Agenda item

This report seeks views from the Executive on the use of Performance Reward Grant (PRG) earned at the conclusion of York’s second Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA2). It is asked specifically to consider whether this should be made available to help further work which supports both the Council’s priorities and the outcomes of the Local Strategic Partnership. 

RESOLVED:(i) That existing commitments be given priority in the allocation of LPSA2 grant funding (Venture Fund repayments, partner agreed grants and sustaining the initiatives which have produced the improved performance in key target areas);

(ii)               That the principle of prioritising the use of residual LPSA2 reward grant into key Local Area Agreement (LAA) target areas be approved;

(iii)             That Directors and partner organisations be invited to consider bid projects (requiring only one off public funding) which they would wish to implement and manage and which would have the greatest impact on achieving key LAA targets;

(iv)              That the Director of City Strategy and the Director of Resources be requested to develop a robust bid process and supporting documentation, with particular reference to methodology and target monitoring, to facilitate the allocation of any LPSA2 grant funding which may become available, as part of the Council’s budget build process.

REASON:      In order that the Executive can decide upon the use of Performance Reward Grant prior to the conclusion of the LPSA2 agreement.

Members received a report which sought their views on the use of Performance Reward Grant (PRG) earned at the conclusion of York’s second Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA2). They were asked specifically to consider whether this should be made available to help further work which supported both the Council’s priorities and the outcomes of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). 

The Service Reward set out in the table after paragraph 15 of the report was an allocated payment to target holders who achieved or substantially achieved their LPSA targets. This was calculated according to how much grant each area achieved against the Pump-Priming and Venture Fund investment required to achieve it. The reward was payable to eligible service areas up to a value of £50,000 per service.  The Executive were asked to support this approach and also the idea that partner organisations should be entitled to a share of these service rewards if they could demonstrate that they had made a substantial contribution to the achievement of performance stretch.

The report presented the following options for consideration:

·  Option 1 – The Executive approve the use of 100% of the PRG for commissioning of projects which support the shared priorities outlined in the report, with either  a) the Executive, b) the LSP’s Executive Delivery Board or c) a bespoke one-off group formed of key stakeholders acting as commissioning body to consider projects tendered by any of  the LSP partners;

·  Option 2 – The Council retains the PRG for its use on Council priorities or imperatives, possibly including a) using some or all of the extant PRG to maintain service levels in areas where Pump-Priming or Venture Fund funding had ceased, or b) allocating some or all of the extant PRG to the general reserve to offset one off expenditure pressures in future years or earmarking it to support key Council drivers for improvements, given the uncertainty about future levels of central government funding;

·  Option 3 – A combination of Options 1 and 2, which would split the PRG to fund both commissioning of projects to support priorities shared with partners and for funding specific Council schemes at the discretion of the Council.

Members wanted to ensure that any venture fund investment was repaid initially and to confirm the allocation already earmarked for service rewards.  They noted that a transparent process would be required for the allocation of the remaining grant to either Council departments, statutory partners or the voluntary sector.  It was proposed that the bidding process be integrated into the budget build process so that both internal and partner priorities could be fairly judged.  In the first instance it was suggested that the funding be devoted to sustaining and improving upon the current areas of success.  Any further bid would have to be codified with specific outcome targets including milestones, volume and quality sections and must not require ongoing revenue expenditure.

Having considered the advice of the Shadow Executive, it was

RESOLVED:(i) That existing commitments be given priority in the allocation of LPSA2 grant funding (Venture Fund repayments, partner agreed grants and sustaining the initiatives which have produced the improved performance in key target areas);

(ii)               That the principle of prioritising the use of residual LPSA2 reward grant into key Local Area Agreement (LAA) target areas be approved;

(iii)             That Directors and partner organisations be invited to consider bid projects (requiring only one off public funding) which they would wish to implement and manage and which would have the greatest impact on achieving key LAA targets;

(iv)              That the Director of City Strategy and the Director of Resources be requested to develop a robust bid process and supporting documentation, with particular reference to methodology and target monitoring, to facilitate the allocation of any LPSA2 grant funding which may become available, as part of the Council’s budget build process.

REASON:      In order that the Executive can decide upon the use of Performance Reward Grant prior to the conclusion of the LPSA2 agreement.