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Agenda item

Publica Review - Detailed Transition Plan

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.

 

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, 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

Supporting documents:

 

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