THE ‘continued effect’ of the pandemic, rising demand for services and the requirement to deliver significant budget savings has ‘impacted the council’s ability to meet targets’.

The performance outturn report for 2021-22 came before the overview and scrutiny commission at its meeting on Thursday.

It reflected the performance during the financial year and the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on many of the council’s measures of performance.

There are 105 performance indicators where targets have been set reported in the performance outturn report.

Of these, 64 per cent of indicator targets have been either exceeded, met fully, or met within 95 per cent of target. This compares to 71 per cent of indicators at outturn 2020-21.

Meanwhile, 36 per cent of indicator targets were not met. This compares to 29 per cent of indicators at outturn 2020-21.

The report to the overview and scrutiny commission stated that the 2021-22 performance outturn position ‘should be viewed within the context’ of what has continued to be a ‘challenging operational period’ for the council.

It adds: “The continued effect of the pandemic, rising demand for services and the requirement to deliver significant budget savings has impacted the council’s ability to meet targets and demonstrate improvements in performance trends in the 12-month period from April 2021 to March 2022.

“Equally in many areas the impact of the pandemic on performance is yet to be fully realised and understood.

“However, given the effect of the pandemic on St Helens to date there is the strong likelihood that existing inequalities may be widened.

“This presents risks for future performance, particularly in areas such as public health, education and schools and children’s services where current performance is already challenging.

“The council’s performance management framework and processes are critical to ensuring the organisation provides value for money.”

The commission noted the performance position.