Agenda item

1.            That the proposal to create a new business services partnership arrangement with East Sussex County Council, with effect from 15 April 2015, be approved and pursuant to that arrangement to place those of its staff employed in the delivery of those functions at the disposal of East Sussex County Council.

2.            That the functions of the Council, which are within the remit of the services in scope be discharged by a newly constituted Joint Committee, to be established with East Sussex County Council with effect from 15 April 2015.

3.            That the Joint Committee will comprise up to three Cabinet Members from Surrey County Council and up to three Members from East Sussex County Council.

4.            That the responsibility for agreeing the detail of an Inter Authority Agreement with East Sussex County Council, and other related issues including establishing the Standing Orders of the Joint Committee, be delegated to the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Business Services, in consultation with the Chief Executive, the Strategic Director for Business Services, the Director of Finance and the Director of Legal and Democratic Services.

5.            That the Director of Legal and Democratic Services be requested to prepare amendments to the Scheme of Delegation and to the Constitution to reflect the changes arising from this report and the Inter-Authority Agreement, once it is concluded, and submits them for approval by the Leader of the Council.

Reasons for Decisions:

The proposed transformative public service partnership will build upon the strength of the existing arrangements, delivering resilient and affordable services to both Surrey County Council and East Sussex County Council.  The partnership will deliver significant savings by taking advantage of economies of scale, streamlining processes and reducing duplication.  Investment required for transformative change and continuous improvement will become a more affordable proposition than if undertaken by one council alone.  In the longer term, the partnership will benefit from growth, delivering further economies of scale for the benefit of each council and their residents.

The recommendations satisfy the legal requirements to enable the formation of a Joint Committee, appoint Members to it and to enable staff to be shared with East Sussex County Council. East Sussex County Council will pass similar resolutions and taken together these form the foundations of the governance arrangements for the partnership.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee]

The Cabinet Member for Business Services said that she was pleased to present this new partnership venture with East Sussex County Council to Cabinet.

She said that since November 2011, this Council had been working in partnership to build resilience, deliver efficiencies and strengthen its service provision for the residents of Surrey. The Council’s business support services had developed effective collaboration with East Sussex County Council through its shared procurement team, and transactional service provision, led by Laura Langstaff, and this had been in operation since April 2013.

The proposed partnership would deliver resilient and sustainable services whilst providing savings to both authorities and the bringing together of services from Surrey County Council and East Sussex County Council would create sufficient scale to allow the recruitment and retention of the best staff, drive shared efficiencies and invest in new technology that might otherwise be prohibitively expensive for each organisation alone.

The partnership was expected to develop and grow over time, attracting further public sector partners (as members of a Joint Committee).

Finally, she said that a more detailed business plan for the partnership, including confirmation of the investment requires would be brought back to Cabinet for consideration in July 2015.

The Leader of the Council invited Mr Kevin Foster, from East Sussex County Council to address the meeting. He began by thanking Members for allowing him to speak and said that he thought this was an exciting opportunity for both Councils. He considered that a strong sense of trust and common values was key to the development of the partnership and said that it was the preferred choice for both Councils as a way of meeting future financial challenges.

Key points made by other Cabinet Members were:

·                To date, the partnership work with East Sussex County Council had been very successful

·                Key words were: digital transformation, staff, trust and value for money

·                The proposed savings achievable from the partnership were estimated at

          £6-8m per annum, by the end of year 4

·                The proposed transformative public service partnership would build upon existing arrangements, delivering resilient and affordable services to both councils. It would also deliver significant savings by taking advantage of economies of scale, streamlining  processes and reducing duplication

·                It was also expected to develop and grow over time, attracting further public sector partners

·                Reference to the recent arrangements agreed for the Trading Standards Service, with a joint committee being set up with Buckinghamshire County Council

·                It was One Team, working together

·                Finally the Leader of the Council, paid tribute to the Leader and Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council for working together with Surrey to achieve this partnership

RESOLVED:

1.            That the proposal to create a new business services partnership arrangement with East Sussex County Council, with effect from 15 April 2015, be approved and pursuant to that arrangement to place those of its staff employed in the delivery of those functions at the disposal of East Sussex County Council.

2.            That the functions of the Council, which are within the remit of the services in scope be discharged by a newly constituted Joint Committee, to be established with East Sussex County Council with effect from 15 April 2015.

3.            That the Joint Committee will comprise up to three Cabinet Members from Surrey County Council and up to three Members from East Sussex County Council.

4.            That the responsibility for agreeing the detail of an Inter Authority Agreement with East Sussex County Council, and other related issues including establishing the Standing Orders of the Joint Committee, be delegated to the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Business Services, in consultation with the Chief Executive, the Strategic Director for Business Services, the Director of Finance and the Director of Legal and Democratic Services.

5.            That the Director of Legal and Democratic Services be requested to prepare amendments to the Scheme of Delegation and to the Constitution to reflect the changes arising from this report and the Inter-Authority Agreement, once it is concluded, and submits them for approval by the Leader of the Council.

Reasons for Decisions:

The proposed transformative public service partnership will build upon the strength of the existing arrangements, delivering resilient and affordable services to both Surrey County Council and East Sussex County Council.  The partnership will deliver significant savings by taking advantage of economies of scale, streamlining processes and reducing duplication.  Investment required for transformative change and continuous improvement will become a more affordable proposition than if undertaken by one council alone.  In the longer term, the partnership will benefit from growth, delivering further economies of scale for the benefit of each council and their residents.

The recommendations satisfy the legal requirements to enable the formation of a Joint Committee, appoint Members to it and to enable staff to be shared with East Sussex County Council. East Sussex County Council will pass similar resolutions and taken together these form the foundations of the governance arrangements for the partnership.