Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Andrew Birchall and June Molyneaux. 

Members of the Committee are reminded of their responsibility to declare any personal interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 2000, the Council’s Constitution and the Members Code of Conduct.  If the personal interest is a prejudicial interest, then the individual Member should not participate in a discussion on the matter and must withdraw from the room and not seek to influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of interest by Members relating to the items on the agenda.

To determine the questions to be asked during the feedback sessions with the Councillors D Edgerley and J Walker.

The Sub-Group discussed the questions proposed at the meeting held on 5 December 2006.  Several questions were added and the Members agreed the order and who would ask each question. 

To receive feedback from Councillor Dennis Edgerley, Previous Executive Member for Customers, Policy and Performance on the Lancashire Shared Services Contact Centre Partnership.

Members received feedback from Councillor Dennis Edgerley, Previous Executive Member for Customers, Policy and Performance

The discussion with Councillor Edgerley is summarised at minute 6 “Review of findings and conclusions”.

To receive feedback from Councillor John Walker, Executive Member for Customer, Democratic and Legal Services on the Lancashire Shared Services Contact Centre Partnership.

The Sub-Group met with Councillor Councillor John Walker, Executive Member for Customer, Democratic and Legal Services.

The discussion with Councillor Walker is summarised at minute 6 “Review of findings and conclusions”.

To consider the findings and any conclusions arising from the feedback sessions.

How do you think the Partnership is progressing?

The Partnership has not progressed at the pace it was anticipated to and has not delivered, as yet, what Chorley wanted from it.  The project is a huge undertaking.

All of the Partners are at different stages of implementation, Lancashire County Council have faced resistance to change from their Directorates and there have been significant problems surrounding the Customer Relationship Management System.  At Lancashire County Council the system is being used to signpost members of staff to information and to collect information. 

Chorley have made excellent progress, the Contact Centre is open from 8 until 6, has produced some back office and will produce significant efficiency savings once the Customer Relationship Management System is in place.  The improvements in customer service have been fantastic with generic staff dealing with queries at the first point of contact. 

The Partnership is at a difficult point.  The meeting to decide the way forward on the Customer Relationship Management System has been postponed until February.  The decision will be the best solution for the Partnership going forward. 

Lancashire County Council have integrated around a quarter of their services into the Hub, the largest services have been integrated first. 

At Chorley the Partnership has had Member and officer support from the beginning, not all Councils have had this. 

How do the Joint Committee meetings operate?

The officer Board works well and can take decisions with its terms of reference, but the way the Committee works needs to be reviewed.  It is an opportunity to discuss issues but there needs to be more buy in from the District Partners.  There aren’t many decisions to be taken.  Conflicting timetables mean it is difficult to get everyone together. 

It might be helpful to have just one senior representative from each Council on the Committee. 

The quorum is good as it ensures that all Partners have a vote on any decisions. 

The lack of attendance from some Districts is disappointing as it shows a lack of commitment to the project. 

What have been the main concerns regarding the management of the contract?

The original contractor (SX3) was bought out by Northgate, meaning that Northgate staff were working on an SX3 product.  The contract management from Lancashire County Council has changed twice.  Factors such as these created contract management issues. 

The new Management Team for the project at Lancashire County Council have moved the Partnership along and are looking positively to the future.  Lancashire County Council have their own specific needs relating to Social Services and have developed a Corporate Information Database to deal with this. 

Going forward the Partnership the contract management should involve the Partners more, rather than being left just to Lancashire County Council. 

What are the benefits of being in the Partnership?

The cost to the Council would be significant to purchase the telephony, hardware and software outside the Partnership.  The potential for additional opening hours, in the evenings and at weekend are significant benefits. 

The way forward  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Sub-Group will have a group discussion on the way forward on the Scrutiny Inquiry and in particular the issues to be considered at future meetings.

It was AGREED to consider the web cast showing the discussion by the Executive Cabinet at Lancashire County Council on the reportof the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group on the Shared Services Contact Centre at the next meeting of the Sub-Group.