Meeting documents

Joint Committee on Shared Services 2018/2019
Tuesday 14th June 2016

Chairman: To be appointed
Venue: Civic Centre, Scunthorpe
Time: 12.00 pm

AGENDA

1. Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Personal or Personal and Prejudicial Interests.

The Rules for the Conduct of Meetings and Proceedings of the Joint Committee and its Terms of Reference are attached for information.

2. To note the appointment of Councillors Hannigan, Patrick, Reed, Walker, Waltham and Watson to the Joint Committee.

3. Appointment of Chairman until May 2017

4. Appointment of Vice-Chairman until May 2017

5. To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 4 March, 2016.

6. Shared Services – Progress Report – Report by the Shared Services Board.

7. Commissioned Services Business Plan - Report by the Shared Services Board.

8. Procurement Shared Service - Report by the Shared Services Board.

9. Print Hub + Shared Service - Report by the Shared Services Board.

10. Any other items which the chairman decides are urgent by reason of special circumstances which must be specified.

MINUTES

PRESENT: – Councillors Hannigan, Patrick and Waltham.

Sally Jack, Mike Wedgewood, Jason Whaler and Tanya Davies also attended the meeting.

The meeting was held at the Civic Centre, Scunthorpe.

27 DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS AND PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS - There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, personal or personal and prejudicial interests made at the meeting.

28 APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO THE JOINT COMMITTE – It was noted that North Lincolnshire Council had appointed Councillors Hannigan, Reed and Waltham and North East Lincolnshire Council had appointed Councillors Chase, Patrick and Watson to the joint committee.

29 APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE UNTIL MAY 2017 – It was moved and seconded that Councillor Hannigan be appointed Chairman of the joint committee until May 2017.

Councillor Hannigan thereupon took the chair.

30 APPOINTMENT OF VICE CHAIRMAN UNTIL MAY 2017 – It was moved and seconded that Councillor Patrick be appointed Vice Chairman of the joint committee until May 2017.

31 MINUTESResolved – That the minutes of the meeting of thejoint committee held on 4 March 2016, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and be signed by the chairman.

32 (1) SHARED SERVICES – PROGRESS REPORT – A report was submitted by the Shared Services Board updating the committee on the recent work in relation to the shared service. In particular, a key point within the report was confirmation that the shared service officially went live on 1 April 2016 for Information and Communication Technology, Internal Audit, Human Resources, Finance and Legal Services. All structures and staff in the five workstreams had been in place since the 1 April as agreed following previous consideration by the joint committee and formal consultation with staff and trade unions.

Projected savings for the shared services programme remained on target and monitoring systems were in place to ensure control and scrutiny of budgets and savings on shared services.

The report indicated that a report on the proposed changes to other shared services – Procurement and Print Hub + were on the agenda as separate items for this meeting and that a report regarding proposed new staffing structures to support the future delivery of the Local Taxation and Benefits Shared Services in North and North East Lincolnshire from July 2016 had previously been considered by the committee. A Commissioned Services Business Plan for “Northern Lincolnshire Business Connect” was also on the agenda for consideration.

Positive internal (Internal Audit) and external (KPMG) validation had been received regarding the implementation of shared services and a progress update had been submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) regarding the transformational challenge award allocation, which DCLG had accepted.

The report contained other detailed information in relation to progress on the implementation of shared services.

Resolved – That the joint committee notes the successful implementation of shared services on 1 April 2016 and the positive direction of travel of “Northern Lincolnshire Business Connect”.

33 (2) SHARED SERVICES – COMMISSIONED SERVICES BUSINESS PLAN – The Shared Services Board submitted a report which asked the committee to consider the Commissioned Services Business Plan for shared services between North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council.

The report reminded members that the shared services arrangement went live on 1 April 2016 and that it was important that the services provided by “Northern Lincolnshire Business Connect” met the needs and objectives of each council. Many of these were similar, some were different and the shared services had been designed to standardise approaches wherever possible but to meet different needs where these existed.

A Commissioned Services Business Plan for “Northern Lincolnshire Business Connect” was a high level document outlining what the two councils had commissioned from the shared services operation, the services it offered, the principles it would apply and the approach it would take to achieve the outcomes of both councils. It gave details of the services that would be supplied, with details of their costs, resources used, performance measures and a range of other supporting detail. The business plan was a key document for the newly formed shared services, demonstrating how this significant service transformation initiative would meet service delivery targets as well as achieving the financial savings expected by both councils. It also provided a basis for a continued commercial offer for a wider market place outside the two councils, supporting the viability of these “in house” services and enable them to be self-sustaining into the future.

A copy of the full Northern Lincolnshire Business Connect Commissioned Services Business Plan was attached as an appendix to the report.

Resolved – That the “Northern Lincolnshire Business Connect” Commissioned Services Business Plan be approved and adopted.

34 (3) PROCUREMENT SHARED SERVICE – A report was submitted by the Shared Services Board which considered the proposed structure for the Procurement Shared Service between North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council.

The report referred to the shared back-office service initiatives between North and North East Lincolnshire Council which had developed out of the need to provide efficient and effective support services at minimum cost in order to protect frontline services to local people across Northern Lincolnshire. Procurement Alliance North and North East Lincolnshire – PANNEL had been launched in April 2006 as one of the first procurement shared services in the local government sector. The report reminded members of its primary aims which were detailed in paragraph 2.3 together with the specific outcomes sought from the shared service which were set out in paragraph 2.4. For a number of years the unit operated effectively with progress reports provided to both councils’ cabinets at annual intervals evidencing a wide range of significant financial and non financial outcomes through collaborative working. Details were included in paragraph 2.5.

However, in recent years a number of changes had impacted on the model, notably the creation of a centralised commissioning and procurement structure at North East Lincolnshire Council and management and other associated staffing changes at North Lincolnshire Council. Despite these challenges the arrangement had continued and significant outcomes were still being realised demonstrating the strength of the relationship, the value of the benefits it delivered and the general cogence of the original business case. Latterly the service had shaped its operations around a modern commercial category management model with specific category managers managing portfolios of procurement across both councils in common areas such as transport, fleet, agency staff and office solutions.

The recent reorganisation of corporate functions at North East Lincolnshire Council alongside the wider North Lincolnshire Council/North East Lincolnshire Council shared services programme had presented opportunities to review and re-launch the procurement shared service. Accordingly an enhanced vision had been produced, informed by the strategic objectives of the wider programme. The enhanced vision was detailed in paragraph 2.7 and a proposed new single service structure for delivering this was shown at appendix A of the report. Job descriptions and job profiles had been aligned across both councils and confirmed grades had been included and used in the service costings and supporting savings analysis.

The report contained further information in relation to the proposed changes to the procurement service together with the financial implications.

Resolved – That the procurement shared service structure as set out in appendix A of the report be approved and adopted.

35 (4) PRINT HUB PLUS + SHARED SERVICE – The Shared Services Board submitted a report which considered the proposed structure for enhancing the Print Hub + Shared Service between North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council.

The report referred to the development of the shared services back office initiative and indicated that the Print Hub + was initially launched as a collaborative printing service on 1 October 2014. It was the third shared service to be established between North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council following on from earlier initiatives involving procurement and local taxation and benefits. Its primary aims were detailed in paragraph 2.3 and the initiative recognised a significant range of synergies that existed between the two councils at that time which were detailed in 2.4. Paragraph 2.5 set out the specific outcomes sought from the shared service.

In 2015/2016, Print Hub + delivered a surplus of 20% above its budgeted income target. The surplus was shared across both councils.

Recent re-organisation of corporate functions alongside the wider shared services programme had presented an opportunity to review and relaunch the Print Hub + Shared Service. Accordingly an enhanced vision has been produced, informed by the strategic objectives of the wider programme and these were detailed in paragraph 2.7. The proposed new single service structure for delivering this enhanced vision, subject to grading, was shown as appendix A of the report.

The proposed structure as set out in appendix A had been designed to deliver the enhanced vision and had been subject to the initial first stage consultation with staff and trade unions and considered and agreed by the Shared Services Board.

The report contained further details information about this proposal including the financial implications and the consultations currently ongoing.

Resolved – That the Print Hub + Shared Service structure as set out in appendix A of the report be approved and adopted, subject to there being no material change occurring to the affordability of service arising as a result of the subsequent HR/job grading processes.