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A Performance Management and

Accountability Framework

For Cumbria County Council

What we do to improve our performance.

Version 1.1: Refreshed – 19th July 2011

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Contents

Section Page

1. Our Performance Management Framework 2

2. Plans 6

3. Resource Allocation 10

4. Performance Measures 11

5. Performance Management, Monitoring & Reporting 13

6. Improvement Planning 22

7. Communication with customers, employees and trades unions 23

8. Glossary of Abbreviations 24

9. Appendix 1 – Data Quality Assurance Roles and Responsibilities

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1. Our Performance Management Framework

What follows in this document, is a description of the component parts of

our PMF to aid understanding and promote good practice.

It sets out clear accountabilities and responsibilities within the organisation for

PM.

It is designed to help Directorates tailor their approaches to meet Corporate

and Directorate needs, and sets out standards for the content and frequency

of performance reports.

It describes the roles of individual employees and the impact individual

performance has on the overall performance of the Council

It is a framework, and not a detailed instruction manual on how to manage

performance.

Performance Management – A Working Definition

To some people, performance management means collecting performance information. To

others it implies a personal appraisal. There are many definitions of performance

management; however the following is as clear as any:

“taking action in response to actual performance to make outcomes for service users and the public better than they would otherwise be”

Action may be at individual, team, service, corporate or community level. Improvement to

outcomes should benefit service users but does not always mean increased service levels –

sometimes better outcomes can mean delivering better value for money (VFM). Reducing

levels of service in one area may free up resources to be used more effectively elsewhere.

Put simply, performance management is what you do to improve and maintain good

performance. It involves gathering robust and accurate information about our performance

and understanding and addressing performance issues at every level of the organisation.

Managing performance effectively requires coordinated planning and review systems to

ensure that members, managers and staff can take action based on reliable information, i.e.

information that is complete, accurate, timely and relevant.

There are a number of benefits brought about by having an effective PMF in place. Member

and Officer roles, accountabilities and responsibilities around performance management are

made clear and Members and Officers are provided with the information needed to judge

the extent to which we are achieving our objectives. It helps each employee understand

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how their individual performance plan, developed through the appraisal process,

contributes to the achievement of the Council‟s aims and objectives. It also helps us meet

statutory requirements around providing information to central government departments

and inspectorates as well as fulfilling our duty „to make arrangements to secure continuous

improvement in the way our functions are exercised‟.

To be effective, a performance management culture needs to be embedded within the

council and reflected in how we operate and work together. To support this, a key

objective in our Workforce Plan is to develop an organisational culture that encourages

innovation and high performance practices. The culture of performance management must

be integral to all of our work, embraced by leaders at all levels, from members to managers

leading small teams and cascaded and shared with all employees. This ensures that

measurable activities at individual, team and service level translate into improved services

for people and communities.

As well as having the culture and leadership in place, it‟s important to get the support

systems and processes right. Plans and objectives need to be in place and appropriate

performance indicators, actions, programmes, projects and targets need to be developed

and implemented.

Continuous Improvement

As well as focusing all that we do on delivering better services for people, the council has a

duty to provide evidence that it is achieving continuous improvement, through a

combination of Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. Consequently, all Members and

employees need to work together to ensure that performance management is part of our

daily work routine. Everyone has a contribution to make towards improving Cumbria, and

by implementing the performance management framework, this will ensure that measurable

activities at individual, team and service level translate into better services for our

communities.

If you require more detailed guidance on individual aspects of the framework please

contact the Performance and Programmes Team in the Chief Executive‟s Office.

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Key aspects of our Performance Management Framework

The central purpose of our Performance Management and Accountability Framework

(PMF) is to help us deliver better quality services to local people. This is achieved by

bringing together the following components of our framework:

Plans (objectives and priorities)

Resource Allocation (people, skills, budgets, property)

Service Delivery

Performance Management, Monitoring & Reporting.

Improvement Planning

Finally, wrapped around the above component parts is a requirement for continuous

communication with employees, service users, public and Trades Unions to ensure all of us

are fully engaged as stakeholders in the process.

The full framework is shown on the next page.

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Key aspects of our Performance Management Framework

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2. Plans

Our planning framework links community and corporate objectives via „a golden thread‟ through

to team and individual plans. By having a clear framework within which to work, priorities can be

identified, plans put in place to deliver these and each individual can identify how their actions

contribute to the delivery of improved outcomes for local people.

The Cumbria Community Strategy 2008-2028 sets out a vision and outcomes for Cumbria that

are informed by our „story of place‟, which describes Cumbria‟s characteristics and challenges.

The Council Plan is the overarching strategic document from which the County Council sets out

its business. It outlines our vision for the future, our underpinning values and key ways of

working. The strategic aims and objectives of this document are developed by Elected Members

and informed by public consultation. Mechanisms for their delivery – including key outcomes and

planned improvement – are set jointly with Corporate Directors. It provides a clear focus to the overall work of the council and is used to communicate priorities to staff and partners. The

diagram on the next page captures the key priorities, the underpinning aim and the aspirations

for Cumbria in our Council Plan 2011-14.

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What we are seeking to achieve for Cumbria

Our key

priorities

Our

underpinning

aim

Our aspirations

for Cumbria

Challenge poverty in all its forms

Ensure that the most vulnerable people

in our communities receive the support

they need

Improve the chances in life of the

more disadvantaged in Cumbria

We will be as effective and efficient as possible: we will prioritise services, targeting our resources where they are most needed; we will re-engineer

services to find new, different and more effective and efficient ways to do things; and, we will focus on our customers, putting people at the heart of

everything we do

For the economy:

We want Cumbria to be a place

with a thriving economy where

we challenge poverty in all its

forms

For the environment:

We want Cumbria to be a place

where you can live in a high

quality and sustainable

environment and you can move

easily and safely around the

county

For children and

young people:

We want Cumbria to be a great

place to be a child and grow

up in; a place of opportunity

where young people are able to

live happy and productive lives; a

place where young people will

want to live and work in the

future

For independent, safe and

healthy lives:

We want you to enjoy an

independent and healthy life

and to be safe from harm, with

more control over your life and a

say in the decisions which affect

you

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The Council Plan is the basis on which other plans (statutory and non-statutory) are built.

It provides guidance when planning essential services to the community and informs the

objectives of every directorate and member of staff. The council's budget is aligned to the

plan so that resources are matched to key priorities. The deliverables in our council plan

are reviewed every year to ensure that it always reflects the most important improvement

priorities.

Directorate Service Plans provide a vital link between council objectives at a strategic level through to individual appraisals, so that each service and member of staff knows how what

they do contributes to achieving our objectives. Directorate Service Plans are an essential

tool for making rational and co-ordinated decisions about levels and types of provision

where resources, finances, people and assets are used well, through clear links to financial

planning. They should be used as a framework for team discussions on performance and

provide an opportunity for the key issues to be highlighted to Corporate Management

Team, Directorate Management Teams and for Scrutiny reviews.

Statutory, Business Unit and Team Plans

Underpinning the directorate service plan each directorate may have a number of statutory

and non-statutory plans. In the same way that the directorate service plan is aligned to the

Council Plan, these supporting plans will have their objectives and performance measures

aligned to the Directorate Service Plan. Locality based objectives and activity will sit within

this level of plan where appropriate.

Individual Plans and Appraisals take place twice a year and are used to agree individual

work programmes and targets. The employee appraisal process is critical to the

Performance Management Framework.

The appraisal process enables employees supported by their line manager to:

agree their objectives, competencies and development needs so that they contribute to the Council‟s objectives

agree how their line manager will support them in achieving these work and

learning objectives

review individual performance against objectives and competencies throughout the year. Identifying potential barriers to success, addressing underperformance where

necessary, and recognising and celebrating success.

reinforce expected behaviours and outcomes required to achieve objectives

examine the impact of past learning and training on individual performance and

identify what skills they need to ensure continuous improvement and development.

This process ensures that every employee‟s contribution fits into the overall aims of the

Council and highlights how important an individual‟s performance is to the improvement of

the organisation.

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Appraisals take place each year in April/May and then six months later prior to the next

round of planning in October/November. The April appraisal focuses on achievements

from the previous year, with an objective setting process and forward plan, linked to the

Council Plan and Directorate Service Plan, for the forthcoming year. The October, or Mid

Year appraisal, reviews progress to date and re-alignment of objectives for the remainder

of the year, with specific focus on developmental needs which feed into the budget and

strategic planning cycle for the forthcoming year.

Further details of the appraisal process can be found at:

http://www.intouch.ccc/orgdev/appraisal.asp

http://www.intouch.ccc/bettermanagement/yourstaff/appraisalsystem.asp

Directorate learning and development plans

These are complied by pulling together the learning and development requirements arising

from the annual „mid year‟ employee appraisal process, which takes place in

October/November. As appraisals are based on Council Plan / Directorate Service Plan

objectives there will be a clear link between the council‟s strategic objectives and the

development activity provided.

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3. Resource Allocation The Workforce Plan sets out how the Council Plan will support and develop the

workforce to achieve our objectives and is central to the delivery of effective and improved

services. The Workforce Plan aims “to have the right number of people with the right skill

sets, attitudes and behaviours working in modern and efficient ways.” The Council aims to

achieve this through its workforce plan by adopting the five workforce themes as below:

Organisational Development - Effectively building workforce support for new

structures and ways of working to deliver citizen-focused and value for money

services, in partnership.

Leadership Development - Building visionary, ambitious and effective leadership which makes the best use of both the political and managerial role, operating in a

partnership context.

Skill Development - With partners, developing employees‟ skills and knowledge, in

an innovative, high performance, multi-agency context.

Recruitment and retention - With partners, taken action to: recruit and retain the

right workforce; address key future occupational skills shortages; promote jobs and

careers; identify, develop and motivate talent and address diversity issues.

Pay and Rewards - Modernising pay structures and improving flexibility and

productivity to reflect challenging budget and efficiency requirements, as well as

new ways of working; encouraging a total reward approach to promote high

performance in the new context.

The Workforce Plan will be reviewed and refreshed regularly alongside the Council Plan

and integrated into Directorate Service Plans.

Annual Budget sets out the financial resources that are available for each Directorate and

Service to deliver the Council‟s objectives and priorities

Asset Management Plan sets out how our physical assets, including property and

accommodation, will be used by the Council to support effective delivery of services.

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4. Performance Measures

Performance measures are used to track performance over time and to ensure objectives

are being met. Setting year on-year targets for performance measures is a common way of

achieving continuous improvement. Regular monitoring of performance allows actions to

be taken to manage performance back on track where relevant, and communicate

achievements to Members, employees and other stakeholders. When carried out

effectively, this enables the council to provide evidence of continuous improvement.

Linking Performance Objectives, Targets and Measures

Objective what we intend to achieve

Target the level of performance or rate of improvement needed

Performance Measure a measure that tells us whether we have reached out target

Outcome the result/consequence/impact of meeting the objective

(the end state)

Performance measurement

• Use fewer and more balanced measures

• Measure processes as well as results

• Measure teamwork as well as functions or departments

• Be creative in developing measures

• Make your measurements talk

• Make measurement your organisations ‘glue’

• Build consensus around a few best measures

Measures should be:

• relevant

• have a clear definition

• easy to use

• comparable

• verifiable

• cost effective

• anambiguous

• attributable

• responsive

• statistically valid

• timely

• action focused

It is important that performance can be measured for all of our plans:

o Council Plan

o Directorate Service Plans

o Teams Plans

o Individual Plans (Appraisal)

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Data Quality Strategy and Standards

Robust processes to secure good quality data are essential if the council and partners are

to be confident that information being used to assess performance, allocate resources and

ensure decision-making is based upon consistent, high-quality, timely and comprehensive

information.

Our Corporate Data Quality Strategy and Standards sit alongside the PMF and provide the framework to support performance improvement in data quality:

http://www.intouch.ccc/bestvalue/pmf.asp

Quality assurance systems need to be in place throughout the organisation. They should

provide reassurance that performance information is reliable and ensure that there is a

clear trail of evidence for all our data.

Directorate Management Teams, Service Managers, Directorate Performance Lead

Officers, the Performance and Intelligence Team and Management Audit all have roles and

responsibilities around the above requirements. It is important that each group understand

their respective roles as set out in the tables in Appendix 1.

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5. Performance Management, Monitoring and Reporting

To ensure that our performance is managed effectively, we will use a set of Performance Scorecards to track progress, celebrate success or take appropriate corrective action. To

ensure all of this works effectively, we have assigned the following accountabilities and

responsibilities for performance:

Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Council

The Council is ultimately responsible for the overall performance of its services, and

accountable to the electorate and Government for the resources used to deliver services.

It approves the Council Plan each year and this is done through the annual budget and

strategic planning process. The Council will receive 6 monthly information and annual

reports.

Cabinet

The Cabinet determines the projects and activities that will be undertaken by the council

to deliver its objectives. Cabinet will also receive a quarterly progress report, in the form

of a Corporate Performance Scorecard, to track achievement of Council Plan and

Workforce Development Plan priorities.

Corporate Management Team

The Corporate Management Team (CMT) has overall management responsibility for the

performance of the organisation. CMT is responsible for signing off Directorate Service

Plans and delivering Council services. CMT also has overall responsibility for ensuring that

performance information used in decision-making is „fit for purpose‟ and reliable. CMT will

receive the quarterly progress report on the Corporate Performance Scorecard and will

agree any remedial action required to get performance back on track, acknowledge and

communicate successes and achievements and sign-off the scorecard prior to presentation

to Cabinet.

Corporate Directors

Each Corporate Director has overall management responsibility for the performance of

their respective Directorates. Accordingly, at least on a quarterly basis, Corporate

Directors and their Directorate Management Teams (DMT) would consider the content of

Directorate Performance Scorecards, agree any remedial action required to get

performance back on track, acknowledge and communicate successes and achievements,

and sign-off scorecard prior to presentation to Cabinet portfolio holders.

Assistant Directors

Each Assistant Director has overall management responsibility for the performance of their

respective Directorates. Accordingly, at least on a quarterly basis, Assistant Directors and

their Directorate Management Teams (DMT) would consider the content of Area

Performance Scorecards, agree any remedial action required to get performance back on

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track, acknowledge and communicate successes and achievements, and sign-off scorecard

prior to presentation to Cabinet portfolio holders.

Cabinet Members (Portfolio Holders)

Each Cabinet Member has an allocated portfolio of services and activities for which he/she

takes responsibility. On a quarterly basis, each Cabinet Member will have access to a

quarterly progress report, in the form of a Directorate Performance Scorecard and/or

Area Performance Scorecards to track achievement priorities within their respective

portfolios. The content of these scorecards should be used by Cabinet Portfolio holders,

Corporate Directors and Assistant Directors to monitor and manage Directorate and

Service performance.

Local Committees

Each Local Committee will receive a performance report on a quarterly frequency that sets

out progress toward delivery of the functions devolved to the Committee. Additionally,

each Local Committee will receive an Area Performance Scorecard that sets out key

service performance for that area. Local Committees would review the performance of the

Area Scorecard content, highlight any concerns and opportunities for improvement.

Managers

All Managers have a responsibility to lead and support individual employees and teams to

achieve success and to improve services. Managers are expected to encourage individuals

and teams to challenge the status quo and are expected to support employees to exploit

opportunities for achieving continuous improvement. Supporting employees to participate

in problem solving teams would be one way of achieving this (see paragraph 7).

All Managers also have a responsibility to conduct appraisals for staff within their team,

which includes the setting of performance objectives, with the involvement of employees,

identifying actions and targets for the current year, together with any relevant

training/personal development needs. Managers should involve employees in the setting of

service and personal objectives and targets, and Managers are responsible for implementing

formal procedures and support mechanisms to address persistent cases of

underperformance.

Managers, Employees and Appraisals

All employees are responsible through their appraisal or performance and development

review to contribute towards the organisation‟s strategic goals and objectives. Managers

are also expected to use the appraisal process to encourage, support and enable

employees to achieve improvement, to foster a culture of success and to ensure that there

is transparent accountability for use of Council resources.

Each member of staff will agree specific performance targets as part of their annual

appraisal. This should identify actions and targets for the current year along with any

relevant training/personal development needs. Employees should be involved in the setting

of service and personal objectives and targets.

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Overview and Scrutiny

The Scrutiny Management Board has the responsibility to take an overview of performance,

to review and scrutinise the performance of the Council in relation to its policy objectives,

performance targets and/or particular services. The Scrutiny Management Board will have

access to the Corporate Performance Scorecard and Directorate Scorecards (for Chief

Executive‟s Office, Resources and Organisational Development) on a quarterly basis, where

it will scrutinise any exceptions to performance and it will make recommendations on

areas of concern to Cabinet.

Each Scrutiny Board has the responsibility to review and scrutinise any area of the

Council‟s performance or its policy objectives. The Scrutiny Boards will receive the

relevant Directorate Performance Scorecard/s on a quarterly basis, they will scrutinise any

exceptions to performance and it will refer any recommendations on areas of concern to

the Scrutiny Management Board.

Management Audit Unit & Audit and Assurance Committee

Reviews the major risk areas for the council and identifies potential threats to the effective

delivery of services and the achievement of objectives. The Audit and Assurance

Committee, through the work of the Management Audit Unit, ensures the council has

adequate controls in place. One element of the control environment includes measures to

ensure performance information is reliable and the systems which support them are

robust.

Chief Executive‟s Office

The Chief Executive‟s Office provides advice on both maintenance and implementation of

the performance management framework, and is responsible for maintaining the Council‟s

data quality assurance strategy. The team is responsible for coordinating the production of

the Council Plan and co-ordinates and supports the timely production of Corporate

Performance Scorecards for Council, Cabinet and CMT.The quarterly reporting cycle, with

responsibilities and accountabilities for performance management is covered in the next

section of the framework.

Our Performance Scorecards

We have a robust corporate performance monitoring and reporting system to ensure we

regularly and comprehensively monitor resources, performance and risk at service,

directorate and corporate level.

To achieve this, the Council operates a system of integrated Performance Scorecards:

Corporate Performance Scorecard

Directorate Performance Scorecards

Area Performance Scorecards

Corporate support for developing and maintaining the scorecards

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PerformancePlus (P+) provides a single council wide database for storing and reporting

performance and risk information in a consistent way using common standards across the

council. It is an interactive system that holds both numerical and text based information.

PerformancePlus is being developed to hold the core data set for the Corporate,

Directorate and Area scorecards, this core data set will feed a variety of mechanisms for

performance reporting and interrogation.

The following section describes the scorecards

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The Corporate Scorecard

Scorecard Individual or

Body

Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility

Corporate Performance

Scorecard

Cabinet

Quarterly Progress toward

achievement of the Council

Plan and Workforce

Development Plan.

Cabinet –

Collectively

accountable to

Public for use of

Council resources.

Cabinet –

Responsibility to

determine how

expenditure on

services should be

undertaken.

CMT

Quarterly Any remedial action

required to get performance

back on track, Acknowledge

and communicate successes

and achievements, and Sign-

off scorecard prior to

presentation to Cabinet.

CMT – Collective

management

accountability for

use of Council

resources.

CMT – Collective

management

responsibility to

deliver services in

line with Cabinet

priorities.

Scrutiny

Management

Board

Quarterly Review and scrutinise

performance using the

Corporate Scorecard &

Directorate Scorecards from

Chief Executive‟s Office,

Resources and

Organisational

Development.

(tbc) Highlight any areas of

concern to Cabinet.

Initiate specific pieces

of performance led

work as part of a

single SMB work

programme.

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The Directorate Scorecard There will be one balanced scorecard per Directorate. There will be common basket of performance indicators for the Resources

and People perspectives which Directorates can add to. The performance indicators for the Customer and Processes perspectives

will be unique to each directorate.

Scorecard Individual or

Body

Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility

Directorate Performance

Scorecard

Corporate

Director

Quarterly

Any remedial action

required to get performance

back on track, Acknowledge

and communicate successes

and achievements, and Sign-

off scorecard prior to

presentation to CMT

Corporate

Director –

accountable to

Chief Executive for

resources used to

deliver Directorate

plan.

Corporate Director -

responsible for

overall performance

of the Directorate.

Responsible for

ensuring Directorate

performance is

managed at DMT and

Cabinet Portfolio

holder is fully

engaged.

DMT

Cabinet

Portfolio

Holder

Quarterly

Achievement against

priorities within their

respective Cabinet

portfolios.

Cabinet Portfolio

Holder –

Accountable to

Cabinet and Public

for use of

Directorate

Resources

Cabinet Portfolio

Holder – Responsible

for holding

Corporate Director

to account for

Service Plan

Performance

Responsibility to

influence Cabinet to

determine how

expenditure on

services should be undertaken.

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The Directorate Scorecard continued

Scorecard Individual or

Body

Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility

Directorate Performance

Scorecard

4 Scrutiny

Boards

Quarterly Review and scrutinise the

performance of the

Directorate Scorecard

content (Children‟s Services,

Adults and Local Services,

Environment and Safer &

Stronger Directorates).

To Scrutiny

Management Board

for delivery of the

Board‟s work

programme.

Highlight any

concerns and make

recommendations to

SMB.

Initiate specific

performance led

pieces of work for

inclusion in the Board

work programme.

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The Area Scorecard There will be one scorecard per Local Committee area and each scorecard will contain performance information from our public

facing services. All area scorecards will contain the same performance indicators in the Processes, Resources and People

perspectives, the Customer perspective performance indicators will reflect the local priorities for that area. The scorecards will be

presented by the Assistant Director linked to each Local Committee.

Scorecard Individual or

Body

Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility

Area Performance

Scorecard (1 for each of

6 Local Committee

Areas)

CMT

Quarterly

Any remedial action

required to get performance

back on track, acknowledge

and communicate successes

and achievements, and Sign-

off scorecard prior to

presentation to DMT

Assistant Director -

accountable to

Corporate

Director for

resources used to

deliver Directorate

service plan in the

area.

Assistant Director –

management

responsibility for

overall performance

of their service in the

Area.

DMT

Portfolio

Holder

Quarterly Achievement against

priorities within their

respective portfolios.

Cabinet Portfolio

Holder –

Accountable to

Cabinet and Public

for use of Service

Resources in the

area.

Cabinet Portfolio

Holder – Responsible

for holding

Corporate Director

to account for

Service performance

in the area.

Local

Committees

Quarterly Review the performance of

the Area Scorecard content

and highlight any concerns

and opportunities for

improvement.

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6. Improvement Planning

There are a number of opportunities for individuals and teams to identify areas for

improvement , including:

appraisal (personal performance & development review).

use of customer feedback

regular monitoring of contracts and service level agreements

audit and inspection recommendations

benchmarking performance with other organisations

value for money analyses

service reviews

risk assessments

self-assessments

Problem Solving Teams

The Business Improvement Team based in Organisational Development is a corporate

resource to assist the Council and its component Directorates and Services to improve

service delivery, reengineer business processes and to realise efficiency savings. While

much of the team‟s work supports large strategic programmes, such as the various „Better‟

initiatives, the team is also available to work with managers in tackling specific problems

and challenges.

One element of this approach is to provide the tools, techniques and skills required to

apply some core techniques against real problems in the workplace. The team will deliver

facilitated training across the Authority in order to embed and disseminate the approaches

available. This training will help staff

– Understand how and why a structured approach to problem solving is beneficial

– Be able to utilise & adapt a simple problem solving structure

– Be able to explore and define problems

– Be able to explore, develop and implement creative solutions

– Be able to review and apply learning to subsequent problems

In addition, the Business Improvement Team is available to work on service specific or

cross-cutting projects which have the potential to improve service delivery and/or generate

efficiency savings. The approach taken is one of facilitation and support in order that the

problem and the solution remains with the Directorate and the skills of the team

complement rather than replace. This work can include hands-on support, the provision of

“communities of practice”, access to other practitioners and the sharing of best practice

and lessons learned from previous improvement projects along with dedicated programme

management and support.

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7. Communication with Employees, Stakeholders, Customers and Trades

Unions

Our workforce is the critical factor in performance management. Ensuring people are

involved and informed at every stage is vital to maintain a high performance culture.

All employees should have their views sought and acted upon regularly, so that they have a

greater understanding and ownership of the council‟s priorities.

We are committed to keeping people informed and we provide regular updates about our

performance and the services available. The channels we use to deliver this performance

information include:

Your Cumbria – our residents‟ newsletter

Newsroom - our employee newsletter

Update – regular update of current news for staff

Corporate Messages – by e-mail or fax

Local and national media

Residents‟ and Community Voice surveys

Website and intranet

Employee Relations Framework and Joint Consultative Groups – The Employee Relations Framework is the mechanism for the council to hold discussions

with it‟s recognised trade unions. Within this framework Joint Consultative Groups

(JCG‟s) have been established at Directorate, HR, Corporate and Member level.

The County Council JCG is the highest level of this framework within which the council

will carry out it‟s obligations to consult and inform the recognised trade unions on matters

of strategic and corporate importance affecting the workforce.

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8. Glossary of Abbreviations

CIPFA Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

CMT Corporate Management Team

DMT Directorate Management Team

PI Performance Indicator

PM

Performance Management

PMF Performance Management Framework

SMART target This is a target that has the following characteristics:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Time-based

SMB Scrutiny Management Board

VFM Value for Money

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Appendix 1

Data Quality Assurance: Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Responsibility

Dir

ect

ora

te M

anag

em

ent

Team

s

Serv

ice M

anag

ers

Dir

ect

ora

te P

erf

orm

ance

Lead

s

Chie

f Execu

tive

‟s O

ffic

e

Perf

orm

ance

Team

Man

agem

ent

Audit U

nit

1. Ensuring that there is an overview of the balance of indicators being presented, on a regular basis, that best

reflects the environment in which the service is operating.

2. Owner of the performance measure and is responsible for developing measures and associated targets that are

linked to Directorate Service Plans and the Council Plan

3.

Ensuring that there is a written, up to date record of the system used for collating performance information. This

must include sources of information, internal and external to the Council, when information is collected, in what

format and from whom.

4. Accountable to the Chief Executive for the adequacy of systems used for collecting performance information

5. Carrying out a rolling programme of systems checks to ensure that the systems in place for generating

performance information are regularly tested and fit for purpose.

6. Ensuring information accuracy and that adequate checking arrangements are in place.

7. Updating Directorate Performance Lead Officers on any changes to Government guidance.

8. Passing information relating to changes in Government guidance or definitions to relevant Service Managers.

9. Ensuring that all staff and external bodies involved in generating information understand the latest guidance and

definitions for performance measures, ensuring that there is a written record of guidance and a written definition.

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Data Quality Assurance: Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Responsibility

Dir

ect

ora

te M

anag

em

ent

Team

s

Serv

ice M

anag

ers

Dir

ect

ora

te P

erf

orm

ance

Lead

s

Chie

f Execu

tive

‟s O

ffic

e

Perf

orm

ance

Team

Man

agem

ent

Audit U

nit

10. Challenging what the performance information is telling us, ensuring that where applicable, Service Managers

provide explanations for the causes of variances from estimates and targets.

11. Challenging the Service Manager, where applicable, to develop an action plan to remedy a variance and bring

performance back on track to meet a target.

12. Preparing and reporting action plans resulting from audit reviews of performance measures to Service Managers

13. Reporting action plans resulting from audit reviews of performance measures to Directorate Management Teams

14. Preparing and reporting action plans resulting from audit reviews of performance measures to the Audit and

Assurance Committee on a regular basis.

15. Challenging the balance of performance measures being used to measure performance in particular Service Areas

and against Corporate priorities. In this way best practice from other authorities could be shared.

16. Using performance measures from Council and Service Plans to prepare an annual performance report for

Cabinet.