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 means of mitigating these concerns.
- The Committee also
heard that work around BHCC joining the partnership meant that
Orbis was now required to deal with
Trade Unions at a regional level which meant building new
relationships with Trade Union representatives. As a reduction in
the number of staff was part of the Orbis Business Plan it would be necessary to manage
these new relationships carefully. Reconfiguration of Finance Teams
across the partner authorities to integrate them into Orbis would provide a test bed for working and
forming relationships with Union representatives.
6.
Further information was sought on reductions in the
number of staff which had taken place since the Orbis Partnership came into being. Members were
advised that there had been an approximate 30% reduction in senior
leadership posts (tier 2 and 3) which had been managed through
natural wastage and voluntary severance. Officers highlighted that
based on the financial efficiency target that has been set for
Orbis, based on an average salary, this
would equate to around 150 posts over the three year period of the
current Orbis Business Plan (up to
March 2019). The implications on the workforce of BHCC joining the
Partnership was still being determined. Furthermore, Members were
advised that over this time period the majority of employees in
Orbis will be impacted by service
redesign to a greater or lesser degree.
- It was agreed that an
item on formalising arrangements for Orbis’ governance structure would be added to
the Committee’s Forward Plan for consideration at its meeting
on 3 April 2017.
- Members were advised
that the process of integrating BHCC into the Partnership was
governed by some specific principles that it was necessary to
follow before Orbis was expanded. Much
of the work on this had taken place informally through the Due
Diligence process but it was necessary to undertake this
formally.
- The Committee
expressed concern that Members across both ESCC and SCC were not
clear on what Orbis is or how it works.
Officers were asked to consider how they could better advertise to
Members the benefits that Orbis
provides to both councils.
Actions/ further information to be provided:
- An item on
formalising arrangements for Orbis’ governance structure should be added
to the Committee’s Forward Plan for consideration at its
meeting on 3 April 2017.
- Officers to consider
how they can better advertise the benefits of the Orbis Partnership to Members and residents.
RESOLVED: That;
the
Orbis Joint Committee agreed
to:
i.
approve, subject to the agreement of the
Cabinet of East Sussex County Council and the satisfactory
completion of the assessments as set out in the Cabinet report (13
December 2016), to BHCC joining Orbis as a founding partner and to BHCC joining the
Orbis Joint Committee upon completion
of the IAA.
ii.
delegate authority to the Chief Operating
Officer(COO) of East Sussex County Council,
in consultation with the Deputy Chief
Executive of Surrey County Council, the Lead Member for Resources
for East Sussex County Council and the Cabinet Member for Business
Services and Resident Experience for Surrey County Council,
to:
a.
determine whether the results of the
assessment referred to above are satisfactory; and
b.
to take any actions necessary arising
from or to give effect to the integration of BHCC in the
Orbis partnership including (but not
limited to) agreeing the timings and terms of the integration, and
the terms of the Inter-Authority Agreement (IAA) and any other
agreements the COO considers appropriate.