Issue - meetings
Publica Transition Update
Meeting: 06/03/2024 - Executive (Item 161)
161 Publica Transition Update 
PDF 90 KB
Purpose
To consider the Local Partnerships report and to consider the findings and recommendations therein.
Recommendation
That Executive notes:
1. the findings and recommendations set out in the Local Partnerships report; and
2. that the Interim Programme Director shall prepare a detailed transition plan, building on the recommendations set out in the Local Partnerships report, for subsequent consideration by Executive, Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Council.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Ahead of the item of business being considered by the Executive, Officers employed by Publica Group left the Council Chamber.
Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council, introduced the report, which considered a report from Local Partnerships and the findings and recommendations therein.
The Leader gave an overview of the implications that were associated with the report, and explained that, whilst not fully known, a wide-ranging scale of financial costings would be associated with the proposals, as well as legal and recruitment implications. The Leader highlighted that a full transition plan and full business case would be formulated in due, to ensure that residents and Council staff remained foremost in the aims of the Council. The Leader stated that an Interim Programme Director had recently been appointed to oversee the transition of services, and that the appropriate officers meet and engage with the Programme on a regular basis.
The Leader reminded the Executive that the Publica model, was not the same as the one that was initially set up in 2017, and the needs and aims of both individual council’s and residents had changed over the time that the model had been in place. The Leader urged Members to exercise caution when highlighting potential associated costs with the transition and that such plans must be fully costed and with the best interests of residents and staff in mind.
In debate, the Executive thanked the work of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee for its input so far in scrutinising the proposals. The Executive reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the transition process was as smooth as possible, and that services to residents would not be affected. The Executive was also steadfast in ensuring that the terms and conditions of staff were protected as part of the transition.
The Executive also referred to the effectiveness of the Council, efficiencies of the Council, and feasibility of the project to ensure that the transition would be as smooth as possible, and the proposals associated with the transition project must be financially sound, and in keeping with the intended outcomes of the plan pertaining to West Oxfordshire District Council.
At the invitation of the Leader, Councillor Michele Mead and Councillor Julian Cooper, attending as non-Executive Members, highlighted that the proposals were lacking consistent detail in relation to the overall financial implications of that transition, and that it was imperative to have a ‘cap’ on the financial costings associated with the project, before fully entering into a business agreement.
The Chief Executive stated that no estimates were currently available as the overall transition project was still in its infancy, and that a more detailed transition plan would be brought before the Executive in the coming months, which would take into account the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy.
Councillor Andy Graham proposed that the Executive agree to the recommendations as listed on the report. This was seconded by Councillor Duncan Enright, was put to a vote, and was unanimously agreed by the Executive.
The Executive Resolved ... view the full minutes text for item 161
Meeting: 29/02/2024 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 55)
55 Publica Transition Plan PDF 85 KB
Purpose:
To consider the Local Partnerships report and to consider the findings and recommendations therein.
Recommendation:
That the Committee scrutinises the Publica Transition Plan and agrees any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Council’s Executive.
Invited:
Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council
Giles Hughes, Chief Executive
Andrew Pollard, Interim Programme Director
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Chief Executive Officer introduced the report that considered the Local Partnerships report and other findings and recommendations therein of the Publica review.
Frank Wilson had been recruited as the new Interim Managing Director of Publica. Christine Gore had been appointed as the new Chair of the Board and Andrew Pollard had been appointed as the Interim Programme Director.
The report explained that most Council services were delivered through Publica, a joint vehicle owned by the Council together with Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Forest of Dean District Council. An options appraisal review of Council services and the way in which they were delivered had been undertaken by a company called Human Engine in 2023. The final report recommended that a significant number of services should move from Publica and return to being under direct control of the Councils. This would leave Publica delivering a range of support and customer services for the Councils.
The Human Engine report would inform the preparation and implementation of a detailed transition plan that would be presented by the Interim Programme Director and Chief Executive later in the year.
Local Partnerships come with a wealth of experience and were well placed to be able to refer to the wider public sector’s experience of insourcing to provide illustrations of governance, organisational design and service transformation, having been involved in undertaking service reviews for a number of councils in the past. This knowledge and approach facilitated bringing services back in-house following best practice, rather than simply ‘lift and shift’. The brief agreed with Local Partnerships was for the provision of a high-level set of recommendations, following those set out in the Human Engine report, to enable the councils to take the project forward. The Local Partnerships report did not intend to seek to identify all service areas to be transferred, but to give a high-level overview of and suggest key phases of services as part of the transition. It would be for the Interim Programme Director to develop this further with more specific detail in due course. It was envisaged that the detailed transition plan would be completed by the end of April, with subsequent reporting back through the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Executive.
The Interim Programme Director introduced himself and outlined his experience whilst explaining how he could go about developing a detailed, fully analysed and costed Transition Plan.
Various questions and points of clarification were raised with Officers providing answers and points of clarification as follows:
- Member consultation would be organised in due course; however, all service options would be considered for a reasonable and sensible approach to ensure economies of scale and resilience. There would need to be robust frameworks and agreements in place to protect all Councils.
- There were two aspects and the Interim Programme Director explained the hub and spoke approach that used the many hands principles and that there were gatekeepers to keep track of the costs. It was also explained that all options ... view the full minutes text for item 55