Agenda item

Following consideration of opportunities for greater partnership working with Waverley Borough Council by the Joint Executive Advisory Board (EAB) and Executive in February 2021, the Council considered an update report on an initial options appraisal developed by the Local Government Association and Local Partnerships(LGA).  The report had sought direction on the next steps for collaboration.

The Council was reminded of the events of 2020 that led to the eleven district councils in Surrey commissioning a report on local government collaboration by KPMG. The KPMG report presented a strong case for councils to work together more closely in the context of continued funding reductions from central government and the financial consequences of the Covid pandemic. It was notable and unsurprising that KPMG identified that Guildford and Waverley Boroughs could be natural partners, given the geography, infrastructure links and similar sizes. Despite the councils having made efficiencies and cut costs in recent years, both faced extremely difficult financial challenges. In this context, the political leaderships of the two councils, supported by senior officers, held initial discussions in an informal working group about how the two councils might collaborate in the future. The expected outcomes of this work were the retention of two separate democratic councils, but with greater sharing of resources and staffing. It was quickly identified that there were two broad approaches to the transformation needed to sustain services and delivery of financial savings at scale, namely a process by which business cases for shared services could be considered jointly on a Service-by-Service basis; or a single  management team to progress the full integration of the officer teams in both councils into one.

The Executives of both councils had agreed that further work was required to assess the two options and the LGA was invited to support this work and to provide independent input. The LGA facilitated two workshops so that the two Executives could meet together and articulate a ‘vision statement’ reflecting their preferred ambitions, copy of which was attached to the report submitted to the Council.

The LGA, through its consultancy arm, Local Partnerships, had also been asked for a high-level financial appraisal, a copy of which was also attached to the report.  The appraisal had recommended that a shared officer structure would provide the most potential for savings.

As some of the potential ways forward could have implications for the employment status of some employees, South East Employers had been engaged to provide human resources advice to the two Executives, with the support of both councils’ senior HR professionals.  A copy of that advice (which contained exempt information) had also been attached to the report.

In considering a way forward for future collaboration with Waverley Borough Council, the following options had been discussed at a meeting of the Joint Executive Advisory Board (JEAB) on 24 June by way of a mandate, and separately with each political group:

Option A: Do nothing further

Option B: Commission further research with a defined scope

Option C: Shared services

Option D: Shared headquarters

Option E: Single management team

Option F: Single staffing team

A summary of the points raised by the JEAB was included in the report. The matter had also been considered formally by the Leader of the Council, on behalf of the Executive earlier in the day.  The Leader’s recommendations had been included on the Order Paper for this meeting, together with further details of the potential financial and HR implications of appointing a single joint Chief Executive (acting as Head of Paid Service for both Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joss Bigmore, proposed, and the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Jan Harwood seconded, a motion in accordance with the Leader’s recommendations.

During the debate some councillors expressed concern that there was insufficient information provided on which to make a decision, other than to commission further research (Option B above).

It was also necessary for the Council, upon the motion of the Mayor, Councillor Marsha Moseley, seconded by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Dennis Booth, to

RESOLVE: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the public be excluded from the meeting for consideration of Appendix 3 to the report submitted to the Council and the additional HR information circulated with the Order Paper on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the 1972 Act.

Following consideration of the exempt information, the meeting resumed in public.

Having considered the matter, the Council

RESOLVED:

(1)    That Full Council agrees 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)        That Full Council authorises the Council’s Lead Specialist - HR to take the necessary action, in consultation with Waverley Borough Council and with the support and advice from South East Employers and as set out within the addendum to Appendix 3 of the report, 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) in accordance with the table showing the anticipated stages in the process and approximate timelines referred to in the “Not for Publication” Appendix to the Order Paper circulated to councillors prior to the meeting.

(3)     That a report be submitted to the Council at its next meeting on 28 July 2021 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. 

Reason:

To seek direction on the next steps for collaboration with Waverley Borough Council.