September and would reflect this point.  The Cabinet highlighted a number of specific issues in the report including the success in securing Local Enterprise Partnership funding for infrastructure schemes as Slough had demonstrated it could deliver schemes; the continuing and sustained improvement in schools; and good progress in homelessness prevention.

Speaking under Rule 30, Councillor Dhaliwal asked about the progress of regeneration schemes including Stoke Wharf.  The Leader responded that the timelines had been set out in the Slough Urban Renewal Partnership Business Plan approved recently by Cabinet and that delivery remained broadly on track.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Cabinet agreed to recommend to Council that the Annual Report be approved.

Recommended –  That the Council’s progress during the 2019/20 financial year as demonstrated through the key achievements against the Five Year Plan be noted.