Provided by the Corporate Director - Business & Enviornmental Services
Minutes:
Karl Battersby, Corporate Director for Business & Environmental Services provided a detailed verbal update on the ongoing work in regard to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). He confirmed that progress on delivery was good with no red flags, and went on to highlight:
· The recent appointment of a Chief Executive Officer and the imminent publication of his new Council structure, together with the ongoing formal process to appoint his management board and Assistant Directors;
· The ongoing preparations for day one and the challenge of being safe and legal as from vesting day, with 6,500 items on the list;
· The 17 different officer work streams in place alongside 7 member working groups;
· That as of day 1, the existing planning departments across the county would still be in place;
· New branding would be agreed and introduced in stages;
· Post day 1, work would be required to identify service efficiencies and improvements, with the aim of achieving consistency across the county;
· The ongoing staff roadshows on TUPE and the work to evaluate job roles and terms and conditions of employment across all the District / Borough Councils;
· The significant staffing difficulties in some service areas, e.g. Planning, and the ongoing work to evaluate jobs in those service areas most effected, to enable recruitment to commence;
· The importance of retaining the good staff in District / Borough Councils;
· Consideration of the future of the Highways teams and the areas they covered;
· Consideration of the future work of the Area Constituency Committees ensuring they maximise localism opportunities;
· The review of all Local Authority real estate across the county ensuring it was the right size and fit for purpose;
· The development of an economic strategy for the whole county, and other key policies e.g. an Affordable Housing Policy;
· The intention to have a Main Planning Committee that could meet in the locality of a major planning application;
· A devolution deal would bring £18m a year and see the election of a combined Mayor and PFCC role;
Members noted the expectation that there would be improved coordination between the Planning, Highways and Countryside Access Service team, once those services were all under the control of one Authority. The also noted the opportunities it would bring for significant savings and improved localism.
County Councillor David Jeffels drew attention to the ongoing ‘Let’s Talk’ initiative to communicate the LGR aims and priorities and the ongoing work to deliver them. He also suggested that it would be helpful if a mobile unit could travel around villages rather than expecting villagers to attend a ‘Let’s Talk’ session at a distant Council building.
Finally, Karl Battersby confirmed the timeframe for completion of the necessary changes to services and service delivery post vesting day would depend on the issues to be addressed. For example, he suggested an indicative time for introducing a new comprehensive waste collection regime would be 3 years. He also noted that central Government decisions on key national issues would also affect the timescale for changes.
The Chair thanked Karl Battersby and Forum members noted the update.