A long-promised online public dashboard designed to help Newport residents track council performance and improve transparency by showing data on pothole repairs, grass cutting and other services was announced nearly two years ago — but is still not available.
Councillor Matthew Evans, a Conservative member, questioned the status of the project in a request published on Newport City Council’s website.
He asked whether the dashboard was finished, whether it had improved public engagement, and the reasons for the delay.
Dimitri Batrouni, leader of Newport City Council, responded with criticism of Conservative opposition to the project.
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Mr Batrouni said: "I hope that by asking this question it means the Newport Conservatives, finally, support the administration’s move to update its systems and datasets.
"If so, this is a long overdue and I hope this means the Newport Conservatives will now enter the 21st century.
"I realise this modern world is bewildering for the Newport Conservatives, but I hope to help guide you on this journey.
"The scale of this work should not be underestimated, notably integrating (or bridging) various council systems and ensuring the cleanliness and formatting of our datasets to ensure accuracy of any data reported on dashboards."
He added that the project has required a major investment of time and money.
Mr Batrouni said: "This has required significant officer time and financial investment – something I note the Newport Conservatives have opposed in the two previous council budgets.
"I have to say Newport Conservatives’ opposition to the modernisation of our systems is deeply disappointing."
The dashboard, called the Performance Portal, is meant to make performance data easily accessible to residents.
Mr Batrouni said: "I am pleased to say that officers have been progressing the development of a Performance Portal.
"Phase 1 will provide an overview of performance in relation to the Councils Corporate Plan.
"The portal is due to be released to a pilot group for feedback and comment in Q2 this year.
"Phase 2 is under development and will include data on key service delivery functions.
"Timeline for delivery is Qtr 4 of 2026/27."
The full portal is expected to be operational by the end of the 2026/27 financial year.
A spokesperson for Newport City Council said: "There has been no delay. The scale of the project has required significant officer time and financial investment.
"However, while the dashboard will bring together performance data into one portal, the information is already published by the council in reports so is publicly available."
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