My Report to Council

Posted By: Keith Swift
Date Posted: 10/02/2009

REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR TOWNSHIPS AND CORPORATE MANAGEMENT TO THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL ON 4 FEBRUARY 2009.


Thank you Mister Mayor for the opportunity to report to the Council the latest developments on various matters relating to the Townships and Corporate Management Portfolio.

PERFORMANCE AND DEVELOPMENT

Developing the role of Township Committees is progressing well, with immediate plans on target – and a review of what devolution might mean in the medium term now underway.

Over the next 12 – 18 months there will be an increased focus on community engagement at a township level. We recognise that only by listening to our communities will we change things for the better – and for this reason, we want to encourage more local people to get involved in influencing and shaping local service delivery.

Within Communications, staff have now been recruited to the recently reconfigured Community Safety and Every Child Matters posts. The posts within the team now align to the borough priorities and work plans are being mapped against borough priorities to ensure that indicators requiring communications support are resourced appropriately.

Improvements are also planned to the council’s website and a project is underway to base the structure of this on real customer data, including volume data across all access channels and analysis that shows how our customers use the existing site layout. This builds on the foundations that have been put in place over the last 12 months and should help to improve the experience that customers have of using the site as well as helping the council to deliver better value for money as transactional capability increases over time.

We have developed the first Council Health and Well-being Strategy for the council approval and a senior manager has been seconded into the service as Council Health Improvement Manager to develop the strategy action plan, carry out a peer challenge on health and well-being in each council service, and coordinate delivery of council health and well-being activity.

We are also carrying out a self-evaluation of how well the council and its partners are delivering improvements in the borough. This is being done for the LSP and is part of our preparations for the new way that the government is going to measure us – the Comprehensive Area Assessment.

The Enterprising Leadership Programme continues to receive excellent feedback with staff engaged in a wide variety of improvement projects both in their own service areas and across the council.

We continue to make good progress on improving data quality and training for members started in January.

The ContactPoint project is also on target. Rochdale is an early adopter of this national system and two pieces of work recently completed by the team on shielding records and the development of a log book have been recognised as best practice by the National Implementation Team.

Capacity has been increased in the key areas of records management and information governance – both areas of work that are increasingly important for achieving efficiencies and meeting statutory commitments.

Finally, the new Arena made for a great start to the New Year for Middleton Township, who held their first Township Committee of 2009 there on January 8th.

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

Pay & Grading Review

The Council’s proposals for the pay and grading review were communicated to staff affected on 11.12.2008 as part of a consultation process with the workforce and trade unions. The formal consultation period will last from January until the end of March 2009. Following this Members will consider the outcome of the process and will make decisions about the next stage of implementing the review.

It is recognised that the review represents a major challenge for staff, managers and for the Council as a whole. The Council is however committed to listening to the views of staff from the consultation process before final decisions are made.

As part of the process the Council decided to provide a further right of appeal for staff. This is in addition to the appeals procedure which was jointly agreed with trade unions which has operated throughout the review process. The final details of the further appeals process are currently being resolved so that the procedure can be made available to staff as quickly as possible. Staff will be informed of the arrangements as soon as possible in order that appeals can be considered.

Implementation of Trent HR System

Progress continues with the implementation of the new computerised HR system and the second phase of the project as part of the People Management Transformation Programme, but this has slowed in the last quarter due to the impact of the pay and grading review on workloads and resource availability within People Management and other Services being diverted to support the review and ongoing work associated with Equal Pay claims. Resources from Impact and other partners have also had to be diverted to other projects temporarily to compensate.

We expect this position to be maintained up until 31 March 2009, through the consultation period and in preparation of the next phase of workforce communications.

The Project targets will accordingly be challenging to achieve during 2009/10 and the situation is being closely monitored through regular reporting to the PMS Transformation Programme Board. The Service is on target to achieve the financial efficiency savings set out in the business case, and work will also begin during 2009/10 to identify possible out of scope efficiencies and cashable savings in other Services from standardising HR and other administrative processes using the Trent platform with assistance from colleagues from Finance (VFM) and Business Transformation.

Progress:

• The upgrade to the web-based version to enable on-line recruitment and self-service options for staff and managers successfully went live in October 2008. The comprehensive programme of training provided for users has had very positive feedback.

• Some of the key future benefits will include better access for managers to information about absence management, staffing levels, and overtime, as well as making life easier for staff and managers by letting people check pay slips, check and change personal details at any time, book leave, request training and much more.

• It is anticipated that the first new module (recruitment) will be introduced from October 2009. This will provide a proactive professional recruitment function and enable a self-service facility for both internal and external job applicants. There will also be a rolling programme of new modules implemented including health and safety, learning and development and discipline and grievance.

Managing Attendance

The Service continues to support services to achieve ongoing improvements in absence rates through identification and robust management of issues.

Overall performance for the second quarter 2008/09 was 2.45 days lost through sickness related absence per FTE and the cumulative figure up to 31 July 08 was 2.89 days per FTE. Last year second quarter figures were 2.55 hence an improvement of 0.10 days. Third quarter figures (to 31 December 2008) were not ready in time for this report and will be updated before the meeting.

The agreed target for 2008/09 is 9.44 days (based on computation of Service targets) Projected figure for 2008/09, based on first and second quarter figure is 9.8 days assuming 23% absence in each of the first two quarters and 27% absence in quarters three and four. The final figure for 2007/08 was 10.60 days.

The first two quarters showed an overall improvement of 0.55 days on the same quarter last year when the Council finished 4th best in AGMA.

Heads of Services where absence rates have not improved or are still above targets will continue to report to ELT members and their Portfolio Holder and the Lead Member for Resources to outline their plans to reduce absence.

A system of regular reporting of absence from Trent has been developed aimed at improving the accuracy and reliability of data and reports produced.
Meetings will continue with officers from Performance and Development Service to look at ways of strengthening performance management and reporting arrangements, including wider, graphical representation of comparisons, improvements and areas of concern.

Senior Management Recruitment

The Service is also providing advice and assistance to Executive Directors and Elected Members in relation to three senior recruitments: Executive Director (Transformation), Head of Legal and Democratic and the Head of the new Service, Customer and Communications. Two of these have involved working with specialist advisors, as well as working with colleagues from Performance and Development to design and set up the first in-house web-based microsite for the post of Head of Legal and Democratic (normally undertaken by recruitment specialist).

LEGAL AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES

The Legal and Democratic Service supports the maintenance and promotion of high standards of conduct and good corporate governance throughout the Authority. Legal Services also continues to be very closely involved in a number of high profile projects across the Council including: Building Schools for the Future; the redevelopment of Rochdale Town Centre; and the Street lighting PFI, the latter of which is expected to go to Call for Final Tender during January 2009.

The Service is engaged in a comprehensive programme of service improvement following a fundamental strategic review. The key elements of this include:

• Ensuring financial stability to enable the Service as a whole to plan and make investments for the future, including the implementation of a new document management system and electronic legal resource materials. This, however, is being made much more difficult by the national economic slowdown and depressed housing market which is making it extremely challenging to balance the Land Charges budget. Due to the largely uncontrollable nature of the pressures detailed above (and pressures faced by the electoral services team) and the fact that cost efficiencies have already been made where possible, the Service faces a considerable budgetary problem. LDS are therefore considering other options that could potentially reduce costs but could result in a significant reduction in service provision and increased in risks to the Council – these options will be discussed with the Townships & Corporate Management Portfolio Holder and the Finance Portfolio Holder in January 2009.

• Internal Audit has undertaken a number of planned audits during the past twelve months within the Service. These have largely demonstrated that LDS has robust processes and procedures in place and where improvements have been suggested, these have been fully accepted and promptly implemented by LDS managers.

• mplementing the “Going Local” agenda which has seen the Council’s Standards Committee taking greater responsibility for dealing with issues of Member conduct than has hitherto been the case. Unfortunately, no additional resource has been made available by the Government for this increased role which has added to the Service’s budget pressure this year. The Service has also supported the Standards Committee in providing training for all members of the Committee and in carrying out another successful recruitment exercise for new Independent Members. Three new Independent Members, Robert Connely, John Parker and Angela Slater, were formally appointed to the Standards Committee in October 2008.

• The Services’ Business Continuity Plan is reviewed and updated on a regular basis and the Service’s Risk Register will be undated during January 2009.

• The Service adopts a highly pro-active approach to the management of sickness absence. The Service continues to record levels of sickness absence below the corporate targets during 2008.

A significant number of staff within the Legal and Democratic Service have been significantly and adversely affected by the job evaluation/pay & grading proposed outcomes and this will constitute a significant and continuing challenge for managers and staff over the coming months.

BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS

Emphasis continues to be placed on ensuring Value for Money is obtained from the Council’s contracts. Corporate Procurement are driving work to try to achieve the significant savings target to be met and to continue to expand the online procurement system and other IT developments which will assist with this. Design and Print within the Council is an area which is currently being looked at.

Client Services also continues to work closely with Impact Partnership in the provision of its services in ways which aim to create both efficiencies and jobs. In relation to Link 4 Life a visioning event has taken place and this is being fed into Link 4 Life’s Business Plan which will be approved by the Council. Middleton Arena has now opened successfully and Business Partnerships are working with Link 4 Life to ensure everything is in place to ensure the confirmed success of this facility. It will also be working with Link 4 Life in relation to the proposed Heywood Sports Leisure and Culture Village. The Audit Commission will shortly be commencing an inspection in relation to the value for money the Council gets from Impact Partnership and Link 4 Life.

Facilities Management‘s challenges relate to trying to ensure a cost effective service in a climate of rising energy costs and the outcome of the pay and grading review. The provision of Healthy School Meals continues to be a high priority, with the introduction of new Primary School Nutritional Requirements. A School Meals Marketing Plan has been drawn up to strengthen the Service’s role in educating pupils about healthy eating.

EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY

The Annual Equalities Listening Event

The Annual Equalities Listening Event is being held on Tuesday 3 February at Middleton Arena, Corporation Street, Middleton M24 1AG, from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm. This is an important event where we involve members of the public and other stakeholders in identifying ways in which we can improve access to services and employment. Information obtained from this event is used to shape service plans across the Council. At this event we would like to hear what members of the public have to say about potential barriers, to accessing services and securing employment, faced by men, women, younger people, older people, disabled people and those from BME communities.

Admission to this event is free and a free buffet lunch will be served around 12.30pm. This event will be held in an accessible building and members of the public may be eligible for financial support to cover expenses such as transport or parking costs incurred when attending the event.

I would like to ask you to encourage your constituents and representatives from community groups within your ward to attend this important event. You are also most welcome to attend.

INFORMATION AND LIBRARIES

Each of the council's seven Customer Service Centres have received the Cabinet Office's prestigious Customer Service Excellence award.

This accreditation, designed to reward organisations that consistently deliver high-quality service based on the needs of customers and communities, reflects excellence at a range of elements including the way the service is delivered, timing, information provided and the attitude of staff.

The Customer Service Excellence award replaces Charter Mark , the Cabinet Office’s previous award for customer service excellence, which has been held by the Customer Service Centres since 2002.

Providing excellent service is a top priority for the council, and this fantastic achievement is a reflection of the dedication and high standards demonstrated by staff in our Customer Service Centres who ensure that our customers and our local community are provided with an exceptional level of service.

TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME

The Transformation Programme Office has now been established which will lead on Stepping Up, Business Transformation and the development of the New Municipal Offices. The new team headed by Mark Widdup is based on Floor 10 of the Municipal Offices and will drive the Council’s transformation agenda providing support and resources to deliver many of the key strategic improvements we need to make. These will focus on the strands of Stepping Up of Value for Money, Customer Focus and maximising the Potential of our People.

The development of the new Municipal Offices is progressing well with the process of selecting a Professional Design Team due to be completed in May of this year. The completion of the building programme is expected to be the end of 2011.

Thank you.
Councillor Keith Swift