Council plan overview report - Quarterly updates on key performance indicators

The result is measured against a target. 

It is usually related directly to a council service and an indicator of service effectiveness, efficiency or success.

The result is measured against a forecast. 

It is usually outcome focussed and often not fully in the council’s control. 

Contextual indicators are included as they may impact service delivery, demand and the achievement of wider council goals.

At the end of quarter 4 there were 95 care leavers (19 to 21 years) recorded.* 81 of these were in touch and of these, 43 were not in education employment or training (NEET) (53.1%). This is compared to 64 recorded (56 of these were in touch) at the end of quarter 3, of which 30 were NEET (53.6%).

The result of 53.1% is indicative of a continued focus and development of the offer for young people leaving care aged 19-21 and is a slowly improving picture.

There are a number (15) of Care Leavers that are not deemed about to access education, employment or training (EET) due to reasons of ill health, pregnancy or parenthood.

As a priority, the key focus at present is the 29 young adults who are NEET for other potential reasons that need further context. There is a plan to address this by utilising existing Life Chances forum to 'deep dive' this cohort, to identify barriers and to creatively plan as a multi-agency network how to address that and identify opportunities.

The Corporate Parenting Strategy is out for public consultation at present but is hoped to have an impact on the council wide offer and approach to Care Leavers. During the quarter the council hosted an Insights Day, developed a plan with adult learning colleagues and have continued to network and build rapport with local partners. With the co-ordinated focus on delivering support and the deep dive approach described above, it is hoped that there will be more positive outcomes for young care leavers reflected in a continuing positive trend reported in future periods.

*Numbers of NEET appear to have increased but this is not an accurate picture. In line with the Department for Education's reporting requirements, the data is gathered on a young person's birthday, therefore is not 'live'. The overall picture around care leavers continue to slowly improve through engagement from the leaving care team, work experience opportunities from the council and the council considering care leavers for all roles graded.

Whilst the number of rough sleepers shows as increasing, the actual number has reduced from 10 identified in the official annual count in November 2024.

Rough sleeping has increased by at least 20% nationally - as at November 2024. 

Work continues to make sure support and assistance is available to anyone sleeping rough in the borough. 

Data for this indicator is 'live' taken from the council’s outreach service, where officers go out and actively try to support those rough sleeping 2 to 3 times a week.

The Child Protection Plan (CPP) rate per 10,000 has continued to increase in quarter 4, with the position at the end of March being 59.3. This is much higher than last year, but closer to the previous year 2022 to 2023. Bracknell Forest Council tends to be higher than statistical neighbours and national rates when compared with data from previous years (current data not yet available).

Work is continuing to make sure that our Child Protection Plan thresholds are appropriate through various levels of scrutiny and oversight. Analysis indicates that, as reported at quarter 3, the most significant contributor to rising CPP numbers is an increase in Section 47 enquiries in Children's Social Care that subsequently lead to an Initial Child Protection Conference (ICPC). The rate per 10,000 of children having an ICPC rose from 48.5% at the end of 2024 to 76.8% at the end of 2025.

At the end of quarter 4, there has been a noticeable increase in step-ups to Children's Social Care. The quarterly target is 11%, however the actual average for 2024 to 2025 has been 14.5%.

These transitions have been overseen by the regular Early Help and Social Care step up/step down meeting, ensuring their appropriateness. Additionally, focused quality assurance audits have provided further reassurance that these step-ups are indeed appropriate.

The Early Help Head of Service and Assistant Director have discussed and agreed on the next steps. They plan to review the number of children entering statutory processes, proceeding to initial assessments, closing cases and returning directly to Early Help following the step-up process. This review will help us better understand the outcomes and determine if the base target for 2025 to 2026 is an appropriate measure.

There were 72 completions in quarter 4 on large and medium sites (66 dwelling completions on large sites and 6 completions on medium sites). These were as follows:

Large sites:

• 9 dwellings on land north of Tilehurst Lane and west of South Lodge (Deansfield Rise), Binfield
• 5 dwellings on Beaufort Park Offices (The Evergreens), Bracknell
• 19 dwellings on TRL Phase 4a (Bucklers Park), Crowthorne
• 7 dwellings on TRL Phase 4b (Bucklers Park), Crowthorne
• 4 dwellings at Sandhurst Lodge, Wokingham Road, Sandhurst (site complete)
• 4 dwellings on Warfield Area 2, Phase 6 (Berkeley Homes), Warfield
• 5 dwellings on Warfield Area 1, Parcel 3 (Taylor Wimpey, Maize Gardens), Warfield
• 2 dwellings on Warfield Area 1, Parcel 4 (Taylor Wimpey, Skylarks), Warfield
• 8 dwellings on land south of Forest Road, Newell Green (Redrow Homes), Warfield
• 3 dwellings at Palm Hills Estate, London Road (Shanly Homes), Winkfield

Medium sites:

• Loss of 1 dwelling at Longcroft, Winkfield through demolition
• 7 dwellings at 26 High Street, Bracknell

In addition, small site visits revealed that there had been 20 net completions on small sites throughout the year.

Furthermore, completions on specialist housing falling within Classes C3, C2 and C2a amounted to 17 net:

• C2: -21 net (The former Ladybank, Bridgewell Centre Bracknell - medium site)
• C2a: 31 net (Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst - large site)
• C3 specialist: 7 net (Binfield House, Binfield - large site)

The total net completions for the 2024 to 2025 monitoring period across all sites is 416 net. This is below the predicted figure of 503 in the Housing Trajectory at March 2023 in the Bracknell Forest Local Plan. The difference has been caused by some sites not coming forward as anticipated plus the lapsing of a permission at Lily Hill Park (33 units).

A total of 1,448 units are under construction across all sites at the end of the 2024 to 2025 monitoring year. This represents an increase on the previous monitoring year when, 748 units across all site were under construction.

37 affordable housing completions were expected this quarter, but by the end of March only 11 had fully completed. 

Minor delays in construction on 3 sites has meant that the other 26 homes scheduled for completion this quarter have been delayed to April 2025 and will be counted in quarter 1 of 2025 to 2026 instead. If these homes had completed as expected, then annual completions would have been 83, in line with the forecast of 75.

During the monitoring year 2024 to 2025, 2 sites that include affordable housing have been totally completed. The details are:

• Coopers Hill, Bracknell where 13 (12 flats and 1 house) out of 52 units are affordable giving a total of 25% affordable
• The former TRL (Bucklers Park), Phase 3b, Crowthorne where 13 (flats) out of 120 units are affordable giving a total of 10% affordable

The percentage achieved over these 2 sites is therefore 15% affordable.

In addition there were 3 sites with site areas of 0.5ha or more (that is, qualifying sites under current policy) that did not provide any affordable housing:

• The former Larkfield, Winkfield: 0.76ha (10 gross) Permitted June 2022
• Sandhurst Lodge, Sandhurst: 4.7ha (4 gross) Permitted June 2018
• The former Winkfield Park (Brockhill House), Winkfield: 3.5ha (10 gross) Permitted May 2020

The percentage achieved over all fully completed sites is therefore 13% affordable.

Whilst this is below the current target (35%) set out in Policy LP16 of the Bracknell Forest Local Plan, all the above permissions were granted prior to the adoption of the Bracknell Forest Local Plan under a different policy regime. As far as the former TRL site is concerned, the outline permission (13/00575/OUT) was granted based on providing not less than 10% affordable housing on site and a commuted sum.
 

The latest data available shows the unemployment rate has remained the same as the previous reporting quarter. Regionally there has been an increase in unemployment, this is also reflected in unemployment levels for neighbouring local authorities. 

The Bracknell Forest Skills Hub launched in September 2024 seeks to address this issue. To date 76 career seeker consultations have taken place.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) issued one final decision following an investigation in quarter 4. The complaint was upheld. The council has carried out all the actions recommended by the Ombudsman to remedy the complaint.

The LGSCO considered 3 further complaints this quarter. Two were not investigated as they were outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction. One was not investigated because an investigation would not add anything to the council's response, suggesting a full response had already been provided by the council.

The LGSCO is selective in the complaints it investigates and has said it is less likely to carry out investigations on 'borderline' issues. This leads to a naturally high percentage of complaints being upheld.

Whilst the Neighbourhood Regeneration and Assets programme has successfully secured sufficient capital income to fund the council's transformation activity, revenue savings identified have fallen short of the target of £250,000, with approximately £35,000 being saved this year.

The shortfall in savings will be rolled forward to 2025 to 2026. The Digitalisation and Efficiency programme has focused this year on analysis of technology and assessment of the scale of opportunity for financial savings, as well as delivering on digital improvement work and improving efficiency using AI. 

The savings target for the Digitalisation and Efficiency programme will be rolled forward to 2025 to 2026.

The number of apprentices has gone up by 11% in the last quarter. However the number of staff employed has also gone up so the percentage rise in apprentices is not as high as we would like. We continue to encourage apprentices across the organisation.

There are several Access to Education Tutors which are not in the establishment.

These are working reduced hours and it is hoped the number will reduce next quarter. The number of agency workers has reduced substantially over the last quarter so percentages will naturally be lower taking this into account.

Only 50% of appeals were dismissed, falling below the 66% target. Of the 3 appeals allowed, 2 related to tree applications. One was allowed as the Inspector concluded that the felling was justified on safety grounds. In the second, the Inspector considered that the tree did not make a significant contribution to the amenity of the area and therefore the proposed works would not have a materially harmful effect on amenity.

The planning appeal that was allowed is situated within the Green Belt. The Inspector accepted that the lawful use of a residential annexe was as a separate residential unit and yet took its size into account in the Green Belt calculations given its subservient scale and close relationship to the main house.

Although the target was not met for this quarter, a review of the appeals suggests that they were all determined by the Inspectors based on the specific and unique facts of each case and so they do not have wider implications for the application of development plan policy or decision-making.

Regular reminders for staff to record their disability have appeared over the last quarter. Numbers are improving but still work to do on this area. Liaison with the Staff Disability and Neurodiversity group will happen over the next few months.