Annex 2 – Performance – Council Plan Outcomes
1 This report concentrates on the indicators that make up the Council Plan performance framework and does not cover COVID-related activity.
2 It is likely that due to impacts of COVID, a number of the indicators will see a significant change both in terms of their numbers and their direction of travel in future reporting periods. The majority of the performance measures within the Council Plan have a lag between the data being available, and the current reporting period and therefore impacts will not be immediately seen, and may occur over several years as new data becomes available.
3 Within the updates on the Council Plan indicators, are a number of indicators which show the status of economic, community or corporate recovery since the start of the pandemic.
Well paid jobs and an inclusive economy
Business Rates
4 The 2021-22 collection rate for Business Rates up to the end of September 2021 was 47.58% (10.22% below the target collection rate and 3.99% below the collection rate as at the same point in 2020-21). The 2021-22 collection rate for Council Tax up to the end of September 2021 was 54.35% (1.96% below the target collection rate and 0.11% below the collection rate as at the same point in 2020-21).
Median earnings of residents – Gross weekly pay
5 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
% of working age population qualified – to at least L2 and above
6 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
% of working age population qualified – to at least L4 and above
7 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
GVA (Gross Value Added) per head (£)
8 No update since the Q1 2021-22 Monitor as annual data.
% of vacant city centre shops compared to other cities
9 At the end of Q2 2021-22, there were 60 vacant shops in the city centre, which equates to 9.40% of all city centre shops, and is lower than the national benchmark in Q1 2019-20 of 11.7%. Properties in York are owned by different commercial parties and CYC commercial properties have very low levels of vacancies. The York figure has not fluctuated a great deal in the past 10 years, with a high of 10.3% in 2017-18 and the national benchmark figure has remained stable too, with a high of 12.3% in 2013-14.
10 This measure will continue to be monitored along with a number of new measures looking at vacancy rates within secondary shopping centres to broaden the economic picture of the city. At the end of Q2 2021-22, the vacancy rates within secondary shopping centres were relatively low (8% at Clifton Moor, 0% in Haxby Village and 3% in Acomb High Street), apart from at Monks Cross where the vacancy rate was 20%.
11 In the financial year up to the end of August 2021, there were 264 new business start-ups in the City of York Council area, which is lower than in previous years. Nationally the number of new companies registered in the UK in 2020 rose significantly as small and local businesses emerged in response to the pandemic; this may indicate why the 2020-21 figures looked positive for York and why a lower number of registrations could be seen during 2021-22.
% of working age population in employment (16-64)
12 In 2020-21, 76.6% of the working age population were in employment, which is higher than the national and regional figures (74.8% and 73.8% respectively) and the York performance gives the city a ranking of third regionally. The figure for 2020-21 is lower than in previous years, but this is mirrored both nationally and regionally.
13 At the end of September there were 12,335 people, in York, on Universal Credit which is an increase of 92% compared with February 2020 (pre-pandemic figures). However, there has been a decrease of -6% from April 2021. This trend should continue as restrictions continue to be lifted and the, nationally reported, staff vacancies in the service sector are filled.
Getting around sustainably
P&R Passenger Journeys
14 Passenger journeys for park and ride customers totalled 0.71m (provisional) for Q2 2021-22. This is a large increase on the 0.33m journeys made during the same period in 2020-21 showing signs of recovery, but lower than the 1.11m journeys made during the same period in 2019-20.
Local bus passenger journeys
15 Passenger journeys on local buses totalled 1.68m (provisional) for Q2 2021-22. This is a large increase on the 1.04m journeys made during the same period in 2020-21, showing signs of recovery, but lower than the 2.74m journeys made during the same period in 2019-20.
% of ROAD and pathway network that are grade 4 (poor condition) or grade 5 (very poor condition) - Roadways / Pathways
16 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
Area Wide Traffic Levels (07:00 -19:00) (Excluding A64)
17 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
Index of cycling activity (12 hour)
18 No update since the Q1 2021-22 Monitor as annual data.
19 The 2020-21 data from the National Travel and Active Lives surveys shows that 21% of respondents from York cycle once per week, which is 1% less than in 2019-20. When comparing the latest data to the previous year, a shift in activity can be seen which is likely to be a direct effect of changing mobility restrictions and behaviours caused by the pandemic. The percentage of respondents indicating that they cycle for leisure increased by 3% but those indicating cycling for travel decreased by 5%, which is why an overall slight decrease in cycling activity can be seen with the loss of those commuting by this method. However, York continues to perform well against the national and regional benchmarks of 12% and 10% respectively for weekly cycling activity.
20 Community mobility data has been available regularly from Google since the start of the pandemic to track how visits to places such as shops and transit stations are changing. Data is sourced through phone location history, where consented, and changes for each day are compared to a baseline value for that day of the week taken during January and February 2020. At the end of September 2021, in York, retail and recreation activity is the same as the baseline, there has been an 8% increase in grocery and pharmacy activity, and a 22% reduction in the use of Public Transport. Overall, York has performed better than the national averages.
Index of pedestrians walking to and from the City Centre (12 hour in and out combined)
21 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
% of customers arriving at York Station by sustainable modes of transport (cycling, walking, taxi or bus – excluding cars, lift, motorcycle or train)
22 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
Good Health and Wellbeing
23 There has been a continuing high demand for adult social care during the past year, partly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, although there have been variations in how likely these contacts are to receive care packages. Our Customer Contact Workers (CCWs) record the number of contacts received to ASC, whether made by email, telephone or other methods. During 2021-22 Q2, they received 4,542 contacts, which is a 6% reduction from the number received during 2020-21 Q2 (4,854), although in September 2021 the CCWs had some recording issues, so the “true” number is likely to be marginally smaller than in 2020-21 Q2. Around 20% of the contacts during 2021-22 Q2 were resolved using Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG), which is slightly lower than the percentage that were resolved using IAG during 2021-22 Q1 (21%); this reflects the increasing complexity of issues that are dealt with by them, and a change in recording practice to record clients who ‘only’ received IAG; most clients will receive an element of IAG during their contact, regardless of the outcome of it.
24 After an initial fall in the early months in the number of individuals in residential/nursing care placements during 2020-21, mainly due to the Covid crisis, this number has remained relatively stable. At the end of 2021-22 Q2, this number was 568, compared to 566 at the end of 2020-21 Q2. CYC have been relatively successful in ensuring that the number of new admissions to residential/nursing care have been low over the last year, partly because of the policy that people should no longer be placed in residential/nursing care directly following hospital discharge, but this number is being to increase. During 2021-22 Q2, the number of new admissions of older people to residential/nursing care was 40, a decrease of 11% on the 2020-21 Q2 figure of 45.
25 There has been a continuing decline over the last year in the number receiving home care services. At the end of 2021-22 Q2, there were 654 people in receipt of a home care service; this is 12% lower than the corresponding figure at the end of 2020-21 Q2 (742).
26 In 2020-21 Q2, 117 clients received a paid ASC service for the first time (“new starters”). This is a significant reduction from the number in the corresponding quarter of 2020-21 (202). There has also been a decrease in the number during 2021-22 Q2 (79) that have returned to ASC for a paid service compared with the number during 2020-21 Q2 (92). This suggests that we have improved in keeping the number of first-time entrants low, and that some progress is being made in ensuring that people do not re-enter ASC once they have left.
Proportion of adults in contact with secondary mental health services living independently
27 The percentage of all adults in contact with secondary mental health services living independently, with or without support, has decreased over recent months; during 2021-22 Q1 (the latest figures available), 67% of them were doing so. The 2020-21 ASCOF results showed that York is in the upper quartile for performance with 73% of this group saying they live independently, compared with the England average of 58% and 60% in its statistical neighbour group.
28 During 2021-22 Q1 (the latest figures available), 19% of all clients in contact with secondary mental health services were in employment – a figure that has consistently been above the regional and national averages. The 2020-21 ASCOF results showed that York is the 3rd best performing LA in the country on this measure, with 20% of all those in contact with secondary mental health services in employment, compared with the England average of 9% and 10% in its statistical neighbour group.
Overall satisfaction of people who use services with their care and support
29 The 2020-21 Adult Social Care User Survey (ASCS) showed that 72% of those who responded stated that they were “extremely” or “very” satisfied with the care and support they received. This is a significant improvement from 2019-20, where 68% gave one of these answers. This was the highest percentage reported in England of those LAs that took part in the survey, although due to Covid impacts only 18 LAs did so.
30 The Survey also reported that ASC clients felt that they were more likely to feel safe – 76% said they feel ‘as safe as I want’ in 2020-21 compared with 71% in 2019-20 – and they were more likely to say this than ASC clients in other parts in England.
31 Additionally, 71% of ASC clients that responded to the Survey and had tried to access information and advice in 2020-21 reported that they found it “easy” to do so, a deterioration from that reported in 2019-20 (74%), but in line with the national average (71%).
% of reception year children recorded as being obese (single year)
32 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
Healthy Life expectancy at birth – Female/Male (slope index of inequality)
33 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
% of adults (aged 16+) that are physically active (150+ moderate intensity equivalent minutes per week, excluding gardening)
34 No update since the Q4 2020-21 Monitor as annual data.
A Better Start for Children and Young People
35 The number of children in care has reduced slightly to 268. Whilst the number of children in our care has remained comparatively stable for more than a year, the age distribution has changed. We have seen a gradual increase in the number of school-aged children in care over the last 12 months. This has wide-ranging implications on areas such as placement sufficiency, permanence planning and the virtual school.
36 The number of children subject to a child protection plan increased to 159 at the end of September 2021, compared to 129 at the end of 2020-21. This is above the expected safe range for York (per 10,000 population), but in line with the most recent national average.
37 The number of referrals to children’s social care in the first six months of 2021-22 was 856, which was slightly lower than 2019-20 at the same point in the year. Referral volumes have shown an anticipated recovery from the turbulent year of 2020-21, but are consistently lower than in 2019-20.
38 The number of contacts to Early Help reduced in Q2 2021-22 to 576, in comparison to 657 in Q1. September 2021 saw the lowest monthly number of Early Help contacts in the year to date – 132 compared to a monthly average of 205.
Voice of the Child
39 Advocacy casework for children and young people who are in care or leaving care, going through the child protection process or wanting to make a complaint has continued to be provided throughout this period. Between July and September 2021, the service received a total of 19 referrals for advocacy; 11 referrals for children and young people in care, 3 referrals for care leavers and 3 referrals for young people subject to a Child Protection Plan and 2 referrals for young people subject to a Child in Need plan who would like support to make a formal complaint.
40 Our Children in Care Council (Show Me That I Matter) and Care Leavers Forum (I Still Matter) have continued to hold monthly meetings, as well as some additional activity to carry out project work and undertake training (ten sessions in total, some being face to face and some virtual). Young people have discussed relationships and life story work, stigma, barriers for care leavers in pursuing apprenticeships and York’s Local Offer for Care Leavers. Young people have taken part in an art and creative writing project, created a video resource about systemic practice and new training material for professionals. They have attended the Corporate Parenting Board and delivered training to the Social Work Academy.
41 York Youth Council (YYC) are looking towards their future projects and face to face sessions. YYC have produced a press release detailing the work and ethos of the Youth Council. As part of this, YYC created a recruitment poster detailing how to join. They will use the poster to advertise and promote the YYC in their schools and youth settings to encourage their peers to join from across the city. YYC has also begun to invest in a partnership with the Family Information Service.
42 YYC has continued its partnerships with York’s Racial Equality Network and with York Human Rights City and the City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership (CYSCP). They have reviewed webpages about online safety and keeping safe online. This was a joint project with City of York Council and York St John University on keeping safe online, using the voices of young people to help others.
43 Mental Health was also one of the top issues as voted by the UK Make Your Mark youth consultation of 185,000 young people aged 11-18 in the United Kingdom and over 100 young people who voted in York. Youth Council will look to continue their work on the top 6 Make Your Mark results which were as follows: Support our Mental Health (25 votes); Take Action on the Climate Emergency (22 votes); Free University (20 votes); Domestic Violence (25 votes); Homelessness (18 votes) and Access to Training and Jobs (13 votes). YYC have decided to re-phrase Free University to Tackling Education; and to rephrase Domestic Violence to Domestic Abuse to be more inclusive.
44 YYC are looking forward to working with partners on these topics and are creating awareness resources and a ‘where to go for help’ information sheet. Young people in the youth council are looking forward to building a stronger working relationship with the CYSCP.
45 Representatives from YYC have continued to take part in a number of virtual regional workshops, conferences and meetings, mainly facilitated by British Youth Council and the Steering Group, enabling them to communicate with different MPs from across the region about current issues, as well as other Youth Councils.
Secondary school persistent absence rate
46 The May 2020 pupil census was cancelled by the Department for Education due to COVID-19. National and local schools attendance data has not yet been released by DfE. It is anticipated that DfE will release a version of the standard attendance performance but the details are not known yet.
% of children who have achieved a Good level of Development (GLD) at Foundation Stage
47 There is no data for 2019-20 as the tests were cancelled due to the pandemic. We do not anticipate any data for 2020-21.
Education Progression (Average Progress 8 score from KS2 to KS4)and GCSE Results (% of pupils achieving 9-4 in English and Maths at KS4)
48 Progress 8 is a measure of the progress made by pupils between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4. A positive score represents progress above the average for all pupils and a negative score progress below the average for all pupils.
49 In 2020 and 2021, due to COVID-19, all GCSE, AS and A level exams were cancelled and replaced by a combination of teacher assessment, mock exam results, course work and a standardised calculation.
50 The Department for Education did not release data for 2019-20 due to the way in which Key Stage 4 results were calculated. We do not anticipate any data for 2020-21.
% point gap between disadvantaged pupils (eligible for FSM in the last 6 years, looked after and adopted from care) and their peers achieving 9-4 in English and Maths at KS4
51 The DfE did not release data for 2019-20 due to the way in which Key Stage 4 results were calculated due to COVID-19. We are not anticipating any data for 2020-21.
52 Reducing the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is a key priority in all phases of education across 0-19 years.
% of 16-17 year olds who are NEET who do not have a L2 qualification
53 The proportion of 16-17 year olds in York who are NEET remains at a similar level to historical trends and there is a correlation with disadvantage, with the majority of young people that are NEET being from the wards with the highest levels of deprivation. At the end of September 2021, 80.6% of young people who were NEET did not have a Level 2 qualification.
A Greener and Cleaner City
Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting
54 The latest provisional data for the amount of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting was 50.7% during Q1 2021-22 (the latest available data), which is an increase from 45.6% during the same period in 2020-21. This is above the Q1 average for the last 7 years.
Residual household waste per household (kg/household)
55 The latest provisional residual waste (i.e. non-recyclable) per household data shows that figures have reduced slightly during Q1 2021-22 (the latest available data) to 122.4kg of residual household waste per household.
Incidents - Fly tipping / Rubbish / Cleansing (includes dog fouling, litter and all other cleansing cases) / Graffiti – On Public/Private Land
56 The number of service calls received during Q2 2021-22 due to fly-tipping and cleansing (including dog fouling and litter) have remained stable since Q1 2021-22 (fly-tipping from 557 to 578 and cleansing from 521 to 518). The number of service calls received due to graffiti increased from 54 in Q1 2021-22 to 78 in Q2 2021-22, however, the figure for Q2 is still much lower than the 157 calls received during Q4 2020-21.
Air Quality
57 York has begun work on the 4th Air Quality Action Plan with the aim to further reduce nitrogen dioxide and particulates from all sources. Public Protection staff are working closely with colleagues across the council to develop this plan alongside the Council’s economic strategy, Local Plan, fourth Local Transport Plan and Climate Change Strategy. The Air Quality Action Plan will update current air quality improvement measures, identify the impact of emission sources and develop new measures to improve air quality and public health. We are awaiting new, more stringent health-based air quality objectives in the forthcoming Environment Act and will design our improvement measures to meet these.
58 The council continues to reduce emissions from taxis through the emission based taxi licensing policy and the taxi incentive scheme, which has encouraged 27% of York’s taxis to become low emission vehicles. Money is still available to taxi drivers who want to switch their vehicles, save fuel costs and save the environment.
59 The council are publishing the Government’s “Burn Better” campaign in October to raise awareness about Smoke Control Areas in York and the importance of burning the correct fuels and maintaining solid fuel burning appliances.
Trees Planted
60 During 2020-21, there were 271 trees planted, including 250 whips on Bootham Stray in February and larger trees in streets and parks in March. Due to the seasonal nature of tree planting, figures for 2021-22 will be available later in the year.
% of Talkabout panel who think that the council and partners are doing well at improving green spaces
61 Talkabout panel surveys are run twice a year in Q1 and Q3 and therefore there is no update in this monitor. Previous data is shown within the table.
