Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0   Relevant Background Information

1.1     Members will be aware that Strategic Policy and Resources Committee approved the engagement of iESE to support the Council in the development of a 3-4 year transformation and efficiency programme which will identify the major areas of change; the approach to delivery and the business case for change.

1.2     iESE have conducted a review of the current efficiency programme and approach to provide a baseline of findings and identify areas of improvement for development of the new programme.

1.3     A workshop with the Budget Panel on 5 March 2014 explored the efficiency programme deliverables to date and considered the future drivers for change. The objective of the session was to develop a sense of direction for future opportunities for organisation wide transformation and further efficiencies. This paper reflects the decisions taken at the workshop.

2.0     Key Issues

2.1     The efficiency programme 2010 to 2015 set a target of £20m savings by 2015/16 and has delivered £18m up to the 2014/15 rate-setting period as demonstrated in the table below.

2.2     As at March 2014, there remains £2m efficiencies to identify and deliver to achieve the £20m target, plus £2m from the new rates base and £2m for leisure transformation, the totality of which will be directed towards the leisure investment programme. All of this is to be achieved within the context of extending services to the new boundaries; the investment programme and keeping rates increases below inflation.

2.3     The quick wins have already been earmarked during the first 4 years of the programme focussing on the more transactional activities within departments.

         Therefore to achieve these additional targets will be challenging and will require more radical thinking about the future shape of the organisation and how services should be delivered. This will mean a move away from transactional departmental efficiencies to an organisation wide approach to improving the way the council does business today and making more fundamental changes.

2.4 Approach

         It is proposed that the Council develop a new 3-4 year efficiency programme aligned to the medium term financial plan which will set efficiency targets for 2015-16 and new targets for a further 3 years from 2016 onwards.

         In line with the direction from the Budget Panel, the Council will work with iESE in reviewing corporate and operational activities to analyse and test the opportunities for efficiencies and improvement across all services.

         The review will be based on the above model and will test the organisation and services against an agreed set of principles and criteria.

         This will include

·         Income and expenditure analysis by service area

·         Identifying the range of options and scale of the opportunity for services

·         Benefits and efficiencies, baselined against comparative data

·         Risks and challenges to delivery of the outcomes

·         Resources required and the timeline to deliver the change

         The programme will operate within the rate setting programme and will be aligned to the service convergence and transfer of functions programmes to ensure cohesion and clarity of purpose. Members should note that in-depth opportunity assessments in the areas of Waste; Cleansing and Parks have been scoped.

         The approach will involve engagement through workshops and discussion with the Budget Panel, Directors and staff.

         iESE will work with team members from the Council to ensure the transfer of skills and knowledge to build sustainable capacity for the longer term programme

         The outcome from this stage of work will be a draft programme of work, which will be delivered to the Committee at the end of June 2014. However early findings and scenarios will be tested with the Budget Panel during the process.

3.0     Resource Implications

3.1     None

4.0     Equality and Good Relations Implications

         None

5.0     Recommendations

         The Committee is requested to note the contents of the report and

         (i) To agree the proposal and approach as set out in 2.4 above.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.