To receive a report on the Partnership's performance.

The Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Corporate Affairs presented a report that set out the progress of the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership since the last update on 9th October 2024.

The background and detail to the report was highlighted to Members, as set out at Sections 1 to 5, pages 62 to 70 of the Agenda refer, and particular reference was made to the following:

·       Alignment and Delivery Plan (Section 2)

·       Performance Framework 2025/26 (Section 3)

·       Priority Partnerships Updates (Section 4)

·       Partnership Scrutiny update (Section 5)

Following which the recommendations were duly Proposed and Seconded.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

A Member commented that the report was repetitive and could have been much shorter.  It was highlighted further that South Holland District Council (SHDC) had achieved 87% for staff who felt valued at work and 94% who felt the Partnership recognised and supported positive mental health in the workplace, page 75 of the Agenda refers and considered this worth interrogating.

In response, the Leader of the Council advised he would seek further information in relation to this and share with Members.

A Member highlighted that pitch occupation on Kingfisher Caravan Park was only 52% (with a target of 55%), page 89 of the Agenda refers, despite the good weather and queried what actions were going to be taken to improve that.

In response, the Leader of the Council advised that Kingfisher Caravan Park was an ongoing issue and would share the Stakeholders Board Report with Members when it became available.

A Member highlighted the proposition to remove performance indicators for Invest East Lindsey as these would be monitored through the Shareholder Supervisory Board, page 90 of the Agenda refers, and did not agree with this.

In response, the Leader of the Council advised that monitoring of Invest East Lindsey was through the Audit and Governance Committee, so would cross reference to see why this had been proposed and understand the issues and would inform the Member concerned direct.

The East Lindsey Independent Group Leader highlighted her dismay with the lack of vibrancy in town centres and regeneration, particularly in Louth, pages 65 to 66 of the Agenda refer.

In response, the Leader of the Council highlighted that whilst the report was across the three councils in the Partnership, East Lindsey District Council had launched the East Lindsey Investment Fund to support inland towns and market towns and Louth would certainly benefit from that.  The Leader further advised that he would the schemes that were underway would be extricated so that Members could fully understand the detail contained within the report.

A further comment was made in relation to supporting skills, learning and employment opportunities that were associated with Boston College and if information could be provided to show how this was performing.

In response, the Leader of the Council advised that he would seek further information in relation to this satellite campus and share with Members.

With regards to the Healthy Lives Priority Partnership detailed at pages 67 to 68 of the Agenda, the East Lindsey Independent Group Leader highlighted that the district was slipping further down in its health equalities, and it was important that the Healthy Living Board saw some progress with this.

In response, the Leader of the Council advised that he would ask the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Ageing to update the Member concerned as the work undertaken in this area was very valuable and agreed that getting local interest and understanding from local health partners was critical.

No further comments or questions were received.

RESOLVED

That the following areas of the report be noted.

·       The progress of the Alignment and Delivery Plan.

·       The Performance Framework 2025/26.

·       The updates from the Priority Partnerships.

·       The Partnership Scrutiny update.