To approve the Commercialisation Strategy; note the governance arrangements as previously agreed and to agree the request for the Transform Working Group to oversee the creation of a detailed action plan.

1.      That the Commercialisation Strategy be APPROVED.

2.      That it be NOTED that the governance arrangements, previously agreed as part of the Business Transformation (Transform) Strategy and Working Group, are adopted to oversee projects developed as part of the Strategy.  

3.      That it be NOTED that the Transform Working Group will support Officers in the development of a detailed 12-month action plan.

48.1           The report of the Deputy Chief Executive, circulated at Pages No. 150-158, set out the Council’s statement of intent, and provided the basis for identifying, exploring and, where a sound business case existed, focussing upon implementing practices that could generate income. Members were asked to approve the Commercialisation Strategy; note the governance arrangements which would be undertaken as part of the Transform Working Group; and to note that the Transform Working Group would support Officers in the development of a detailed 12-month action plan.

48.2           The Deputy Chief Executive explained that the report set out the Council’s current overarching agenda in respect of commercialisation. The proposals within the report sought to use the governance arrangements which were already in place and to maximise the detail around the fifth strand of the business transformation strategy; commercialisation. The report also discussed the creation of alternative income streams to fund the gap in the Council’s budget and to replace the funding which had been lost from the local governance finance settlement. The idea of the ‘plan on a page’ was that it provided a framework in which to address commercialisation; it set out the Council’s approach; the challenges and opportunities; the focus; the key priorities and how success would be measured. It was hoped that Officers would feel able to put their thoughts forward on how their service could be more commercial and this could then be worked up into a business case for consideration by the management team.

48.3           Having considered the report, it was