Issue - meetings

To provide an overview of 3C Shared Services in terms of Quarter 3 activity and other benefits identified in the business case in year 1 of operation.

That the Cabinet notes the report.

The Cabinet considered a report (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) presented by the Executive Councillor for Commercialisation and Shared Services which provided progress of the 3C Shared Services, in terms of Quarter 3 activity and other benefits identified in the Business Case from the first year of operation.

It was explained that there had been significant progress in the past quarter regarding 3C Legal, ICT and Building Control Services and all were completing the 2017/18 Business Plans which included consumption based recharging and improved performance data as the services move from start-up to business as usual.

However, there were some issues regarding the delivery of savings set out in the original Business Cases. The targeted 15% savings identified for 2016/17 was unlikely to be realised due to staff vacancies and the use of temporary staff.  However, the achievement of savings in 2017/18 was likely to be positive.

The comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Customers) had been circulated to the Cabinet separate to the agenda, the Panel meeting having occurred following the agenda publication. In noting that there had been a good discussion by the Panel regarding the matter, the Cabinet

RESOLVED

to note the report.

The 3C Shared Services Update is to be presented to the Panel.  

With the aid of a report by the Corporate Director (Services) (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the 3C Shared Services Update was presented to the Panel. The Executive Councillor for Commercialisation and Shared Services introduced the report and informed Members that the report is the Quarter 3 Update Report and it is not as positive as had been anticipated.

The Panel was informed that the 3C Shared Services are not on course to achieve the targeted 15% savings across the board. In addition, a number of the previous savings were one off savings and were therefore not embedded.

The Managing Director added that the only unresolved leadership staffing issue has been the management of Building Control, which is seen as crucial to resolve so that the service has stability. In addition, Members were informed that the Service Plans for Legal and ICT are on track however the Building Control Service Plan is a working progress.

Following a question from the Chairman regarding what would the Council do differently and what would the Council do the same, the Managing Director informed the Panel that what the Council would do differently would be: have a map of the money down to the last penny; have more strategic investment in the service; ensure a greater service resilience (as the services have struggled to recruit the right calibre of personal so has therefore relied on interims) and align the decision making process. In terms of what would be done the same, the Panel was informed that the Council would be bold in its ambition.

When asked if there was going to be more shared services, Members were informed that the emphasis in the short term is to concentrate on the existing shared services, however future shared service arrangements have not been ruled out.

In response to questions of governance and the reviewing of targets, the Panel was informed that the report before them is a quarter three update report and that there will be a report presented at a future Panel meeting which outlines these issues.

A Member stated that they thought the business cases were not robust enough, only 20% of audits have been dealt with which shows the shared services have not got to grips with demand, recognises there is an Action Plan but is disappointed that there is no further details and argued that in terms of recruitment every post is crucial to the organisation. In response, the Managing Director informed the Panel that the Business Plans did the job but they were based on the old services and would look different if they were done today and agreed that every post is crucial. In addition, the new Business Plans will be ready in either March or April 2017.

In response to the Managing Director, the Panel requested to view the content of the Action Plan.

Following a question regarding the provision of services across three councils, Members were informed that the Council are confident that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54