To deal with questions to the Council Chairman, Council Leader, the Chairman of any committee or sub-committee or Lead Members submitted in writing by Members of the Council under Council Procedure Rule 9(2).
Note: Questions by Members of the Council have to be received by 12 noon on the Friday prior to the meeting.
Minutes:
The Chairman reported that a question had been submitted under Council Procedure Rules 9(2).
Question by Councillor D Burt
The Office Accommodation Working Group met on 2 October when it was reported that the Dorset County Council had not given a firm undertaking to be involved with the Office building proposed to be constructed in Wimborne. The Working Group agreed to give DCC until the end of October to sign a Memorandum of Undertaking to be part of this project. Did DCC sign an undertaking before the end of October? If they did sign, how many DCC staff will be accommodated in the new Office? This Council is working towards most staff being based in the Civic Centre at Christchurch but how many East Dorset District Staff will be based permanently in the new Civic Centre in Wimborne?
When will the working Group meet again so as to be updated on progress?
The Leader of the Council, Councillor I Monks responded:
Since the Office Accommodation Working Party met on the 2 October good progress has been made with our partner organisations to more accurately define their requirements. As to Dorset County Council in particular they have held two workshops, led by one of their Directors to explore which services they would wish to deliver from the new public facility in Wimborne. This is very encouraging news, and their list includes services which will very much add to our objective of providing a wider range of public services to our residents. As yet none of the partners have formally signed a memorandum of undertaking but it shouldn’t be long before this is completed. In the meantime all have agreed to work together with our architects and move to the next stage of design, this will allow us to work on the detail of the plans and therefore better understand the costs involved.
In terms of services that this Council will provide, it is not envisaged that there will be any difference from those presently provided, indeed we would anticipate that the inclusion of partners and their services would be more comprehensive. As part of the ongoing process we will examine this in more detail, including at the Accommodation Working Party.
The services provided by this Council should not be confused with where staff are based, these are not the same thing. Heads of Service are clear that they do not need any staff based permanently in East Dorset in order to provide services. Officers have to this point assumed that a requirement of 30 work stations, but it needs to be remembered that the accommodation changes will be implemented at the same time as the introduction of new ways of working for staff, this includes much more mobile and flexible arrangements, so that the 30 work station does not mean that there will be 30 staff based in East Dorset. The reality is that many more than this number will be providing services for the District at any one time.
I look forward to discussing these matters with Councillors at the next Office Accommodation Working Party which will be held in early February.