Performance
We provide important services to Mole Valley, with the aim to ensure these services are of good quality and give value for money.
To achieve this, we constantly monitor performance and identify areas where further improvements are needed.
Performance management is essentially using information provided in reports and policies, about how things are, to decide how to make it better for residents.
It is a key tool to delivering better outcomes to users and an integral part of service improvement.
Performance management is an important part of our corporate business and budget planning process. It involves the culture and processes in place to monitor, manage and continuously improve its performance in order to achieve our priorities.
Council Strategy
The Council Strategy is our most important strategic document which sets out how we will work with partners to improve services provided throughout Mole Valley.
Measuring performance
In order to ensure that we deliver our priorities in the Council Strategy, performance is regularly monitored using performance indicators and measuring the progress of key areas of work.
Risks to achieving our priorities are assessed.
We report on performance on a regular basis in Business and Budget monitoring reports to the Cabinet.
This helps assess whether priorities are delivered against the set targets and measures. This ensures we identify what we are doing well, areas for development and appropriate actions for further improvement.
Performance is monitored using a red, amber and green traffic light system. Indicators which are green are meeting or exceeding the target, those which are amber are slightly off target and those which are red are significantly behind target.
The Outturn Report for 2022/23 sets out our performance over the financial year.
Our Annual Plan sets out the key areas of work on which we will have a particular focus over the financial year and demonstrates how we will deliver the commitments for each of the Council Strategy priorities.
Progress made on these are reported in the Business and Budget monitoring reports to the Cabinet.
A set of performance indicators are used to measure performance.
They are reported on regularly to the Cabinet as part of the Business and Budget monitoring reports; a more detailed Performance Indicators report is also published separately.
Every organisation encounters risks that threaten the achievement of their objectives.
The effective management of these risks contributes to the successful implementation of the Council Strategy priorities. Our approach to and management of risk is set out in the Risk Management Policy.
The Strategic Risk Register sets out the current risks to the organisation and the actions that are being taken in response.
Risks are assessed for their severity using a scoring system that measures the probability and impact of the risk if it happens. Low level risks are tolerated and not actively managed, although monitored for changes. Higher level risks are more closely managed.
Each Executive Head of Service monitors their services’ risks to review if mitigating controls and actions remain appropriate, and determine whether the likelihood of the risks occurring has changed.
This ensures the organisation’s risks are kept at a manageable level.
The Strategic Leadership Team consider risk on a regular basis and monitor changes to the risk profile.
The Audit Committee receives reports relating to risk management. It is responsible for providing us with an independent assurance of the adequacy of the arrangements that we have in place.
All councils are required by the Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015, to:
‘undertake an effective internal audit to evaluate the effectiveness of their risk management, control and governance processes, taking into account public sector internal auditing standards or guidance.’
We fulfil this requirement by preparing an annual Internal Audit Plan which is informed by internal audit’s own assessment of risk and materiality in addition to consultation with management to ensure it is aligned to key risks facing the organisation.
Progress against the Internal Audit Plan is reported on during the year in the Internal Audit Progress Report.
Internal audit provide an Annual Internal Audit Report and Opinion after the end of each municipal year, summarising the audits completed and the assurance opinion for these audits, key areas of challenge and an annual internal audit opinion.