Performance and reporting

The Council Plan is Falkirk Council's 5-year strategic plan. The plan runs from 2022-2027 and takes the main themes from The Falkirk Plan and concentrates them into our 3 main priorities. Under each priority there are several 'we will' action statements that reflect the work of the Council. Striving to develop a performance culture, the Council has set a target against each Success measure in the strategic plan for the first time.

Council Plan 2022 - 2027
PDF file, 1.1 MB

Progress will be reported to Elected Members every 6 months - mid-year and end of year - for scrutiny and in turn, here on Falkirk Performs.

Performance indicators

The full list of indicators we will be reporting on can be viewed below:

  1. Table of contents

Our Priority - Supporting stronger and healthier communities

Communities that are empowered, inclusive, resilient, and safe.

We will... Success measure Baseline Target
Encourage the development of a strong and independent third sector - with an infrastructure that understands and supports the needs of communities.   Establishment of Anchor Organisations increases across the life of this plan.  0  1 in 22/23 
Provide support to community projects and partner agencies to help with transforming/improving local areas and amenities for the benefit of the local communities.  Number of interventions/conversations with community projects and partner agencies engaging in capacity building.  402  500 p.a. 
Encourage and support local third sector organisations to increase and develop community owned assets through the management and operation of community halls, centres and other public assets available for community transfer.  Number of asset transfers per year for full community ownership.  0  2 
Number of asset transfers per year by lease.  0  2 
Coordinate and develop the way we inform and engage with communities to make it easier for people to have an active role in decisions that shape Falkirk's future.  % of Falkirk Council budgets subject to Participatory Budgeting.  0  1% (annual) 
Deliver housing services that reduce homelessness, support people to sustain tenancies and provide good quality and affordable homes.  A full suite of housing and homeless services indicators is measured through the Local Housing Strategy  N/A  N/A
Support and safeguard children where protection concerns have been raised.  All Inter-agency referral discussions to take place within 24 hours.  N/A  100% 
Help people participate in activities that improve health & wellbeing in a place that is appropriate for them - with particular focus on inclusivity and those who experience barriers to participation such as poverty, inequality and disability.  Cost per attendance of sport and leisure facilities.  LGBF * Scotland Value is £40.36  £81.44 
Develop community mental health and wellbeing services to provide a range of support for everyone in the community.  Performance indicator to be developed in future year(s).  NEW  NEW 
Work with Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and partners to deliver adult health and social care services in line with the HSCP Strategic Plan.  Performance is monitored through the Integration Joint Board Performance Monitoring Report and Annual Performance Report and reported to the Council and Scrutiny Committee annually.  NEW  NEW 

Our Priority - Promoting opportunities and educational attainment and reducing inequalities

Educational excellence, reduce poverty & inequality, and improve wellbeing.

We will... Success measure Baseline Target
Tackle poverty by offering financial health-checks to improve access to services/benefits to help with the cost of living. Support school attendance by reducing the financial barriers in the cost of the school day.  Number of Financial Health-checks conducted for residents.  N/A  500 per annum 
Support care experienced children and young people to live and learn in their community.  Reduce the number of placement moves for looked after children:
% Looked after children with more than one placement within the last year (LGBF). 		 LGBF * Scotland Value is 16.79%  20.90% 
Number of all looked after children in community placements.  302  TBC 
Shift the balance of care for those children who need to be looked after away from home, from residential care to family-based care.  Balance of care for 'looked after children': increase % of children being looked after in the community.  82.8%  90.30% 
Increase the number of foster care placements.  120  additional 15 per annum for 22/23 
Ensure children will meet their individual developmental and attainment targets and school leavers will transition into positive, sustained destinations.    % of pupils gaining 5+ awards at level 6.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 41%  43% 
% of pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas gaining 5+ awards at level 6).  LGBF * Scotland Value is 23%  24% 
% of pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas gaining 5+ awards at level 5 (LGBF).  LGBF * Scotland Value is 49%  57% 
% of pupils gaining 5+ awards at level 5.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 67%  73% 
School Attendance Rates.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 92%  92% 
P1/4/7 Literacy.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 67%  70.21% 
P1/4/7 Numeracy.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 75%  77.68% 
HMIe Inspection Report Score of Good or Better.  N/A  100% 
Develop a family learning programmes with all school areas that target families who would most benefit from family learning.  No of young people completing & receiving national awards or wider achievement awards through CLD activity.  272  300 
No of children/young people/adults with improved mental health & wellbeing outcomes through CLD activity.  11,590  12,749 
Provide connectivity and support to those who would otherwise be digitally excluded.  % of library staff trained as 'Digital Champions'.  N/A  100% by 2023 
Increase the number of public space Wi-Fi locations.  0  3 sites by 2023 
Develop our Library Service to create attractive opportunities (including digital), to further reduce inequalities and promote opportunities.    Cost per visit to libraries.  LGBF * Scotland Value is £2.88  £24.79 
Satisfaction with libraries.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 72.4%  69.97% 
Work with community partners to reduce unemployment and inactivity rates and increase the skills of the workforce within the Falkirk area.  % Unemployed People Assisted into work from Council operated / funded Employability Programmes.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 4.1%  3.79% 

Our Priority - Supporting a thriving economy and green transition

An economy that is competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive, and sustainable and an environment that we value, enjoy, protect and enhance.

We will... Success measure Baseline Target
Deliver local and regional economic strategies - including tourism - that drive sustainable growth within the local economy.  Immediately available employment land as % of total land allocated for employment purposes.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 38.914%  35.83% 
No of business gateway start-ups per 10,000 population.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 11.2%  12.77 
Town Vacancy Rates.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 12.4%  15.05% 
Percentage of business properties leased by the Council that are occupied.  95%  94.90% 
Leverage external Government funding and policy interventions to support economic development and improvements to infrastructure.  Total external funding leveraged and invested into the built environment.  NEW  NEW - TBC 
Total external funding leveraged and allocated to businesses and communities.  NEW NEW - TBC 
Implement the new development plan system (NPF4), to support growth in the Falkirk area.  Local Development Plan milestones achieved in line with delivery programme.  NEW  NEW - TBC 
Deliver, with our strategic partners, the Growth Deal and other transformational investment programmes to improve the economy through infrastructure investment.  % of Growth Deal projects approved to business case stage.  2027, 50%  N/A 
Total external funding invested into infrastructure.  NEW  NEW - TBC 
Push towards becoming net-zero by 2030.  % of 2030 carbon reduction targets achieved.  2027, 70%  NEW - TBC 
CO2 emissions area wide: emissions within scope of Local Authority per capita.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 4.09%  3.61% 
Protect the environment in the community by implementing the council's strategies on litter, waste and green transport initiatives.  Street Cleanliness Score.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 90.10%  81.12% 
% of total household waste that is recycled.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 42%  51.20% 
Develop a more sustainable transport fleet and explore Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) opportunities.  % of our vehicle fleet that are zero emission vehicles.  NEW  NEW - TBC 
Co2 emissions from Fleet.  NEW  NEW - TBC 
Conduct a 'Demand Response Transport Study' to determine viability of suitable service.  NEW  NEW - TBC 
Ensure all upgrade, modernisation and new build projects are designed to be as carbon neutral as possible within the finances available.  Reduction in CO2 emissions per m2 of our buildings.  N/A  TBC 
Manage our property assets effectively and efficiently - including the school estate. Proportion of operational buildings that are suitable for their current use %.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 82.3%  87.54% 
Proportion of internal floor area of operational buildings in satisfactory condition %.  LGBF * Scotland Value is 89.2%  90.41% 

Enablers

Financial sustainability

We will... Success measure Baseline Target
Have short and long term financial stability. Support services as a % of total gross expenditure. Scotland Value is 4.06%. 3.61% TBC
The cost per dwelling of collecting Council Tax. Scotland Value is £6.64. £4.88 TBC
Gross rent arrears (all tenants) as at 31 March each year as a percentage of rent due for the reporting year. 9.43% - 2022/23. 9.83% TBC

COTF: Transformation and improvement

We will... Success measure Baseline Target
Deliver the COTF change programme. Projects will have clear benefits which can be measured. New 100%
Projects will be monitored and reported. New 100%
Projects will be delivered on time and on budget. New 70%

Valued sustainable workforce

We will... Success measure Baseline Target
Embed new ways of collaborative working, providing our employees with the tools and support they need to deliver quality service and deliver upon the priorities and commitments in this plan. Sickness absence days per employee excluding teachers. 9.67%

LGBF * Scotland Value is 9.706.		 <4%
Sickness absence days per teacher.

2.80%

LGBF * Scotland Value is 4.156.		 <4%
Staff turnover rate. 9.4% 13.6%

* LGBF is the Local Government Benchmarking Framework. This is a collection of performance indicators for all Scottish councils reported by The Improvement Service. The information helps you see how we are performing and how we compare with other councils for a number of service areas. The 'LGBF Scotland Value' is the current reported average of all the 32 councils in Scotland (reported by The Improvement Service in 2022).