Issue - meetings

Mr Kevin Roberts addressed the committee and made the following points on behalf of GMB and Unison:

 

i.       A proposed location for the shared services was not mentioned in the report. A detailed Travel Plan was required, including compensation for longer journeys, for those staff required to relocate and/or unable to drive.

ii.     Cambridge City Council had a more successful recruitment due in no small part to the City location. This advantage would be lost if Cambourne or Huntingdon became the new headquarters. There was no evidence of high staff turnover in Cambridge but this may be the case for the other authorities.

iii.   Regular joint meetings between the three authorities and the trade unions were required.  

iv.   Additional technology such as IT systems, software and video conferencing was required in order to make shared services work.

 

The Chief Executive confirmed that regular joint meetings would take place between the three authorities and the trade unions. It was noted that options were being looked at with regards to service location.

 

Councillor Catherine Smart confirmed that the issues would also be discussed in full at the Joint Staff Employer Forum (JSEF).

 

Matter for Decision: Cambridge City Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council all made decisions in July to work in partnership to deliver shared services.  A significant amount of work had taken place since then and the report set out progress together with proposed next steps to ensure momentum was maintained.

 

Decision of the Leader

 

The Leader resolved to:

 

i.       Note the good progress to date by all three Councils working together to deliver shared services.

 

ii.     Agree the general principles set out in Paragraph 4 of the officer’s report, namely:

 

-        The lead authority model in the first instance (para 4.2)

-        Proposed lead and location arrangements (para 4.3)

-        Proposed cost sharing proposals (para 4.4)

 

iii.   Agree to a phased approach to the development of ICT and Legal Shared Services, with interim project support appointed to assist with the process and develop full business cases.

 

iv.   Establish a Business and Legal Practice Manager in advance of the proposed shared legal service to assist with the transformation programme and development of the shared service. 

 

Reasons for the Decision: As set out in the officer’s report

 

Any alternative options considered and rejected: As set out in the officer’s report

 

Scrutiny Considerations:

 

The committee received a report from the Director of Business Transformation.

 

In response to member’s questions the Director of Business Transformation, the Director of Environment and the Chief Executive said the following:

 

i.       It was proposed that a single team manage the shared Waste Service and South Cambridgeshire had offered to lead on this.

ii.     The Environment Scrutiny Committee on 17 October 2014 had requested that the option of a local delivery vehicle be investigated by officers.

iii.   The joint support costs for the Waste Service amounted to over £1m and this needed to be reduced.

iv.   There was a need to develop support services that were fit for the future direction of the City Council. 

v.    Whilst it would not happen overnight processes were being developed to help manage the reduction of recharges.

vi.   The current level of central recharge costs was £7.5m and a reduction of £1.9m was required. A 15% reduction would be distributed across the three authorities.

vii. The detail on the role of the ‘lead authority’ was yet to be fully agreed.

viii.                   Any policy changes with regards to the shared services needed to be agreed by all three authorities. This would be done through their normal decision making processes.

ix.   A shared CCTV Service was already in place and this was being led by Huntingdonshire District Council. The first governance meeting had taken place and operational plans and an annual report were being produced.

 

In response to member’s questions the Leader said the following:

 

i.       All decisions regarding the future of shared services would be brought to the relevant Scrutiny Committee for discussion.

ii.     The decision on ‘lead authority’ would be based on factors such as location and expertise.

iii.   The shared Waste Service would require close working between the City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council.

iv.   Portfolio holders from each authority would be involved in overseeing performance of the shared service.

v.    A strong relationship existed with Huntingdonshire District Council regarding the shared CCTV Service.  

 

The Scrutiny Committee considered the recommendations and endorsed them unanimously.

 

The Leader approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Leader (and any Dispensations Granted):

 

Not applicable.