Agenda and minutes

Decision (unanimous) that the minutes of the Shared Services Joint Committee held on 7 October 2020 be held as a correct record.

Councillor Colin Clark highlighted that he had not received a copy of the recently revised Digital Strategy for South Ribble.  This will be forwarded following the meeting.

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 Section 151 Officer. 

The Deputy Chief Executive, Chris Sinnott, presented the report of the Section 151 Officer which provides an update on the budget position of Shared Services following implementation of Phase 1 reviews.

Shared Services has expanded significantly to encompass a significant level of budget areas. With the Phase 2 reports recently approved there is now in excess of £7m of budgets in this area.

The contributions to each service by Council varies considerably. A number of budgets are exclusive to a particular Council and these largely fall into the Communications and Visitor Economy section where budgets for Astley Hall and Chorley events are held meaning a greater contribution required to the service.

Members thanked officers for the report.  The figures are for the full financial year to the end of March 2021.  The staffing savings are recurring, but the budgets will be adjusted within the base budget.  Further savings are anticipated following the service reviews within Customer Services and ICT. 

The figures detailing the savings made through the joint procurement of the new website technology for both Chorley and South Ribble was requested for the next meeting.

Decision (unanimously) to note the current split of budgets within Shared Services and the ongoing budget alignment work.

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 1: Information relating to any individual.

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).

By Virtue of Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Condition:

Information is not exempt if it is required to be registered under-

The Companies Act 1985

The Friendly Societies Act 1974

The Friendly Societies Act 1992

The Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965 to 1978

The Building Societies Act 1986 (recorded in the public file of any building society, within the meaning of the Act)

The Charities Act 1993

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).

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 (unanimously) 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 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

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

The Deputy Chief Executive, Chris Sinnott, presented his confidential report which outlines proposals to create a shared events team.

As part of the creation of a shared Communications and Visitor Economy team the councils have completed the first stage, which is the sharing of the communications function. 

These reviews have followed the initial phase as the set-up of these parts of the teams and how the services are delivered differs at each authority and has needed more consideration.

Members considered the proposals in detail and noted the different approaches taken currently.  Moving forwards the Covid-19 restrictions will be reviewed prior to any recruitment taking place. 

Members supported the aspirations of the review, noting that events assist in creating a sense of place for residents and visitors which will be important when restrictions are lifted.  It is positive that events in each Borough should not clash moving forwards at it will be the same team delivering them.  Support for the Mayor will remain unchanged at the current time.

Decisions regarding events timetables will be determined by each authority, although the resourcing plan for shared services, including the ongoing split of contributions will be considered by this committee as part of future budget planning cycles. 

Decision (unanimously)

1.         To support the proposals for a shared events team and action plan for the team as detailed in Appendix 1.

2.         To note the proposed arrangements for the formal approval of the proposals, consultation and final sign-off for the restructures.

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

The Shared Service Lead - Transformation and Partnerships, Vicky Willett, presented the confidential report of the Deputy Chief Executive which provides an update on the approach and next steps for the phase 2 service review process.

Phase 2 of shared services was considered by both councils in November 2020, approving the shared Chief Executive and Director posts, alongside the progression of shared services arrangements for ICT and Customer Services functions.

The shared Directors were recruited to successfully and started in post on 4 January. The shared leadership and management team will now be reviewing their directorates to identify further opportunities for sharing.

ICT and Customer Services have already been identified for sharing, the next step for these services is to undertake a full service review to maximise the benefits of sharing and enable the services to develop a single shared operating model; a key aim of the shared services principles agreed in 2019.

Members noted the difficulties in undertaking changes during the current Covid-19 restrictions, but also considered the need for staff to know how their jobs will be moving forwards.  Officers are in regular contact with the Union who accept that change has to move forward. 

The impact of Covid-19 on the approach to work from home and amount of office space needed is being evaluated. 

Members noted the issues currently with the modern.gov private app.  This is due to an Apple upgrade and has impacted on many apps.  It is hoped that the issue will be resolved shortly and, in the interim, members have access to the extranet or the legacy app. 

It is hoped that a report outlining plans for ICT will be presented to the next meeting and then Customer Services to a following meeting. 

Decision (unanimously)

1.         To agree the approach for the phase 2 service reviews.

2.         To approve for the Chief Executive to put in place interim staffing arrangements to support the shared leadership and management team where these changes are within budget and there is no risk to redundancy.