Issue - meetings

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet agreed:

1.     to the proposed transfer of staff and noted the associated  MTFP pressures that will commence in 2019-20; and

2.     that Surrey County Council would agree and document future service levels and mutual obligations in a Service Level Agreement or mutual Agreements with Surrey Police and the Senior Coroner.

Reasons for decisions

This transfer will provide a single source of support to the Surrey Coroner recognising SCC’s role in supporting the Coroner Service and the nature of the role of Coroner’s Officer. 

Defining the services that each of the three parties can expect of each other will provide the Coroner with clarity about future support arrangements and ensures transparency of the use of public funds

There is clear evidence from those areas where a transfer has been undertaken that the service runs more efficiently where just one agency has overall responsibility for providing the Coroner with a comprehensive support package and ultimately can lead to improvements to the experience of bereaved residents in line with SCC’s corporate Resident Experience priority.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Communities Select Committee]

The report was introduced by Ms Denise Turner-Stewart who asked Cabinet to agree proposals to transfer staff working for the Coroner’s Office but employed by Surrey Police over to the employment of SCC to agree funding for a case management system. Funding responsibilities would be phased over the of five years in order to mitigate the immediate impact on SCC’s budget. The Cabinet Member stated that SCC was responsible for funding the Coroner’s Service in the County but highlighted that for some years Surrey Police had accepted responsibility for financing some Coroner’s Office staff. They were, however, under no statutory obligation to do so and, given that it was not a core policing role, negotiations had taken place about bringing these staff into the Council’s employment. Ms Turner-Stewart emphasised that bringing all staff under a single employer would help to create a more transparent cohesive and efficient Coroner’s Service.

The Cabinet Member for Property and Business Services expressed his support for the proposal. He suggested that the change could provide an opportunity to reflect on how the Coroner’s Service operates in order to embed improvements and drive out efficiencies.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet agreed:

1.    to the proposed transfer of staff and noted the associated  MTFP pressures that will commence in 2019-20; and

2.    that Surrey County Council would agree and document future service levels and mutual obligations in a Service Level Agreement or mutual Agreements with Surrey Police and the Senior Coroner.

Reasons for decisions

This transfer will provide a single source of support to the Surrey Coroner recognising SCC’s role in supporting the Coroner Service and the nature of the role of Coroner’s Officer. 

Defining the services that each of the three parties can expect of each other will provide the Coroner with clarity about future support arrangements and ensures transparency of the use of public funds

There is clear evidence from those areas where a transfer has been undertaken that the service runs more efficiently where just one agency has overall responsibility for providing the Coroner with a comprehensive support package and ultimately can lead to improvements to the experience of bereaved residents in line with SCC’s corporate Resident Experience priority.