RBWM Quarterly Assurance Report

The Partnership Cabinet of Liberal Democrat and Independent members has reviewed and discussed the Quarterly Assurance Report (QAR) for the third quarter of the 2024/25 municipal year (the quarter to the end of December 2024) in their meeting on 30^th April 2024.  

 The QAR is a critical mechanism to support good governance, accountability, and transparency and was a key factor in securing the government's agreement for financial support for 2025/26. The report covers assessments of how RBWM is performing relative to the deliverables and Key Performance Indicators in the Council Plan for the year, as well as reporting on the risk environment, transformation programme, and internal audit actions. 

The preparation and detailed review of the QAR are vital mechanisms in ensuring value for money for residents. By combining financial and service objectives and performance, the Council is able to effectively manage the balance of financial control with service delivery and ensure that where adjustments are needed, they are made in a controlled manner by informed, data-driven decision-making. 

Highlights of progress in this quarter’s report include:

• The Mosaic adult social care case management system went live in January 2025, this will contribute to more efficient and effective service delivery, better financial management and more automation of previously manual processes.
• In Children’s services, the percentage of Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCP) completed within the statutory 20-week timeframe was 100% in the quarter, due to the team now being at planned capacity, delivering for residents in need of this support.
• In Planning, the processing of applications has improved to being above target, due to an internal reorganisation of the team into two area teams and a major applications team and a focus on engaging in pre-application discussions. This is a great example of smarter working and a testament to this administration’s proactive approach.
• Recovery of aged debts in adult social care, with £284,000 being recovered in the quarter from long-standing balances.
• Customer Service response times have exceeded target with 94% of calls being answered within two minutes and only 2.2% of calls being abandoned after more than five seconds

Current challenges are also described in the report, along with the actions in place to address them. 

Read the full report within the Cabinet Papers here: Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday 30 April 2025, 7.00 pm

A new Council initiative of a consolidated database of all the deliverables from the Council Plan, all the actions from the Financial Improvement and Sustainability Plan and all the recommendations from the CIPFA reviews from 2020 and 2024 is underway – this “super tracker” will be a very important feature of the Quarterly Assurance Report process going forward, ensuring the alignment of operations to the council plan and the various actions arising from independent reviews that are needed to ensure the council can function efficiently and effectively in future. 

This follow up and tracking of action plans and recommendations was a major omission of previous Conservative administrations and is one of the ways the Liberal Democrats and the partnership Cabinet are fixing the mess of past failures and building a strong, resilient Council that truly delivers for residents across all service areas.