Agenda item

The Senior Strategy Officer – Research introduced the Performance & Business Plan section of the report which provided monitoring information for the end of Quarter 4 2019/20, the first year of the Corporate Strategy for the period 2019-24.  Changes to the format of the 2020/2021 report were outlined including the inclusion of a summary from Leadership Team on their respective areas of the Performance & Business Plan.

The Chief Executive confirmed that there were no amber indicators in the 2019/20 report as they were not used at the end of the year report.  Those actions with red indicator showed what action management need to take.  Not all of the resolutions were within the control of the Authority as they relied on work with partners or were pioneering or new work.

It was noted that consideration would be given to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on performance during the last two weeks of the 2019-20 year.  The financial plan and strategy would be reviewed and a report presented to Members when there was a clearer understanding of the impact.

The following points were noted in response to questions from Members:

• KPI6 -  it was confirmed that a presentation on the Tree Strategy which had been deferred from a previous Member Forum would be rescheduled to address the issues Members had raised.  Members were asked to report back to the Director of Conservation and Planning any tree planting they were aware of so the information could  be included in the statistics.
• KPI7 - Breeding Birds Survey – It was confirmed that discussions were taking place with the consultants that carried out the work to check the methodology used for the report. 

Members were invited to send more detailed queries to the Director of Conservation and Planning following the meeting.

The Director of Commercial Development & Engagement provided an update on the status of the Peak District National Park Foundation, confirming that £80,000 had been raised and distributed to several projects. 

The Director of Commercial Development and Engagement also provided an update on the response to Covid-19 regarding facilities within the National Park and confirmed that the Authority was benchmarking against other organisation regarding provision of toilet facilities and working with partners to address issues caused by the lockdown rules being eased.  He confirmed that the Peak District Proud message was an important campaign and would be at the heart of the National Park’s recovery.  Members were asked to promote the campaign.

The Chief Executive confirmed that further funding from the Discover England Fund had not been received as it had been reallocated to support Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Head of Policy & Communities confirmed that over half of the Peak District Parishes had responded to the engagement on the Parish Statements and added more detail.  The documents would be regularly updated and promoted as ongoing documents.

The Senior Strategy Officer – Research introduced the Corporate Risk Registers section of the report.  A new risk had been added for the 2020/21 year relating to the Covid-19 impact.

The Chief Executive provided an update on the Recovery Plan both for the National Park and the organisation as follows:

• The recovery plan for the National Park included communication with communities and visitors and the management of visitor facing activities. The aim was to provide a safe home for communities and a safe welcome within the remit of what the National Park Authority was able to do.

• The recovery plan for the National Park Authority as an organisation focused on staff and the financial impact on the Authority.  Leadership Team were meeting twice a week to look at the impact on staff and to plan and work with them. Weekly communications from the Chief Executive and Human Resources were sent out to staff and a survey sent to staff had had a good response and showed that staff were feeling supported. The survey also provided good information to help plan the next stages of recovery for staff and the work of the Strategic Leadership Team with the Chief Financial Officer continued.

The recommendation as set out in the report was moved, seconded, put to the vote and carried.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Q4 and year end performance report, set out in Appendix 1b of the report, be noted and any actions to address issues agreed.

2.    That the Performance and Business Plan content in Appendix 2 of the report be approved and completion of details delegated to the Chief Executive, to allow publication by the statutory deadline of 30 June 2020.

3.    That the 2019/20 year end corporate risk register given in Appendix 3 of the report be noted and the status of the risks accepted.

4.    That the start of year 2020/21 corporate risk register given in Appendix 4 of the report be noted and the proposed risks agreed.

5.    That the status of the complaints, Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations requests, given in Appendix 5 of the report be noted.

Cllr Mrs Potter left the meeting during this item.