Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Corporate Director (People) on the Shared Services Business Plan 2020/21.

Executive Councillor: D Keane.

The Cabinet has approved the Business Plans for Legal, ICT and Building Control as outlined in Appendices 1, 2 and 3 and has authorised the Shared Services Management Board to approve final amendments to the Business Plans in line with comments received from all three partner Councils.

The Cabinet received and noted a report by the Corporate Director (People) (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) seeking endorsement of the Shared Services Business Plans 2020/21. Alongside the report were the Business Plans for Legal and ICT (copies of which are also appended in the Minute Book) and Building Control (a copy of which is appended in the Annex to the Minute Book).

Attention was drawn to the current challenges faced by the Council in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and the positive impact Council Anywhere was having upon building resilience within the organisation. Additionally, Members were informed that attracting and retaining technical resource across all 3C areas remained a challenge.

Following a brief discussion on 3C Legal Services and in noting the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) , it was

RESOLVED

(a)  that the Business Plans for each of the Shared Services attached as an Appendix to the report now submitted be approved; and

(b)  that the Shared Services Management Board be authorised to approve final amendments to the Business Plans in line with comments received from all three partner Councils.

The Shared Services Business Plans 2020/21 are to be presented to the Panel.

With the aid of a report by the Corporate Director – People (a copy of which has been appended in the Minute Book) the Shared Services Business Plan 2020/21 were presented to the Panel. The Panel was informed that after five years of shared services, the services involved had stability and all three of them were achieving the savings targets that they had been set.

Councillor Wakeford asked about the future plans for the shared services. In response the Panel was informed that all three partners were keen to extend the shared service agreement. It was explained though that what the partners were looking for in the next five years would be different to the previous five years. It was confirmed that a final decision on whether to extend the agreement was required by the end of September 2020.

(At 7.36pm, during the consideration of this item, Councillors B S Chapman and R Fuller left the meeting and did not return.)