Agenda item

(Leader of Council) To consider the attached report (C-033-2017/18).

(1)        That a provision of £2 million be included in the Budget for 2018/19 for redundancy and pension strain costs to facilitate the implementation of the Common Operating Model;

(2)        That a provision of £34,000 be included in the Budget for 2018/19 for the programme of ‘recruit to stay’ activity for Officers at Director and Assistant Director level in the new Common Operating Model;

(3)        That a provision of £35,000 be included in the Budget for 2018/19 for outplacement services;

(4)        That Section 10 of the Council’s Procurement Rules be waived to enable Aylesbury Vale District Council to be the Council’s nominated supplier for the provision of advice on the ‘recruit to stay’ process and necessary assessments;

(5)        That Solace be appointed as the Council’s nominated supplier for the provision of recruitment advice to the Senior Management Selection Panel;

(6)        That Section 10 of the Council’s Procurement Rules be waived to enable Hays to be the Council’s nominated supplier for the provision of outplacement services; and

(7)        That a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Cabinet by the Chief Executive on the details of the Council’s new Common Operating Model.

The Leader of Council presented a report on the budget provision required to implement the Common Operating Model, as part of the People Strategy.

The Leader reminded the Cabinet that the Work Streams included in the recently agreed People Strategy included reviews of the Council’s current management structures and the overall structure of the workforce – known as the Common Operating Model. Work had started on these projects and the Local Government Association (LGA) had been commissioned to recommend changes in the management structures using a tool called Decision Making Accountability.

The Leader stated that, in order to implement the new Common Operating Model, additional resources would be required and the Cabinet was being requested to approve the recommended budget provisions relating to redundancy and pension strain costs, as well as costs associated with the necessary recruit to stay assessments and appointment activity. There would also be associated costs with supporting employees to equip them with the best chance of finding employment and/or making the transition into retirement.

The Leader informed the Cabinet that the estimated redundancy and pension costs ranged between £1.77 million and £2.75 million which would achieve a reduction in the salary budget of £2.53 million. This range of numbers indicated that if all the changes were to take place at once the combined payback period would be between 8.4 months and 13.0 months. However, the actual costs and payback period would only be possible when the leavers had been identified and their dates of leaving agreed. Recruitment assessments and appointment costs were based on internal recruitment; if external recruitment were to take place for all or some of these roles then these costs were likely to increase.

Cllr Philip (Planning & Governance) commented that the Council valued its staff, and it was important to treat them with respect and consideration. The implementation of the Common Operating Model would make the Council more responsive to residents, a better place to work for staff, and this was the right thing to be doing. Cllr Mohindra added that the Council was seeking a culture change within the organisation, not cost savings.

The Leader also highlighted that the functions performed by the Council in the future would change, and the future capacity would need to be examined; the Council would need to build on the partnership working that it was currently involved with. Transformation was an ongoing project. The Chief Executive emphasised that there were eight Directors when he joined, and now there were five. There was no intention to cut services, the Council would look to use technology to better respond to the needs of residents, and reduce the current number of management levels. The report before the Cabinet simply requested that provision be made in the budget for 2018/19, further reports on the new structure would come forward in the future.

Cllr Brookes expressed some concern that not all of the redundancies would be voluntary, and enquired as to why Aylesbury Vale District Council was being procured for advice on the ‘recruit to stay’ process. The Chief Executive advised that Aylesbury Vale District Council had already successfully gone through this process in a proactive way, and their advice was being sought, not their particular structure. The Cabinet endorsed this approach of using another Council to provide advice and expertise rather than a more expensive private sector company.

Decision:

(1)        That a provision of £2million be included in the Budget for 2018/2019 for redundancy and pension strain costs, as well as support for recruitment activity and outplacement services to facilitate the implementation of the Common Operating Model;

(2)        That Section 10 of the Council’s Procurement Rules be waived to enable Aylesbury Vale District Council to be the Council’s Nominated Supplier for the provision of advice on the ‘recruit to stay’ process and necessary assessments;

(3)        That Solace be appointed as the Council’s Nominated Supplier for the provision of recruitment advice to the Senior Management Selection Panel;

(4)        That Section 10 of the Council’s Procurement Rules be waived to enable Hays to be the Council’s Nominated Supplier for the provision of outplacement services;

(5)        That a detailed report setting out proposals for the senior management structure be submitted to Cabinet in March 2018 by the Chief Executive; and

(6)    That a Portfolio Holder Advisory Group be established for overseeing the Common Operating Model.

Reasons for Decision:

To approve the associated funds for the 2018/19 Council budget for redundancy and pension strain costs, as well as the recruit to stay programme and outplacement costs to facilitate the implementation of the Council’s new Common Operating Model.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To delay the allocation of funds until the detailed model was agreed. However, this would mean that the allocation of financial resources would be fragmented and inefficient as several reports would be required through the process, potentially causing time delays to fit with the Committee cycle.