Agenda item

The Executive are recommended to make the resolutions set out in the report at agenda item 8.

Portfolio Holder for Organisational Development and Governance

      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.

Councillor Kiehl introduced the report, and thanked Officers accordingly. The report would be a catalyst for the next stages of collaboration and would enable the bringing forward of options for consideration on future staffing arrangements, co-location, and simultaneous Executive decision making. The Overview and Scrutiny Committees were recommended to engage with options appraisals when prepared. The same report had been agreed by the Executive of Guildford Borough Council on 23 November, which demonstrated the commitment of both councils to collaboration. 

Visiting Member Councillor Spence had registered to speak and expressed his concern that the original objectives set in 2021 had subsequently been reformatted from having equal priority to a hierarchy, with bridging budget gaps having greater priority than the others. He cautioned that collaboration was more than a savings exercise.

Executive Members’ statements in support of the recommendations included:

·         Collaboration would bring economies of scale and sustainability benefits in the absence of financial assistance from the Government

·         Both Councils would remain sovereign entities and continue to be accountable to their residents

·         Counterpart Executive Members were in regular dialogue and were building good relationships

·         The caution expressed by Councillor Spence was noted, collaboration would also provide opportunities to enhance value and productivity, and safeguard the delivery of services

·         The priorities would be discussed at the informal meeting of the Executives scheduled for February 2024 to stress the non-financial benefits of collaboration

The Executive RESOLVED unanimously to:

             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.

Reasons:

1. Articulate and set the framework and goals for the collaborative work between Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council and provide a direction of travel;
2. Enable collaborative work to continue with the resources available and allow officers to resubmit bids for funding to deliver the vision in future years;
3. Ensure Executive members of both Councils can jointly debate and decide matters coming to them relating to the Transformation and Collaboration programme, ensuring transparency and agile decision making across both authorities, whilst maintaining sovereignty of both councils;
4. Ensure decisions relating to sharing premises and staffing are subject to proper scrutiny; and
5. Support the plans of both councils to achieve financial sustainability, particularly for Guildford Borough Council in the light of the reset Budget 2023/24 report (Full Council 25 July 2023) and Financial Recovery Plan (Full Council 10 October 2023) and revised Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).