Issue - meetings

The Joint Chief Executive of Guildford and Waverley Councils advised the meeting that the Joint Appointments Committee had met in June and agreed to recommend appointments to the joint strategic director roles in the joint management team.  The meeting was advised the appointments were to be considered by full Council on 26 July and that if agreed the directors would commence in their roles on 1 August.  The meeting was informed that a formal consultation had commenced with the joint heads of service and it was envisaged that new heads of service would start in their roles on 1 October. 

The Joint Chief Executive of Guildford and Waverley Councils advised the meeting that the previous week he had provided Councillors with a detailed briefing on the progress of the Guildford and Waverley collaboration.  He advised the Committee of the benefits of collaborative working to date, including sharing of learning and information on Ukrainian resettlement, on leisure service contracts, and for climate change action plans. 

The Committee was informed that it would be proposed that the post of Section 151 Officer for Guildford Council be agreed as an interim joint appointment with the current Section 151 Officer within Waverley Council. 

There were no questions or comments from Councillors.  The Chairman thanked the Joint Chief Executive for his attendance.

The Joint Chief Executive of Guildford and Waverley Councils advised that since his last update to the Committee the heads of terms for the Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) had been agreed by both Councils.  He indicated that the creation of a joint shared management team of Directors and Heads of Service was proceeding.  The Joint Chief Executive advised that in the period between his updates to the Committee he would keep all Councillors informed of progress. 

There were no questions from Councillors and the Chairman thanked the Joint Chief Executive for his attendance.

The Joint Chief Executive of Guildford and Waverley Councils updated the Committee on the two strands of work being undertaken on the collaboration programme: the Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) and the joint shared management team.  The Committee was reminded that the heads of terms for the IAA had been agreed recently by full Council and were to be considered by Waverley Borough Council on 26 April 2022.  The Joint Chief Executive indicated that if the heads of terms of the IAA were approved by Waverley Borough Council then consultation would begin with senior managers over the future structure of the joint shared management team. 

In reply to a question, the Joint Chief Executive indicated that details of options and proposals for the shared management team could not be discussed in a public meeting while the formal HR consultations with employees were underway.

A member of the Committee asked for an indicative timetable for the creation of a joint executive and the appearance of business cases for potential mergers of services or operations.  In response, the Joint Chief Executive advised that he expected a joint management team in place by October 2022 and that it would be tasked with prioritisation and presentation of such business cases.

In response to a question from a member of the Committee about arrangements in the period between the departure of the Director of Resources and the establishment of a shared management team, the Joint Chief Executive advised the meeting that discussions were proceeding about possible interim arrangements for a Section 151 Officer for the Council.

The Chair thanked the Joint Chief Executive for his update.

At full Council meetings of both Guildford and Waverley in July last year, both councils had agreed to greater partnership working including the creation of a Joint Chief Executive and a single management team as a first step towards recommending business cases for further collaboration, on a service-by-service basis.

In a Vision Statement drawn up by the Executives of both councils and presented to those meetings, collaboration was seen as being driven by more than the serious financial challenges that face all councils. There was an ambition to “protect, improve, and expand discretionary services, and explore new services”. The Executives wished to enhance both councils’ ambitions for carbon neutrality, “use the best of both councils” and “protect/create local jobs”. Their stated focus was on “better outcomes for residents and communities” that might arise from collaboration, potentially “go[ing] beyond shared management and shared services and be[ing] strategic in intent … to secure a longer-term sustainable future”. Specific savings targets were then included in both councils’ Budgets and Medium-Term Financial Plans.

The councils agreed to establish a Joint Appointments Committee to conduct the recruitment and selection process in respect of the proposed Joint Chief Executive and the single management team.  In November 2021, both councils formally appointed Tom Horwood as the Joint Chief Executive and he commenced in this role in December. 

It was agreed that an important early step in the partnership would be for both councils to approve Heads of Terms of an Inter-Authority Agreement (IAA), which would set out the formal governance arrangements for joint working, including cost and risk-sharing, dispute resolution and exit clauses.

A joint working group of six councillors (three from each council) was established in January 2022, which had met regularly to discuss the themes for inclusion in the Heads of Terms, together with a Risk Assessment in relation to key aspects of the collaboration.

The joint working group had completed its work and officers had drafted the Heads of Terms for approval by both Councils in April, which were appended to the report now before the Council for approval. 

A copy of the collaboration Risk Assessment recommended by the joint working group was also attached to the report.

One of the discussion themes considered by the joint working group was to examine possible models of governance for managing the collaboration in the future. The joint working group had recommended that the existing Joint Appointments Committee should be retained with another joint committee being established to consider other governance related issues including the review of both the IAA and the Risk Assessment, recognising that, as the collaboration progressed, a greater degree of formal joint governance arrangements might be required.  The joint working group had recommended, for adoption by both councils, the creation of a new Joint Governance Committee and draft terms of reference, which were attached to the report.

Following approval of the Heads of Terms by both councils, the Joint Chief Executive would commence the formal process for the appointment of the Joint Management  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114

The Chair advised the Committee that the Director of Resources was unable to attend the meeting and the update would be by the Director of Service Delivery.

The Director of Service Delivery read an update provided by the Director of Resources.  He stated that on 6 July 2021, Full Council had agreed to collaborate with Waverley Borough Council and commenced the process of appointing a Joint Chief Executive.  The meeting was informed that Full Council received further reports on 28 July, 5 October, and 1 November providing an update on the progress of the appointment and the costs and savings associated with appointing a Joint Chief Executive.  The Committee was reminded that Tom Horwood was appointed as the Joint Chief Executive by Council on 1 November. 

The meeting was informed that Council was in the process of finalising Mr Horwood’s employment contract and it was envisaged he would start his role and that the Managing Director, James Whiteman, would finish on 1 December 2021.  The Committee was advised that Mr Horwood had written a message to Councillors and staff and held initial informal one to one meetings with the Managing Director, Directors, and some Executive Councillors as part of an informal transition ahead of 1 December. 

The Director of Service Delivery advised the Committee that to facilitate the operation of a Joint Chief Executive various legal documents would be required.  He indicated that currently it had not been possible to develop a formal full intra-authority agreement, but the Council had drafted a data sharing agreement and a section 113 agreement under the Local Government Act 1972 to allow the two councils to enter into an agreement to place officers employed by the council at the disposal of each other subject to the terms of the agreement.  The Committee was informed that the agreement had been drafted in line with the Heads of Terms agreed by Full Council on 28 July 2021.  The Director of Service Delivery stated that an intra authority agreement would be required once further services were added into the collaboration arrangement.

In reply to a question, the Director of Service Delivery confirmed that an informal handover process had been underway for some time.  In response to a question about data sharing, the Director of Service Delivery indicated that operational data would not be shared.  The Lead Specialist – Legal and Council’s Monitoring Officer clarified the reasons for the formal change from a Managing Director to a Joint Chief Executive occurring on 1 December and stated that the data sharing agreement was GDPR compliant.   

Councillors were reminded that, at its extraordinary meeting held on 6 July 2021, the Council had agreed to pursue options for collaboration with Waverley Borough Council, namely the appointment of a single management team.  At its meeting on 28 July 2021, the Council had agreed the job description, person specification and the appointment of a Joint Appointments Committee to carry out the recruitment and make recommendations to both Councils for approval.

Following a rigorous two-day process, which included an external stakeholder panel, and with the advice and support of South East Employers, the Joint Appointments Committee had recommended the appointment of Tom Horwood as the Joint Chief Executive of Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils.

The full Council may only make or approve the appointment where no well-founded objection has been made by the Leader on behalf of the Executive in accordance with the provisions of Part II of Schedule 1 of the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) Regulations 2001. The Council noted that this provision had been complied with and no well-founded objection had been made by the Leader of the Council on behalf of the Executive.

It was also noted that Waverley Borough Council had also confirmed that no such objection has been made by their Leader on behalf of the Waverley Executive.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joss Bigmore proposed, and the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Jan Harwood, seconded a motion to appoint Mr Horwood to the post of Joint Chief Executive.

During the debate, the following points were raised:

·       Concern over the process in respect of the appointment, which was perceived as being rushed, and yielded only one candidate

·       Concern over the collaboration process, with insufficiently robust financial information

·       The appointments process followed the very detailed legal and HR advice given to both councils 

Following the debate, the Council

RESOLVED:

  (1) That Tom Horwood be appointed to the post of Joint Chief Executive of Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils, and to the statutory roles of Head of Paid Service, Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer for both Councils.

(2)   That the above appointments be confirmed once contract negotiations have been finalised.

Reason:

To ensure the Council complies with the requirements of:

(1)   Section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in respect of the appointment of a (Joint) Head of Paid Service.

(2)   Sections 8 and 35 of the Representation of People Act 1983 in respect of the appointment of Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer respectively.

A recorded vote on this matter was requested by Councillor Keith Witham, supported by four other councillors.  The motion was carried with thirty-two councillors voting in favour, eight against, and three abstentions, as follows:

Councillors were reminded that following consideration of opportunities for greater partnership working with Waverley Borough Council, the Council at its extraordinary meeting on 6 July 2021 had resolved:

(1)   to pursue the option of creating a single management team with Waverley Borough Council, comprised of statutory officers (Head of Paid Service; Chief Finance Officer; Monitoring Officer), directors and heads of service as the most appropriate means for bringing forward business cases for future collaboration;

(2)   to begin making arrangements for a recruitment and selection of a single joint Chief Executive (acting as Head of Paid Service for both Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils); and

(3)   to submit to the Council at this meeting a report on the following matters:

(a)    heads of terms for the proposed inter-authority agreement to establish governance arrangements for joint working;

(b)    the proposed job description and terms and conditions in respect of the appointment of a Joint Chief Executive; and

(c)     the establishment of a joint appointments committee, including its composition and terms of reference. 

The Council considered a report which provided an update on the collaboration and had set out the information referred to above for further agreement.

The Council noted that at its meeting on 22 July, the Employment Committee had agreed to commend the proposed role profile (job description) in respect of the appointment of a Joint Chief Executive (Appendix 2 to the Council report) and also the proposed terms of reference and composition of the Joint Appointments Committee for approval by the Council (Appendix 4 to the Council report). 

Since the publication of the agenda on 20 July, a revised version of the draft Heads of Terms for the proposed Inter Authority Agreement had been drafted, a copy of which had been circulated to all councillors on 22 July.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joss Bigmore proposed, and the Deputy Leader, Councillor Jan Harwood seconded the following motion:

  “(1) To note the revised early draft of the Heads of Terms of the Inter Authority Agreement contained in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Council, and that significant further work is necessary to clarify the detail required to agree the Heads of Terms, and that a further report will be submitted to the Council to agree the final Heads of Terms.

(2)   To approve the draft job description, subject to consultation, in respect of the appointment of a Joint Chief Executive as set out in Appendix 2 to the report; and to agree the following as recommended by South East Employers in their paper outlining human resources issues, as set out in Appendix 3:

(a)   That the title of the new role be Joint Chief Executive (rather than Joint Managing Director).

(b)   That the employing authority should be the existing employer if an internal candidate is appointed.

(c)   That the salary for the new Joint Chief Executive post be a spot salary of £150,000 p.a. including all allowances, duties, and statutory responsibilities with the exception of election duties.

(d)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35