To receive a presentation from Councillor D J Waters, Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management on Business Transformation – The Challenges Ahead.

26.1           The Mayor invited Councillor Dave Waters, Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management, to make his presentation on ‘the challenges ahead’. 

26.2           The Lead Member introduced his presentation and stressed that the comments made and views expressed were entirely his own and were not the policy of the Council. He intended to use the information as a place to start the conversations and to enable Members to think about the challenges ahead. The following key points were covered:

·           Aim – To provide Members with an overview of the Council in the current climate, the transformation journey so far and the significant challenges faced as it moved forward. 

·           Where Are We – A relatively small Authority with a workforce which was below 200 with the fifth lowest Council Tax nationally. There were significant growth pressures, i.e. a Core Strategy that anticipated a need for 33,000 homes to be built by 2031, which meant new communities and increased service demands. The Borough did, however, have a strong economy. Over the past five years the Council, along with the Local Government community, had met significant financial challenges due to the cuts in revenue support grant which was part of the Government’s austerity agenda. The Council had risen to that challenge with its transformation programme which looked at the issues with an open mind and tried to introduce different models to make sure that services offered to residents and businesses had been maintained to the best possible quality at an affordable cost.

·           Business Transformation: The Journey So Far – The transform programme had been in place for a while now and was delivering changes. The transformation programme had delivered across four key areas:

o    People and Culture – Management Restructure had resulted in significant cost savings but also a substantial reduction in management capacity. This had been important in changing the culture in the organisation with a flatter and potentially more responsive organisation. ‘Brilliant Tewkesbury’ offered a creative approach to helping staff think differently and work collaboratively across boundaries. Staff were supported in a new open plan office structure which was already providing benefits through improved internal communication and the introduction of flexible working.

o    Partnership and Commissioning – As many Local Government Authorities had done there had been a sharing of services i.e. Building Control, One Legal and the Joint Core Strategy. The Local Authority company Ubico would bring the Council financial savings moving forward and the Council was contracting out operational management with additional capital investment in the new leisure centre.

o    Buildings and Assets – The transfer of assets such as the leisure centre; and play areas to schools and Parish Councils was helpful. The Council was in the process of disposing assets that no longer had an operational use and this was helping to replenish the capital account. The Council was also looking to generate income from better use of its offices which not only provided a revenue stream but had also been an innovation in bringing different public bodies together in one building; now known as the Public Service Centre.

o    Using Technology and Sustainable Improvement – Reduction of demand by doing more online i.e. Garden Waste Service payments and bulky waste bookings. Significant service changes similar to those in Revenues and Benefits which had seen great improvements in processing times following its service review; new claims processed in under 14.5 days and changes in circumstances processed in just over 7 days. Customer Services had been reviewed already and reviews were currently ongoing in Development Services and Environmental Health.

·           The Challenges Ahead – The Government had signalled further reductions over the next four years and the Council already faced the financial challenge of finding £2.7million to meet its funding gap. The forthcoming comprehensive spending review further compounded the problems in financial planning. In his keynote speech ahead of the spending review on 11 September, the Prime Minister had stressed the need for difficult decisions to rebalance the economy and was making the case for a smarter state with better services and better value for money for the taxpayer. He covered three main areas: reform; devolution; and efficiency. In terms of reform, the Prime Minister seemed to be looking for more responsibility for Social Services and, whilst this would not have a direct impact on the Borough Council, it would have an impact on colleagues at the County Council. The message appeared to be that the Government was expecting Local Authorities to take on more responsibility. In respect of devolution, 38 local areas had put forward proposals for devolution (this included Gloucestershire) so competition for the first round was fierce. It was clear that the Government wanted to see major devolution of spending powers over transport, education and health among other areas, with the first wave of agreements being signed in the coming months. The Government would continue to streamline more services and legislation would be introduced to enable the Police and Fire Services to combine back office functions, IT and procurement to save money. Additionally, where there was local demand, Police and Crime Commissioners would be able to take control of Fire and Rescue Services. It looked like there would be £20billion worth of cuts across the public sector.

·           What Does This Mean – Further reductions in Government grants; a drive for Local Authorities to work differently and more collaboratively; and a take it or leave it approach to devolution.

·           What Do We Do About It – There were a number of key things: more customer service was taking place online but there was more to do to reduce demand – known as ‘channel shift’; service improvements in Development Services and Environmental Health; further expansion of the One Legal Shared Service; more work on the Timewise System to support flexible working; and the introduction of photovoltaics on Council-owned buildings.

·           What Else Was Needed to Bridge the Gaps – The Council had a commitment to keeping Council Tax as low as possible but was now the time for an increase?; better use of the few major assets that the Council had i.e. Spring Gardens site, rather than selling could a revenue stream be generated; the Council needed to think more as a business and adapt quicker to changing environments as well as considering the upside of risks and not being afraid to take a chance; thinking and working differently with improved and better use of technology – staff and Members would have to make further changes to adapt to the rapidly changing environment; Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 – what could be leveraged from the systems; welfare reform – what were the impacts and how would we manage them; commissioning – could/should the Council commission more services or could it do more internally and sell those services to others; what should the Council stop doing; what other partnerships could be encouraged; and devolution – the Council would have to embrace this as a way to leverage scarce resources across public sector colleagues.

·           Conclusion – The Council may have to adjust its ‘sails’ to do its best to get to its desired destination. The challenges ahead will be significant and difficult but the Council should not lose sight of the enormous changes already made on its transformation journey. The Council had talented Managers and Members, and capable staff, and its collective brainpower would need to be used to work towards a common aim for the benefit of residents.

26.3           During the brief discussion which ensued, a Member questioned whether the Council had been radical in finding other sources of income e.g. buy land and then build offices and let them out so that it had a second income stream. In response, the Lead Member indicated that the Transform Working Group was happy to look at all options. The Council already had some commercial properties which it let but it would certainly be a possibility that this could be looked at again to see what else could be achieved. Members were invited to send any ideas that they had to him or the Finance and Asset Management Group Manager and they could then be put to the Transform Working Group for consideration.

26.4           The Mayor thanked the Lead Member for his informative presentation and accordingly it was

                  RESOLVED          That the presentation from the Lead Member for Finance and                            Asset Management be NOTED.