Agenda item

The Operating Model is a detailed description of how the Council will work in the future, with the key aims of putting better outcomes for residents and the delivery of the Thriving Communities Vision at the centre of all plans and operations.

Development activity since March has produced a detailed design for the Operating Model and Cabinet is due to consider the proposal on 18 September 2018.

Ahead of that meeting, Council is invited to discuss the proposals within the Operating Model through a Themed Debate.

The draft Cabinet Report and Annexes, including an Executive Summary for the full Business Case for the Target Operating Model are attached at (CC9).

The Full Business case (330 pages) can be found on the Website www.oxfordshire.gov.uk or a copy can be obtained on request from deborah.miller@oxfordshire.gov.uk

The Council had before it proposals for an Operating Model which was a detailed description of how the Council would work in the future, with the key aim of putting better outcomes for residents and the delivery of the Thriving Communities Vision at the centre of all plans and operations.

Development activity since March had produced a detailed design for the Operating Model and Cabinet was due to consider the proposal on 18 September 2018.

Ahead of that meeting, Council had been invited to discuss the proposals within the Operating Model through a Themed Debate.

Overall, Council was supportive of the case for change and noted the opportunities that members had been given to understand and engage with the development programme thus far.

Council raised issues around the following themes which were summarised  for the attention of Cabinet at their meeting on 18 September 2018:

Digital access –Some members stressed the importance of considering accessibility issues, particularly for vulnerable residents and for those with various challenges with communication. Accessibility for those whose preference was on-line access was also considered. The importance of assisted digital and alternative channels was raised, including access via the library network. The importance of user testing and good system design was highlighted.

Implementation issues - Several issues were identified associated with implementation including:

·                Deliverability of IT projects and the importance of strategic planning for IT systems rather than piecemeal development.

·                The importance of pilots and testing and the need to upgrade the Council’s website.

·                Risk that the voluntary and community sector might not be in a position to support delivery of the pre-front door layer.

·                That unless the final offer was high quality and that investment was maintained, staff might find alternative ways of working and the benefits would be lost.

·                That implementation contracts needed to incorporate clear performance indicators and exit clauses to manage risk.

·                Concerns that implementation needed to be fully owned by Council staff and members and that engagement of external advisors might make that less likely.

·                That the scale of the programme meant that timescales were likely to be longer than those set out.

·                That the right internal team needed to be in place to manage the process and that contingency plans were in place for when things go wrong.

·                Questions on how the Integrated Business Centre (IBC) would interact with the new Operating Model.

Impact on staff – Issues raised included the impact of redundancy on individuals, the risks of losing the knowledge of longstanding members of staff, the specific risks of loss of professional staff and the risks of major changes in staffing having an impact on positive culture. The concern was raised that managing the link between vacant posts created through staff turn-over, and those at risk through the process, was not straight-forward. Members noted that it was important for business continuity to maintain key staff in key positions throughout the change. Good business continuity planning was advocated. The impact on staff morale of regular change was raised as was the importance of comprehensive staff engagement.

Finance issues – Further certainty and detail on costs and on the delivery of benefits was requested by some members. The potential additional impact of redundancy costs currently not factored into the financial model was raised. The potential for contract management and contract failure to increase costs was considered.

Oversight and Scrutiny – Members emphasised the importance of member engagement and effective scrutiny throughout the process to:

·                Ensure the most effective use of resources.

·                Monitor and challenge timescales and the delivery of benefits.

·                Challenge and improve business cases.

·                Review performance and delivery.

·                Ensure member intelligence informed implementation.

The development of a joint Performance Scrutiny and Audit and Governance sub-committee for this issue was discussed. A formal cross-party Member Reference Group was also being proposed.

Other specific points raised included:

·                The risks and costs associated with contact management and the commissioner/provider split and whether those were given sufficient focus within the Business Case.

·                Concern that insufficient detail on prevention was given.

·                The use of customer service language in the documentation.

·                That to deliver the full benefit, digital transformation needed to focus on innovative new approaches – not simply taking existing processes and delivering them online.

·                Whether the potential for additional income generation identified within the Business Case was sufficiently ambitious.

RESOLVED:  following debate the Council agreed to forward the above comments to Cabinet for their consideration at their meeting on 18 September 2018.