Agenda and minutes

Orbis Joint Committee (Expired Committee) - Monday, 5 December 2016 9.30 am

Venue: Members' Conference Room, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2DN

Contact: Andrew Baird

Items
No.	Item
64/16	Declarations of interest Share this item All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter (i) Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or (ii) Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting NOTES: · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest · As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner) · Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial. Minutes: There were none.
65/16	Minutes of the Previous Meeting PDF 143 KB Share this item To agree the minutes of the last meeting as a correct record of the meeting. Minutes: The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.
66/16	Apologies for absence Share this item To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Mr Leslie Hamilton.
67/16	Procedural Matters Share this item
67/16a	Members' Questions Share this item The deadline for Members’ questions is 12pm four working days before the meeting (29 November 2016). Minutes: There were none.
67/16b	Public Questions Share this item The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (28 November 2016). Minutes: There were none.
68/16	Orbis Joint Committee Forward Plan Share this item Minutes: Declarations of interest: None Witnesses: Adrian Stockbridge, Orbis Programme Manager, Surrey County Council Ann Charlton, Director of Legal, Democratic and Cultural Services David Kuenssberg, Executive Director Finance and Resourcing, Brighton & Hove City Council Kevin Foster, Chief Operating Officer, East Sussex County Council John Stebbings, Chief Property Officer, Surrey County Council Marie Greenan, Orbis Programme Coordinator, East Sussex County Council Sheila Little, Integrated Director of Finance Key points raised during the discussion: 1. Members agreed to consider an additional item at this meeting to review and approve the Orbis Joint Committee Forward Plan. Consequently, a copy of the Forward Plan was tabled at the meeting for consideration by Members. The Committee was advised that officers were currently reviewing the format of the Forward Plan with a view to improving how it is structured. 2. It was agreed that the Service Update from Finance would be considered at the Joint Committee meeting scheduled to take place on 3 April 2016 as it was felt that the January meeting would be too early to provide Members with an update on the progress of integrating Finance teams. 3. Members asked whether existing legislation governing local authority committees permitted meetings to take place via videoconference. It was agreed that officers would review the legislation to determine whether or not this was possible. Actions/ further information to be provided: 1. The service update from Finance to be considered at the Orbis Joint Committee meeting scheduled for 3 April 2017. 2. officers to review whether existing legislation permits local authority committee meetings to take place via videoconference.
69/16	Brighton & Hove City Council Joining the Orbis Partnership PDF 132 KB Share this item To seek approval from the Orbis Joint Committee to proceed with Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) joining the Orbis Partnership on behalf of Surrey County Council and for the Orbis Joint Committee to recommend that East Sussex County Council Cabinet approve BHCC joining the Partnership. Additional documents: Appendix 1 , item 69/16 PDF 19 KB Appendix 2 , item 69/16 PDF 129 KB Appendix 3 , item 69/16 PDF 151 KB Appendix 4 , item 69/16 PDF 91 KB Appendix 5 , item 69/16 PDF 226 KB Minutes: Declarations of interest: None Witnesses: Adrian Stockbridge, Orbis Programme Manager, Surrey County Council Ann Charlton, Director of Legal, Democratic and Cultural Services, Surrey County Council David Kuenssberg, Executive Director Finance and Resourcing, Brighton & Hove City Council Kevin Foster, Chief Operating Officer, East Sussex County Council John Stebbings, Chief Property Officer, Surrey County Council Marie Greenan, Orbis Programme Coordinator, East Sussex County Council Sheila Little, Integrated Director of Finance Key points raised during the discussion: Officers introduced the report and advised Members that the recommendations the Joint Committee was being asked to consider reflected the fact that the decision on admitting Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) to the Orbis Partnership was required to go through separate decision-making processes at East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and Surrey County Council (SCC). Members were informed that integrating BHCC into the partnership would present some challenges which would need to be mitigated as integration progressed. Addressing the concerns of existing staff members and those joining Orbis from BHCC in relation to the integration process was identified as a significant potential challenge. Officers further highlighted that integration would need to take place in tandem with the delivery of the Business Plan in accordance with agreed timescales. Uncertainties relating to the financial position of all three partner authorities also continued to present a risk to Orbis as there was the potential for one of the partner authorities to need to drive additional budget savings through the shared service. The Committee was advised, however, that the inclusion of BHCC presented some real opportunities including the addition of 600 extra staff to Orbis as well as the chance to broaden its scope through the inclusion of a unitary authority to the Partnership. The Committee discussed an event on public sector shared service centres that had been hosted by the Local Government Association (LGA) and which was attended by officers. The event had enabled delegates to share learning and best practice around integrating the delivery of local authority business functions. Members asked how the Orbis Partnership’s operating model compared to that of other shared service partnerships. Officers stated that alongside Orbis there were just two other public sector shared service partnerships at the event and that these employed divergent operating models. Orbis has sought to blend these two approaches in order to develop the most effective shared service model and Orbis is the only one of the three partnerships that will fully integrate services. Officers highlighted that although Orbis was the newest of the three partnerships it was more advanced in tackling some of the key challenges related to integrating local authority service delivery particularly around people management and organisational development. Further information was requested on what impact the introduction of BHCC into the partnership would have on members of staff and people management processes. Officers advised that some staff would inevitably find the process of integration challenging and so it is important that, where possible, members of staff are engaged in the integration process as a ... view the full minutes text for item 69/16
70/16	DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING Share this item The next meeting of the Orbis Joint Committee will be held on 20 January 2017. Minutes: The Committee noted that its next meeting would be held on 20 January 2017.