Smart Service Delivery in Challenging Times Shared services

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Smart Service Delivery in Challenging
TimesShared services what does it mean for you?

• Alan Higgins
• Chair, CIEH Council
• Director, Environmental Health Matters Ltd
• alan.higgins_at_ehms.co.uk

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What do we mean by Shared Services

• Can take many forms
• A group of authorities agreeing to cooperate to
  deliver a
• service e.g. waste partnerships
• Individual or range of services provided by one
  authority to
• another e.g. stray dog service, out of hours
• A number of authorities sharing a service
  usually hosted or
• managed by one of them or outsourced e.g.
  contaminated
• land, building control, regulatory services
• The establishment of a local authority company
  to provide
• services to an individual or group of
  authorities
• The establishment of a social enterprise to
  provide services
• to an individual or group of authorities

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Why Share Services?

• Partnership working encouraged by Government,
  the Audit
• Commission and LGA
• Local Government Boundary Commission
  consultation on
• Principal Area Boundary reviews
• Cooperate to provide expensive infrastructure
  e.g. waste
• disposal facilities
• Cost reductions through efficiencies effects
  of CSR
• Cost reductions by sharing management costs,
  support
• services and other overheads
• Share regulatory services at different levels of
  government
• Share expertise particularly in areas of
  shortage or for
• smaller authorities

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Other Potential Benefits of Shared Services

• Improve delivery to customers
• Greater resilience
• Economies of scale
• Consistent approach in service delivery across a
  wider
• area
• Reducing burdens on businesses by standardising
• performance, quality, policy processes
• Business transformation improving self-service
  and
• reducing avoidable contact

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Legislative Controls

• The Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act
  1970
• Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 and
  sections 19
• and 20 of the Local Government Act 2000
• Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972
• Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972
• The Local Government Act 2000
•  Local Government Act 2003
•  Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and the
  Local
• Authority (Companies) Order 1995.
• The Local Government and Public Involvement in
  Health Act
• 2007
• Section 31 of the Health Act 1999 and the NHS
  Bodies and
• Local Authorities Partnership Arrangements
  Regulations 2000
• Local Government and Public Involvement in
  Health Act 2007

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Governance Arrangements for Shared Services

• In house
•   Public Sector Partnerships
• - Service level agreement
• - Joint Committee/Board
•   Simultaneous Executive meetings
•   Joint Waste Authorities
•   Company arrangements
• - Wholly owned local authority company
•    - Joint venture company
•   Partnering Agreement/Contract
•   Outsourcing client arrangements in house

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Employment Formats for Shared Services

• Provision of service by one authority to another
  authority
• staff remain employed by provider authority
• Joint management by one authority staff remain
  employed
• by original employer
•  
•  Management by a host authority with staff
  seconded from
• the other authority/authorities
•  
•  Management by host authority and staff transfer
  from other
• authority/authorities
•  
•  Transfer to a private organisation, a joint
  venture, a new LA
• owned organisation or a social enterprise

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Employment Issues for Shared Services

• Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of
  Employment)
• Regulations 2006 TUPE
• Staff who opt not to transfer
• Changes for economic, technical or
  organisational
• reasons (ETO reasons)
• Different terms and conditions
• Differing pension arrangements
• Differing benefits lease cars, PRP
• Responsibility for redundancy costs

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Other Issues for Shared Services

• Differing ICT systems
• Cultural differences
• Political differences
• Support service provisions
• VAT and taxation issues
• EU procurement requirements
• Customers Services Centres
• Accommodation and public access
• Power to delegate authority and enforce

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Some Key Issues for Staff in a Shared Service
Consideration

• Consultation on changes to working arrangements
• Contractual arrangements - TUPE
• Effects on pension
• Reductions in staffing redundancy, filling of
• continuing or new posts, workload
• Continuing management and reporting lines
• Relocation working area
• Delegated authority

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Risks for the Shared Service Approach

• Insufficient funding of implementation
• Timing of ICT infrastructure and integration
• Savings and returns on investment not being
  realised
• Impact on corporate support and resilience in
  all
• participating authorities
• Performance levels not being realised
• TUPE, HR issues and staff engagement
• Licensing Act limitations continuation of
  separate
• Licensing Committees

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Ingredients for Success of Shared Arrangements

• Good existing relationships TRUST!
• Experience of successfully working together in
  the
• past/on other projects (an incremental
  approach)
• Clarity about objectives
• Buy-in from staff and members
• Flexibility
• Honesty
• Same political control/unlikely to change
• Similar demographics and issues
• Services where there are national standards,
  e.g. HS
• and food safety inspections, which are easier
  to integrate
• Similar ICT systems

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Smart Service Delivery in Challenging
TimesShared services what does it mean for you?

• Questions

14
Smart Service Delivery in Challenging
TimesShared services what does it mean for you?

• Alan Higgins
• Chair, CIEH Council
• Director, Environmental Health Matters Ltd
• alan.higgins_at_ehms.co.uk