Decision details

COUNCIL TRANSFORMATION: STAGE 1 (Paragraphs 1, 2 and 4)

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Decisions:

Earlier in the meeting when the Leader of the Council gave notice of this additional agenda item, the Conservative Group Leader had queried the rational for the report to be taken as an additional agenda item and taken in confidential session and requested that the report be deferred until the April meeting of Cabinet to enable all Members to fully digest the report; these comments were noted.  

 

Members gave consideration to the confidential report of the Leader of the Council that set out the rationale for an ambitious plan to transform the Council to enable it to improve services, the wellbeing and development of the communities and create a more open and democratic local governance. 

 

The plan involved proposals for a senior officer restructure at the top of the organisation followed by a reorganisation lower down the authority.  Cabinet requested that the Licensing and General Purposes Committee be tasked with considering the proposals and making recommendations to Full Council in due course. 

 

It was recommended that in order to avoid “reinventing the wheel”, support was sought from neighbouring councils which had already been through a successful transformation and guidance from local government partners, including the Local Government Association (LGA) and Innovation, Incremental and Inventing Public Services (iESE), the public sector transformation partner.  To this end it was recommended that the £42,300 costs be met from the revenue reserve.  In order to allow the Council to procure the services from iESE who had already provided support to the Leader of the Council, it would be necessary to waive procurement procedure rules.

 

RESOLVED: That:

 

1)    the proposed senior officer structure outlined in the report be supported in principle;

 

2)    the matter be referred to the Licensing and General Purposes Committee to consider the proposals contained therein and report to Full Council;

 

3)    the engagement of the not for profit social enterprise Innovation, Incremental and Inventing Public Services, working with the Local Government Association and local authorities, to assist and guide this process and the wider transformation agenda be approved, with costs to be met from the revenue reserve; and

 

4)    procurement procedure rules be waived under the Teckal exemption for Innovation, Incremental and Inventing Public Services, the public sector transformation partner.

 

(This matter was considered exempt from publication by virtue of paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended).

 

(The Leader had accepted this item onto the Agenda as an Additional Agenda Item in order for the matter to be progressed and referred to the Licensing and General Purposes Committee without any undue delay).

 

(In accordance with Regulation 5(7) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed that this item was urgent and compliance with the above regulations in respect of private meetings was impractical).

Publication date: 13/03/2020

Date of decision: 09/03/2020

Decided at meeting: 09/03/2020 - Cabinet

Effective from: 21/03/2020

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