Decision details

      I.        Note and endorse the Guildford and Waverley Partnership Vision statement in Appendix 1;

    II.        Note the progress made to date with regards to the Guildford and Waverley collaboration initiative as set out in Appendix 2 and section 7;

   III.        Adopt the proposed Transformation and Collaboration Programme set out at Appendix 3;

  IV.        Approve a project to explore the potential benefits of co-locating Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council staff within shared premises or single HQ, resourced separately from this Transformation and Collaboration Programme, and receive a report for consideration with an options appraisal and recommendations;

    V.        Approve a project to explore a single shared officer structure between Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council, resourced through the initial Transformation and Collaboration budget allocations, and receive a report for consideration with an options appraisal and recommendations;

  VI.        Agree the additional resources as set out in section 10 of this report (£100,000 of revenue and £100,000 of capital. For Guildford Borough Council this will be funded from flexible use of capital receipts and the Finance Recovery Reserve. For Waverley Borough Council this will be funded from the invest to save reserve) to support the initial start-up of this programme and note how the revenue funding will be spent to secure officer support as set out within Appendix 4;

 VII.        Note that the initial benefits realisation work with the joint Executive Heads of Service has been carried out by the Organisational Development and Finance Teams, with a rough order of magnitude for savings through collaboration projects at £700,000 but that this figure is expected to increase over time as the detail of more plans is developed;

VIII.        Note that the required level of funding to support the delivery of the programme in the longer term cannot be made available at this time, necessitating a phased and prioritised approach in the first instance (focusing more on staff terms and conditions and immediate savings opportunities and less on the broader and more complex questions of the operating model for both authorities);

  IX.        Request that consideration be given in February 2024 to how the broader programme can be fully funded and taken forward when the budgets of both Councils are agreed (and adopting a revised programme structure in line with that increased level of funding at that time);  

    X.        Approve the principle of the Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council Executives working in partnership on matters relating to the Transformation and Collaboration Programme;

  XI.        Approve the principle of Simultaneous Executive Meetings (SEMs) for the Executives of Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council to consider matters relating to the Transformation and Collaboration Programme;

 XII.        Delegate authority to the Joint Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services to schedule regular meetings, as required, simultaneously of the Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council Executives, in consultation with the Leaders of both Councils, and

XIII.        Invite Overview and Scrutiny Committees to scrutinise and comment upon the draft options appraisals, the recommendations and the costs and savings before these are finalised and brought back to the Executive for further consideration.