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Issue - meetings

Publica Transition - Detailed report

 

 

Meeting: 31/07/2024 - Council (Item 18)

18 Publica Review - Detailed report pdf icon PDF 293 KB

Purpose

To consider the Detailed Transition Plan, to note its content and to approve the recommendations therein.

 

Recommendations

That, subject to the resolutions of Cabinet on 25 July 2024, Full Council resolves to:

1.    Approve the implementation of Phase 1 of the Publica Transition based on the Detailed Transition Plan and the phasing for the transition.

2.    Delegate to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the decision to deal with any final detail matters arising from the Detailed Transition Plan.

3.    Delegate authority to the Director of Governance and Development (Monitoring Officer), in liaison with the Leader, to update the constitution by making any consequential changes required as a result of Phase 1 of the Publica Transition.

4.    Carry out a budget re-basing for the 2026/7 financial year so that the funding provided to Publica is proportionate to the services received.

5.    Note that following the decision on Phase 1, preparatory work for Phase 2 will commence and will be the subject of a separate report

6.    Note the following as included in the Detailed Transition Plan;

Section 2: Transition Planning:

·         Note the Design-Led principles

·         Note the Key Goals for Transition

Section 7: Modelling Assumptions and Outputs:

·          Note the cost modelling for Phase 1.

Section 9:  Post-Transition Support:

·         Note the need for post-transition support.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to consider the Detailed Transition Plan, to note its content and to approve the recommendations therein.

 

The Chair invited those Publica officers who felt that they should leave the room to do so.

 

The Chair then invited the Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris, to introduce the item. The following points were made:  

 

·         There were concerns about the sovereignty of the Council over its staff and the attractiveness of the Council as an employer at the time of introducing Publica in 2017.

 

·         The Leader noted his own vote against the establishment of Publica as an organisation at that time.

 

·         The concerns were noted as being manifested as part of the Council’s current day-to-day operations during his time as Leader.

 

·         The misgivings around Publica were not a reflection on the staff who work hard at the Council across a range of areas who support people and businesses across the District.

 

·         The Leader wished to thank all staff for their work and noted that they were the Council’s greatest asset to deliver the Council’s priorities. 

 

·         The Leader noted that the transition of services would put staff at the forefront of the process to ensure they can deliver to the best of their ability.

 

·         Phase 1 would return staff to the Council and set the Council’s brand and identity as it becomes a major employer in the District once again.

 

·         The report outlined the need to define what success looks like for the Council and how the future of the Council’s services would look.

 

·         The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were thanked for their work in scrutinising the report and providing constructive feedback. Following this, the Leader proposed an additional recommendation to the report which read as follows:

 

7. Note the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and therefore ask officers to work with members to clarify and define what success for the Council and continuing Publica will look like and the values that will underpin this success in order to improve efficiency and enhance services for residents, businesses and community organisations in the district.

 

 

 

·         The Leader noted that a lot of the change required would take time but this was the beginning of the journey and the priority was to complete the Phase 1 transition of staff at pace.

 

·         It was noted that the short-term and medium-term financial assumptions were clear but that unforeseen costs were possible and that mitigation measures would need to be prepared. 

 

·         It was highlighted that the transfer of staff would help to prepare the Council for the need to respond to the changes likely to take place in the local government sector. 

 

·         This was an opportunity to reset the Council as an employer and to ensure all employees feel valued and empowered in their roles.

 

·         In the 50th Anniversary year of the Council, it was noted that this would be a significant moment in the history of the organisation. 

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mike Evemy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18

Meeting: 25/07/2024 - Cabinet (Item 15)

15 Publica Review - Detailed Transition Plan pdf icon PDF 295 KB

Purpose

To consider the Detailed Transition Plan, to note its content and to approve the recommendations therein.

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to recommend to Full Council to:

1.    Approve the implementation of Phase 1 of the Publica Transition based on the Detailed Transition Plan and the phasing for the transition.

2.    Delegate to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the decision to deal with any final detail matters arising from the Detailed Transition Plan.

3.    Delegate authority to the Director of Governance and Development (Monitoring Officer), in liaison with the Leader, to update the constitution by making any consequential changes required as a result of Phase 1 of the Publica Transition.

4.    Carry out a budget re-basing for the 2026/7 financial year so that the funding provided to Publica is proportionate to the services received.

5.    Note that following the decision on Phase 1, preparatory work for Phase 2 will commence and will be the subject of a separate report

6.    Note the following as included in the Detailed Transition Plan;

Section 2: Transition Planning:

·         Note the Design-Led principles

·         Note the Key Goals for Transition

Section 7: Modelling Assumptions and Outputs:

·          Note the cost modelling for Phase 1.

Section 9:  Post-Transition Support:

·         Note the need for post-transition support.

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to consider the Detailed Transition Plan, to note its content and to approve the recommendations therein.

 

Before Cabinet considered this item, officers affected by the Phase 1 Transition left the room.

 

The Leader introduced the report to Members and outlined the recommendations to Members.

 

The Chief Executive also addressed Cabinet around the contents of the report. 

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Joe Harris and seconded by Councillor Lisa Spivey.

 

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet recommended to Full Council to:

 

1.    APPROVE the implementation of Phase 1 of the Publica Transition based on the Detailed Transition Plan and the phasing for the transition.

 

2.   DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the decision to deal with any final detail matters arising from the Detailed Transition Plan.

 

3.    DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Director of Governance and Development (Monitoring Officer), in liaison with the Leader, to update the constitution by making any consequential changes required as a result of Phase 1 of the Publica Transition.

 

4.    AGREED to carry out a budget re-basing for the 2026/7 financial year so that the funding provided to Publica is proportionate to the services received.

 

5.    NOTED that following the decision on Phase 1, preparatory work for Phase 2 will commence and will be the subject of a separate report

 

6.    NOTED the following as included in the Detailed Transition Plan;

 

Section 2: Transition Planning:

 

·         Note the Design-Led principles

 

·         Note the Key Goals for Transition

 

Section 7: Modelling Assumptions and Outputs:

 

·          Note the cost modelling for Phase 1.

 

Section 9:  Post-Transition Support:

 

·         Note the need for post-transition support.

 

Voting Record

 

6 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 2 Absent/Did not vote

 

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to consider the Detailed Transition Plan, to note its content and to approve the recommendations therein.

 

Before Cabinet considered this item, officers affected by the Phase 1 Transition left the room.

 

The Leader introduced the report to Members, noting that this would be discussed at Full Council. The following points were made:

 

  • The Council had set the direction to take back ownership of staffing from the Teckal company Publica Group Ltd which had managed staffing in the past four years.
  • Publica Group had been set up in 2017 by Cheltenham Borough Council, Cotswold District Council, Forest of Dean District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council and aimed to create economies of scale through the sharing of resources and staffing.
  • Whilst the financial savings had largely been achieved, the change of administrations within the councils had create a separation of corporate priorities.
  • The Shareholder Councils had therefore taken the decision to move forward by bringing back staffing in-house to employee staff directly on better terms and provide the councils with greater autonomy to change the staffing base.
  • The staff of the Council were the biggest asset to the Council and it was important to engage staff in the process.
  • This was an opportunity to reset the values of the Council as an organisation.
  • There was a need to avoid a two-tier staff base and the Council would need to consider the future of Publica as a company to provide services.
  • There was a recognition of the higher short-term cost but this was about the future of the Council’s services over the long-term. 

 

The Chief Executive also addressed Cabinet around the contents of the report. The following points were made:

 

  • The Chief Executive’s desire was to derisk the program by working alongside colleagues in the Transition Programme Office, Finance colleagues and ICT colleagues to map out the challenges faced.
  • There will be detailed TUPE discussions which staff before the transition.
  • The cost would be approximately £330,000 which was largely due to the Local Government Pension Scheme which should help staff recruitment and retention.
  • Staff engagement sessions had taken place to ensure staff were fully informed and consulted through briefings and email questions. The most recent briefing session across the Publica councils was attended by over 400 staff.
  • It had not been possible to move all services at the same time hence the need for phasing of staff. The go-live date for Phase 1 was 1November 2024.

 

The Leader thanked senior management in the Council working on the project for their hard work and reaffirmed that it was important this process was done correctly.

 

There were no questions or comments from other Cabinet Members.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Joe Harris and seconded by Councillor Lisa Spivey.

 

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet recommended to Full Council to:

 

1.    APPROVE the implementation of Phase 1 of the Publica Transition based on the Detailed Transition Plan and the phasing for the transition.

 

2.   DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Chief Executive,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15

Meeting: 22/07/2024 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 84)

84 Publica Review- Detailed Transition Plan pdf icon PDF 316 KB

Purpose          

To consider the Detailed Transition Plan, to note its content and to approve the recommendations therein.

 

Recommendation

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

1.    Agree any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Cabinet Meeting on 25 July

 

Invited

Joe Harris, Leader of the Council

Robert Weaver, Chief Executive

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Democratic Services Business Manager explained that the Council had sought legal advice, and as the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was not a decision-making body (unlike Cabinet or Full Council), Officers employed by Publica could remain in the room for the duration of the item.

 

The purpose of the report was to consider the Detailed Transition Plan and to note its content.

 

The Leader of the Council introduced the item, he explained that:

  • The shareholder Publica councils had felt that they had experienced difficulty making decisions under Publica, which had led to the decision to transition most of the Council’s employees to directly employed contracts.
  • Employees would be transferred through a phased approach.
  • He hoped that the transition would better reflect member priorities and promote a cultural shift in the Council.

 

The Chief Executive explained that the first phase of staff would be transferred to the Council in November and staff consultation would be undertaken imminently. He asked that members refrained from asking specific questions on team structures.

 

Members discussed the report, and the following points were raised during this discussion:

  • The same processes for reviewing vacancies filled by agency staff would be followed, so this was not included in the cost. If any of these underlying assumptions regarding temporary staffing changed the Committee should be updated.
  • The Leader stated that he believed that the decision would allow the Council to have greater autonomy over staffing costs, as the other member councils would not have to be consulted on staffing and service decisions.
  • Members stated that it was important to engage with staff and ensure continuity and retention. The Chief Executive explained that engagement with staff had taken place, which had included question and answer sessions. The transition date of 1 November included the necessary timeframe for carrying out consultation with staff who were affected by the changes.
  • The impact of the increased employer pension contributions resulting from the transition was discussed. The Deputy Chief Executive explained that due to how the Local Government Pension Scheme functioned, there would be no short-term financial impact arising from the increased employer pension contributions. The next triennial review was due in March 2025 and any impact would be assessed then .
  • It was recognised that Business Continuity was important for maintaining services. The Deputy Chief Executive stated that the largest risks were the numbers around the financial details not being accurate, (although they were confident in the accuracy of these) and keeping ‘business as usual’ operating through a period of change. The Leader added that delivering cultural change was important to the transition, but that this could be difficult to monitor.
  • The Committee thought that there were a lot of aspirations for what the transition would achieve, but that some of these goals were not necessarily translated into tangible objectives.
  • Members asked for more numbers around the information within the Medium Term Financial Strategy, which the Deputy Chief Executive stated they would provide a written response to.
  • The Committee felt that it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84

 

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