Agenda and minutes

Decision: (Unanimously) That Councillor Alistair Bradley be appointed as Chair and Councillor Paul Foster be appointed as Vice Chair. 

It was noted that the briefing requested in relation to the Shared Services Agreement had not taken place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  A briefing will be arranged prior to the consideration of the agreement at the respective Council meetings via Microsoft Teams.    

Decision: (Unanimously) That the minutes of the Shared Services Joint Committee held 3 March 2020 be held as a correct record.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of interests received.

To receive and consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive. 

Vicky Willett, Shared Service Lead - Transformation and Partnerships, presented the report of the Deputy Chief Executive which provides an update on the delivery of shared services phase 1.

Phase 1 of the development of shared services included a number of key milestones such as the TUPE and relocation of staff, terms and conditions consultation and a programme of service reviews to achieve the required single operating model.

Already the shared model has delivered timely benefits through increased capacity and resilience to manage and respond to the Covid-19 crisis.  In most cases good progress has been maintained against the phase 1 project plan, however some elements of the plan will need to be reprofiled due to senior managers being called on to coordinate the response effort and the need to minimise uncertainty for staff during a period of disruption.

The process for undertaking service reviews was outlined and it was acknowledged that the timeline needs to be updated. 

Councillor Paul Foster, Leader of South Ribble Council, commended the work undertaken so far and noted, particularly, the positive work in terms of policy development. 

Councillors raised other queries, including progress on phase 2.  It is anticipated that ICT and Customer Services will be included and proposals will be brought to a future meeting, before being considered by the respective Council meetings. 

Clarification was requested on the savings anticipated from Shared Services.  This will be circulated following the meeting. 

Members noted that the Shared Services Agreement will be presented to the next Council meeting at each authority, as agreed at the last meeting of this Committee.   

Decision: (Unanimously) That the progress is noted and the amended timeline is approved and adopted.

To receive and consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive. 

Vicky Willett, Shared Service Lead - Transformation and Partnerships, presented the report of the Deputy Chief Executive which sets out the shared Change policy to be applied to all employees of Chorley and South Ribble Councils.

The Shared HR Policy framework is intended to provide modern, concise, and accessible guidance to employees and managers.  The Change policy combines the Chorley policies of Restructures, Redundancy, Redeployment and the SRBC policies of Restructures, Redundancy, and Discretionary Compensation.

Chorley Unison branch and SRBC Unison branch have provided feedback.  This feedback has been taken into consideration in drafting the updated version of the policy.  Wider consultation has taken place across the councils, with positive feedback received.  The style of the policy was commended by Members. 

Members noted that the Change Policy will be approved by each respective Council following their usual procedure. 

Decision: (Unanimously) to note the shared Change policy.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public for the following items of business on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

By Virtue of Paragraph 4: Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under the authority.

Condition:

Information is exempt to the extent that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Information is not exempt if it relates to proposed development for which the local planning authority may grant itself planning permission pursuant to Regulation 3 of the Town & Country Planning General Regulations 1992(a).

Decision: To exclude the press and public for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

To receive and consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive. 

Chris Sinnott, Deputy Chief Executive, presented his confidential report which sets out proposals for the shared services terms and conditions review including working hours and annual leave, flexi bandwidth, flexi scheme, long service award, life assurance scheme, professional fees, the 2.2 redundancy multiplier, and car/travel scheme.

The report details areas that staff and the Union have broadly agreed with during the terms and conditions consultation.  Where staff have had concerns with the original proposals, an updated position has been provided alongside rationale and key consultation feedback.

Members noted that concerns had been raised regarding the carry over credit limit for the Flexi Scheme.  At Chorley Council there is currently a carry over credit limit of 21.75 hours and for South Ribble Council it is currently 74 hours.  A compromise has been proposed for a staged reduction in hours, to 40 hours and then down to 21.75 for both Councils.  There are currently only 10 staff within shared services who have a credit of over 20 hours, and only 3 who are at the current upper limit of over 60 hours.

Members queried the reserves to fund the costs of staffing restructures and noted that in the main savings will be split 50/50, but there may be cases where one authority decided to invest in a specific post and this would mean the cost being 100% for that authority.  The purpose of the reserves are to manage the costs of restructures and potential redundancies. 

On professional subscriptions the proposals ensure that professional subscriptions are only to be funded where it is beneficial to the organisations, for example, through access to industry knowledge, professional development, or essential business need.  ‘non-essential’, but beneficial, business case for professional status will be for Directors to authorise based on set guidance.

Details on the proposals for car / travel scheme will be presented to the next meeting. 

Decision: (Unanimously)

1.         The proposals for the terms and conditions review, as outlined in Appendix A, to be agreed ready for progression to both Councils in July.

2.         To note the next steps for the terms and conditions review including car/travel scheme options.