Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/127

Contact: Robin Rogers, Strategy Manager Tel: 07789 923206

Report by Chief Executive (CA9).

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 the report seeks Cabinet approval for the proposal.

The draft Cabinet Report and Annexes, have been considered by Performance Scrutiny Committee and Audit and Governance Committees on 6 September and will be considered by full Council through a themed debate on 11 September. The comments from Performance Scrutiny Committee are attached and those for Audit & Governance will follow.

Please note that the Full Business case (330 pages, which includes the Executive Summary) is attached to the report and 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 full business case will not be circulated with the paper copies of the agenda but they will include the Executive Summary.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)     endorse the proposed Operating Model set out in the Business Case in Annex 1 as the basis of whole council transformation planning;

(b)    agree to Option 1 (see para. 66), to enable delivery of the estimated range of savings (£34m-£58m) to the fullest extent appropriate;

(c)     agree the delivery principles set out in paragraph 77 as the basis for future detailed decision making;

(d)    direct the Chief Executive to bring a costed proposal for implementation to Cabinet in October 2018.

Cabinet had before them a report (CA9) which set out a proposed Operating Mode 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 the report sought Cabinet approval for the proposal.

The draft Cabinet Report and Annexes, had been considered by Performance Scrutiny Committee and Audit & Governance Committees on 6 September and by full Council through a themed debate on 11 September, the comments from which were before the Cabinet for consideration.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Chairman of the Performance Scrutiny Committee spoke to the comments made by the Performance Scrutiny Committee who overall had accepted that there was a need to change the way the organisation worked. Improved coordination across the whole authority for the benefit of Oxfordshire residents must be the way forward, but the risks associated with this change needed to be properly managed. She urged the Cabinet to proceed with the cross party working group as soon as possible.

The points the Committee wished to raise with Cabinet were as follows:

·                The business case provided insufficient detail about implementation to give members and the public confidence that there would not have to be further cuts to front line services to make the required savings. No ‘Plan B’ was outlined in the report.

·                There was a lack of evidence in the business case that similar models had worked elsewhere. More evidence should be included to demonstrate the benefits of a different approach and enable Cabinet to make a robust decision.

·                Members were sceptical that implementation could be achieved within 3 years. A more realistic timetable should be developed.

·                Councillors were great collectors of local intelligence; the interface with councillors and the public as the operating model was embedded and would be important. Elected members needed to be involved in shaping and overseeing this process and there needed to be clear evidence along the way that benefits were being realised.

·                The levels of staff engagement and involvement in the design of the model; if staff had not ‘bought into’ the new ways of working, they were likely to find work arounds which could negate planned efficiencies and savings.

·                Members were mindful that potential redundancy costs had not yet been factored into the financial model and were concerned about the impact this could have on the identified savings.

·                The need to ensure that vulnerable people were still supported to access vital services, in light of a heavy reliance on technological solutions in the new model. Members queried how we would ensure investment in new technology would deliver the best results.

·                The proposed approach to business intelligence had the potential to be transformative in itself and members hoped this would lead to better decision-making and management of the organisation.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of the Council in moving the recommendations explained that he felt he had addressed the comments made by the Performance and Scrutiny Committee at Full Council.  He agreed that whilst it was important to proceed with a digital agenda, that the council did need to ensure that people were able to assess the council if they didn’t have the technology, using libraries and facilities to provide that assess.  This was about redesigning and streamlining the service to make a more efficient Council, providing better access to services, making sure the Council was fit future, taking a long term look to make savings and not having to cut front line services in the future.

He confirmed that moving forward there would be a cross party member group appointed to monitor the model, together with Audit & Governance and Performance Scrutiny to ensure that it was implemented correctly and ensure it was constitutional.

Peter Clark, Chief Executive explained that the proposal was about reshaping the Council and was not about us being in similar situations to many Councils.  This was not about reduction or cuts to vital services or budgets, the proposal on the operating modal was about service improvement, better community engagement and effective utilisation of technology to support staff in their essential work.  The PWC activity analysis found staff were working very hard but were doing a third more on customer management and a third less service delivery than other comparable authorities showing that the Council was not supporting staff as well as it should.  £33m needed to be saved and this could be done by changing the working arrangements and how the council was organised, creating a Council that was fit for the future.  The alternative would be to cut meaning less staff with rising demand and less resources to provide the services that so many people rely on.

Councillor Eddie Reeves, Cabinet Member for Transformation would have oversight of the project and subject to the Cabinet approving the proposals, further details on the implementation of the model would come to the Cabinet meeting in October.

RESOLVED:  to:

(a)     endorse the proposed Operating Model set out in the Business Case in Annex 1 as the basis of whole council transformation planning;

(b)     agree to Option 1 (see para. 66), to enable delivery of the estimated range of savings (£34m-£58m) to the fullest extent appropriate;

(c)     agree the delivery principles set out in paragraph 77 as the basis for future detailed decision making;

(d)     direct the Chief Executive to bring a costed proposal for implementation to Cabinet in October 2018.