30 Programme Highlight Report - August 2018 PDF 833 KB
To consider a report by the Programme Director, and to receive any further updates from the Lead Members for their areas of responsibility.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee considered a report by the Programme Director which
provided a summary of the Local Government Reorganisation Programme including workstream activity since the last meeting on 20 July 2018,
changes to reporting format for future updates, and an overview of the
milestone plan. A member briefing was
also held on 20 August 2018 which update members on progress of the programme.
An overview of the
programme was provided by the Interim Head of Paid Service and the Programme
Director which highlighted that ongoing governance assurance was being received
from the South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) on a monthly basis; the
introduction of a new three stage gateway approach to provide increased assurance;
the introduction of Theme Boards; new change control arrangements to deal with
convergence from 1 April 2019; the introduction of a Wider Programme Board and
use of sponsors; resources were still a challenge and additional capacity was
being sought from internal staff and external agencies; and work would take
place over the coming weeks to develop the principles to guide the creation of
new council.
A summary of the
milestone report was provided which included the progress of the top milestones
throughout programme. A suggestion was made to make the milestone language
clearer and easier to understand for the public. A further change was requested
to the Programme Structure diagram to include lines of reporting to illustrate
decision making authority and lines to indicate the relationship between
programme phases and workstreams. The changes were noted by officers, and it
was indicated that a flow chart would be developed to aid understanding of the
structure.
Members discussed
the SWAP governance audit report and follow-up report, noting that progress had
been made in relation to all areas identified and ‘red’ actions were being
addressed as a priority, specifically relating to the relationship between the
LGR Programme Team and the Dorset County Council LGR Programme Team, and the
challenge posed by needing a single PAYE system and HMRC reference number. The new gateway review process would also
ensure that actions were completed and escalated as a priority at the appropriate
point. In addition, a request was made
for audit reports to be made available as early as possible for members for the
Committee, as well as updates, as it would often take some time to be reported
formally.
In relation to the Workstream Status Update
form, it was suggested that the ‘key achievements for the next week’ should
refer to targets instead of achievements.
The change was noted by officers.
As the Lead Member for Governance, Cllr Spencer Flower updated the
Committee on the ongoing work of the Governance Task and Finish Group.
Decisions
1. That the progress made as described in the programme Director’s
report be noted.
2. That the
Internal Audit report (26 July) and Follow-up report (10 August) be noted.
3. That the reporting formats set out in section 4 of the Programme Director’s report for future reporting be agreed.