Issue - meetings

Service Performance Report 2025-26 Quarter 2

Purpose:

To provide an update on progress on Cotswold District Council’s priorities and service performance.

Recommendation:

That Cabinet resolves to:

1. Note overall progress on the Council priorities and service performance for 2025-26 Q2 (July-September 2025)

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to provide an update on progress on the Council’s priorities and service performance for Q2 July – September 2025.

Councillor Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council, introduced the report and highlighted that the report was to provide sufficient information for the Council to monitor service performance and challenge delivery as needed.

The Council had adopted its Corporate Plan 2025–2028 in September 2025, setting out its purpose, vision, values, key priorities, and success measures, progress on Corporate Plan actions for Q2 (July–September 2025) were reported, including initiatives across governance, organisational development, digital transformation, community engagement, economic growth, and service delivery.

It was noted that annexes A and B provided an overview of progress.

Resolved that Cabinet noted overall progress on the Council priorities and service performance for 2025-26 Q2 (July-September 2025).

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to provide an update on progress on the Council’s priorities and service performance for Q2 July – September 2025.

The Council had adopted its Corporate Plan 2025–2028 in September 2025, setting out its purpose, vision, values, key priorities, and success measures. Progress on Corporate Plan actions for Q2 (July–September 2025) was reported, including initiatives across governance, organisational development, digital transformation, community engagement, economic growth, and service delivery.

It was noted that the Quarter 2 report (covering July–September 2025) had also been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, where officers had presented performance across all council services and responded to questions. It was highlighted that the Council had made strong progress in key areas, including council tax collection, planning application determination times, leisure centre use, and residual household waste management, with a reduction in missed bin collections. It was clarified that distinctions were being made between service failures and missed collections for improved monitoring.

It was noted that performance in certain areas, including non-domestic rates, affordable housing delivery, and some planning appeals, remained below target, although improvements had been achieved compared to the previous year. It was further noted that business rates recovery work was up to date, with collection influenced by factors such as 12-month instalment plans and multi-occupancy sites. The inclusion of planning and enforcement case data, land charges, and household recycling information was useful in providing members with useful context for service monitoring.

It was noted that customer engagement could be further improved, including through more interactive waste service reporting, simple notifications to residents, or off-the-shelf digital solutions. It was welcomed that pilot AI services had been introduced in planning to provide faster, clearer information to residents and businesses, while caution was advised to ensure legal compliance and avoid premature case closure. Overall, it was noted that the report demonstrated positive progress across council services, and members expressed their appreciation to officers for compiling and presenting the information.

It was noted that annexes A and B provided an complete overview of progress.

Resolved that Cabinet noted overall progress on the Council priorities and service performance for 2025-26 Q2 (July-September 2025).

Meeting: 05/01/2026 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 284)

Webcast for 05/01/2026 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee

284 Service Performance Report 2025-26 Quarter 2 PDF 562 KB

Purpose

To provide an update on progress on the Council’s priorities and service performance.

Cabinet Member

Councillor Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council

Lead Officer

Alison Borrett, Senior Performance Analyst

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to provide an update on progress on the Council’s priorities and service performance.

The report was introduced by Councillor Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council, and Alison Borrett, Senior Performance Analyst.

In questioning and discussion, the following points were noted:

The targets used across many services were predominantly government mandated. These included both time-based targets and percentage measures, whilst other targets, such as those for waste services, were set at a service level. Overall, approximately 70% of the targets were determined by government requirements, with 30% established by individual services.
Statutory and service targets provided a clear set of expectations, particularly for nationally mandated measures. Government-set targets were intended to ensure consistent performance monitoring across councils. Officers highlighted that LG Inform, the Local Government Association’s data-sharing platform, could be used to compare the Council’s performance with other authorities.
That the “two decimal place rule” should be reconsidered to reflect best practice. It was noted that the data could be rounded if requested.
There had been some delays in council rebates for residents. These challenges were partly due to the transition from Housing Benefit to Universal Credit for working-age claimants. Performance had improved significantly in the second quarter, although cumulative annual figures still reflected earlier delays.
Given the current planning context, including the loss of the five-year land supply and the tilted balance in favour of applications, it was prudent to allocate additional funds to defend planning decisions.
Reporting service failures as a separate measure for missed bin collections would provide clearer insight into operational performance.
Household waste recycling figures could be negatively affected when less waste arises, which also influenced decisions around waste collection services.
The green waste recycling rate could be misleading during a dry season during summer months. It was confirmed that green waste figures could be reported separately from general recycling and normal waste to provide insight into performance.
The Council continued to support the Royal Agricultural University (RAU)’s Innovation Village application and officers were asked to ensure strategic-level representations to progress it through the planning process.
Engagement with towns and parishes had included discussions on local government reorganisation (LGR) alongside the Local Plan, particularly at the November forums in Moreton-in-Marsh and Cirencester. A summer update on local government reorganisation would provide an opportunity to launch the public consultation.
Town and Parish councils had requested more information on the proposed neighbourhood partnerships. There was a challenge in providing definitive details, as boundaries and structures would ultimately be determined by the new authority or authorities.
The delivery of affordable homes was underachieving. The data was not yet being used to inform the Local Plan but could be used in future to support increasing affordable housing provision.

LGR had limited the Council’s ability to pursue more direct control over housing delivery, leaving the provision of genuinely affordable, socially rented homes largely dependent on the commercial decisions of developers and housing associations.

Issue - meetings

Service Performance Report 2025-26 Quarter 2

Meeting: 08/01/2026 - Cabinet (Item 187)

Meeting: 05/01/2026 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 284)

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