Venue: Committee Rooms A&B, South Walks House, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1EE
Contact: Lee Gallagher Email: l.d.gallagher@dorsetcc.gov.uk - 01305 224191
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Apologies To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Anthony Alford, Pauline Batstone and Barry Quinn. |
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Declaration of Interests Councillors are required to comply with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 regarding disclosable pecuniary interests. Minutes: There were no declarations by members of disclosable pecuniary interests under the Shadow Dorset Council’s Code of Conduct. |
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To confirm and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 August 2018. Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 August 2018 were confirmed and signed. |
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Public Participation To receive any public questions or statements on the business of the Shadow Executive Committee. Minutes: There were no public questions or statements received at the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 28. |
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Shadow Executive Forward Plan PDF 122 KB To consider the Forward Plan of the Shadow Executive Committee. Minutes: The Committee received the latest draft Forward Plan, which included all decisions to be taken throughout the Shadow Dorset Council period until 1 April 2019. Noted |
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Programme Highlight Report PDF 735 KB To consider a report by the Programme Director. Minutes: The Committee considered a report by the Programme Director which
provided an overview of the Local Government Reorganisation Programme including
workstream activity, progress on Phase 2 in respect
of Service Continuity Implementation Plans, the formation of Theme Boards, and
the activity of the wider Programme Board.
The progress so far was challenging and resource intensive, but
assurance was provided that it was sufficient to meet the deadline of 1 April
2019 as day 1 of the new Council. The formation of convergence plans was raised together with clarity
regarding member and officer roles. It
was confirmed that an Informal Shadow Executive Committee on 24 September 2018
would consider options for the convergence timeline, which had been accelerated
from the original business case assumption of a two-year period. More detail would also be included in the
Programme Highlight report to the next meeting on 15 October 2018. Theme Boards would now be engaged to focus of Phase 3 transformation and
convergence which needed to be closely linked to the activity of the Budget
Working Group in relation to any achievable convergence savings. Further
clarification was provided that any plans developed for convergence could not
endanger processes such as TUPE, and also not to prevent any potential
transformation at a later stage which would bring a greater benefit to the new
Council. Concern was expressed regarding stranded costs associated with the
formation of the two new Dorset councils.
It was clarified that there was no assumption of stranded costs in the
original financial case prepared by Local Partnerships. The stranded costs currently amounted £5.4m
which would change through effective vacancy management and would be addressed
as part of convergence work. Noted |
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To consider a report by the Programme Director. Minutes: The Committee
considered a report by the Programme Director on the current status of the
Programme risk management, together with the high impact risks. A consolidated risk register was currently
being prepared to provide a corporate register, which would be available from
October 2018 and would be brought to the Committee at its meeting on 12
November 2018. The Corporate Risk
Register would provide a framework for all Shadow Council members to take moral
collective responsibility for all risks. The Leader of the
Shadow Council indicated that she would engage with all Shadow Executive members
outside of the meeting to ensure that all were receiving appropriate
information to fulfil their lead member roles. Decisions 1. That the
Shaping Dorset Programme risk management process be agreed. 2. That the high
impact (4 and 5) risks, description, rating and mitigating actions be approved. Reason for
Decisions To report the current risks as agreed at the Risk Workshop on 22 August 2018. |
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Local Council Tax Support Scheme PDF 244 KB To consider a report by the Lead Member for Finance. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee
considered a report by the Lead Member for Finance on the need for a Local
Council Tax Support scheme for Dorset Council. An aligned scheme would be
required from 2021/22, but this report outlined the benefits of having an aligned
scheme for 2019/20 and the opportunities to help reduce customer confusion and
local authority administration. Decision That the Committee
agrees to undertake a review of the Local Council Tax Support scheme. Reason for
Decision To help ensure that the Dorset Council Local Council Tax Support scheme treats claimants consistently, was clear to understand and easy to administer. |
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Grants to Voluntary and Community Organisations PDF 126 KB To consider a report by the Lead Member for Communities. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee
considered a report by the Lead Member for Communities on a review of the
grants to the voluntary and community sector to provide some certainty as to
their future funding in advance of the budget setting process for Dorset
Council. As part of the introduction of
the report, the Lead Member asked for Recommendation 2 in the report be removed
as there had not been an opportunity to gather enough information and assess
the impact of a change in funding for Local Town Partnerships and that the
funding for these bodies would roll forward in the same way as other
funding. A robust review would then be
undertaken of all grants early in the new financial year. Steve Mackenzie, Chief Executive of Purbeck
District Council and lead officer for the report, summarised the remit of the
exercise undertaken so far and also clarified that most of the funding
arrangements were managed through Service Level Agreements which were due to
end on 31 March 2019 except for East Dorset arrangements which were due to end
on 31 March 2020. Further clarification
was provided regarding the requested budget level which took account of an
additional £52,698 in relation to the funding for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau
in North Dorset and Weymouth & Portland which had not been included in the
figures. This increased the gross budget
to £2,006,722 and the requested budget to £1,545,113. On discussing the
report, it was suggested that a caveat be added to the remit of the review of
grants to ensure that there was a clear outcomes focus and evidence base for
the continuation of funding. Reference
also had to be made to the community benefits created as a result of the
funding, together with an impact assessment of the additional income generated
as a result of the use of the funding.
All groups would be notified of the roll forward of funding and it would
be made very clear that there would be a robust and fair review of all funding
in the 2019/20 financial year. Decisions 1. That grants
which are given to organisations on a continuing basis are rolled forward for
2019/20, subject to the grants to pan-Dorset organisations being reduced to
take account of the loss of Christchurch. 2. That
comprehensive reviews of the grants be undertaken, to inform the budget setting
process for 2020/21 and provide certainty to the sector. Reason for
Decisions That there was a clear approach to grants to voluntary and community organisations in 2019/20, so that recipient organisations and Finance Officers could plan accordingly. |
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Transfer of Services and Assets PDF 255 KB To consider a report by the Leader of West Dorset District Council. Minutes: The Committee
considered a report by the Leader of West Dorset District Council (WDDC) on
“agreements in principle” established with Town and Parish Councils in West
Dorset to take responsibility for discretionary services with a package of assets
and money to facilitate the transfer in accordance with the principles for
transfer of assets and services agreed by the Shadow Executive Committee on 20
July 2018. Three questions
were submitted by Cllr Cheryl Reynolds from WDDC as follows: Will this committee confirm its commitment to
localism and the devolution of services to local councils, to protect services
and deliver long-term savings? Why are we making this so complicated? We must
ask ourselves, can we afford not to accept proposals that clearly benefit the
communities we represent? In response to the
questions, the Leader of the Shadow Dorset Council indicated that the Shadow
Council was committed to working with local councils, but that proposals had to
be in line with the agreed protocol and decisions would be taken in the best
interest of all councils. Cllr Reynolds
was thanked for her questions. Cllr Alan Thacker,
Portfolio holder for Community Safety and Access & Deputy Leader at WDDC,
introduced the report and highlighted that this was a process which had started
before Local Government Reorganisation to make more efficient provision of
services and assets locally. As part of
this, meetings had been taking place with Mayors and Clerks of Town Councils
over the past year. The upfront cost and
commitment was planned to come from WDDC reserves to implement proprietary work
and to retain assets in the public sector. The Interim
Section 151 Officer confirmed that the value of the assets proposed to be
transferred exceeded a financial threshold previously agreed by the Shadow
Executive Committee. In the light of
this the Interim Monitoring Officer advised that although the item appeared
within the consultation part of the agenda, the value of the proposed asset
transfers meant that they should not go ahead without the support of the Shadow
Executive Committee. A proposal was
tabled by Cllr Rebecca Knox, and seconded by Cllr Spencer Flower, not to
support the proposed transfers. Decision That the proposals
in relation to the transfer of assets and services considered by West Dorset
District Council not be supported. |
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Decision Making Activity of Dorset Councils For information only – the links below provide background information regarding the decision making activity of each of the Dorset area councils: Weymouth & Portland Borough Council Minutes: The Committee received notification of the decision activity of Dorset
councils. There were no matters raised
in respect of decision making of Dorset Council. Noted |
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Shaping Dorset Council Programme - Operational Structures from Day 1 - Tier 2 PDF 136 KB The
Shadow Executive Committee is seeking to facilitate the creation of a brand new
council. Recruiting to senior posts is a significant part of setting the
culture of the new authority and presents an exciting opportunity for the new
Dorset Council. Whilst the operating model for the new council has
not been finalised, the design principles have been agreed by the Shadow
Executive Committee and work is planned to develop the operating model over the
next few months. The proposed structure will support these agreed design
principles and their further development, as well as to minimise risks to
service continuity during a period of significant change moving from six
councils to one from 1 April 2019. A report
by the Interim Head of Paid Service will be circulated to follow, which will
outline the proposed structure, the rationale supporting this structure, high
level role profile descriptions, proposed salary ranges, employee engagement
process, communications and the process to recruit to these posts. Additional documents:
Minutes: (Note:
Jonathan Mair and Jason Vaughan withdrew from the
meeting for this item.) The Committee
considered a report by the Leader of the Shadow Council and Lead Member for
Human Resources on the recruitment of senior posts as a significant part of setting
the culture of the new Dorset Council in accordance with design principles. A
summary of the design principles, proposed structure, comments from
consultation with officers, post requirements, salary ranges, timelines, and
decision-making approach were provided.
It was noted that the voluntary redundancy process would be reported to
the next meeting on 15 October 2018. Cllr Peter Wharf
as the Lead Member for HR and Workforce explained that there had been differing
views expressed by a range of officers including sovereign council Chief
Executives to the proposed structure. He
also explained that there may be some variation to the model depending on being
able to secure the right people for the right roles. The role of Director of Public Health would
not be included in the recruitment as this was a co-hosted position. There was also an
important need to ensure service continuity and it may therefore be necessary
to use contractors or interims to ensure there were no vacancies. It was
recognised that it may not be possible to attract ideal candidates to the roles
such as those for Adult and Children’s Services as they were for a Council
which did not yet exist. Reference was made
to the need to be prepared to fully justify the reasoning for the roles being
six times the Dorset average salary of £20k and to explain what tax payers
would ‘get for their money’. At the end of the
debate it was clarified that a report would be considered at the next Shadow
Dorset Council meeting on 27 September 2018 to outline the member-led appointment
process and to seek approval to make the necessary recruitment arrangements
including confirmation of the salary ranges.
Decision 1. That the
proposed tier 2 structure and one tier 3 post, for the purposes of engaging
with employees be agreed. 2. That delegated
authority be granted to the Interim Head of Paid Service, working in
conjunction with the Leader of the Shadow Council and Shadow Executive Member
Theme lead for HR and Workforce, to: a. Finalise and
agree the job titles, role profiles and the allocation of service
responsibilities; b. Arrange for the
roles to be fully evaluated and to propose final salary recommendations to the
Shadow Council at their meeting on 27 September 2018; c. Run an
engagement process with employees, enabling their views on the structure to be
considered; d. Agree the
recruitment process and support to be made available to internal applicants;
and, e. Recruit and
appoint an agency to support the selection centre process as set out in the
report 4.1 to 4.3. 3. That the
recruitment process be started from October 2018, once the employee engagement
process is complete and appropriate comments/feedback have been taken on board. 4. That a report ... view the full minutes text for item 54. |
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Exempt Business To consider passing the following resolution: To agree that in accordance with Section 100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting in relation to the business specified below it is likely that if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the public interest in disclosing the information to the public. Minutes: Decision That in accordance with Section 100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting in relation to the business specified below it was likely that if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the public interest in disclosing the information to the public. |
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Funding for Highway Maintenance - 2019/20 To consider an exempt report by the Cabinet Member for Natural and Built Environment, Dorset County Council. The report was considered by the County Council’s Cabinet on 5 September 2018. Minutes: The Committee
considered a report by the Cabinet Member for Natural and Built Environment
following activity to examine the current funding strategy in relation to the
management of highway maintenance. A number of the recommendations within the report
related to future revenue funding issues from 1 April 2019 and were for the
Shadow Executive Committee to consider. The report was considered and approved
by Dorset County Council’s Cabinet on 5 September 2018. Clarification was
provided regarding the additional funding for highway maintenance in 2019/20 as
a mixture of revenue and capital financing through the disposal of assets. Recognition was
given to the need to invest in highways maintenance and to commend the ongoing
work of the Highways Team who worked incredibly hard with limited resources. Decision That the content
of the Policy Development Panel’s report be taken into account within future
budget development work. Reason for
Decision To address
concerns about the current levels of maintenance and condition of the highway network. |
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Urgent Items To consider any items of business which the Chair has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be specified in the minutes. Minutes: There were no items of urgent business pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972 considered at the meeting. |