To: Members of the Organisational Improvement and › sites › default › files › ...Organisational Improvement and Development Policy Committee Monday, 16 September 2019 at 6.30pm

Professor Steven Broomhead

Chief Executive

Town Hall Sankey Street

Warrington WA1 1UH

6 September 2019 Organisational Improvement and Development Policy Committee Monday, 16 September 2019 at 6.30pm Council Chamber, Town Hall, Sankey Street, Warrington, WA1 1UH Agenda prepared by Christine Oliver, Executive Assistant to the Leader, Telephone: (01925) 442104 E-mail: [email protected] A G E N D A Part 1 Items during the consideration of which the meeting is expected to be open to members of the public (including the press) subject to any statutory right of exclusion. Item Page

Number 1.

Apologies for Absence To record any apologies received.

2. Code of Conduct - Declarations of Interest Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda no later than when the item is reached.

3.

Minutes To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of 4 June 2019 as a correct record.

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To: Members of the Organisational Improvement and Development Policy Committee

Councillors:

Chair – J Kerr-Brown Deputy Chair – A King J Davidson, L Dirir, K Morris, S Parish, A Fradgley, P Walker, G Fellows

mailto:[email protected]

4. 5. 6. 7.

Warrington’s Commercial Approach Report of the Head of Finance/Deputy Section 151 Officer – current strategy attached. LGA Peer Review 2019 Report of Assistant Director – Customer and Business Transformation. Proposed Equality Objectives 2020-2024 Report of Assistant Director – Customer and Business Transformation. Work Programme – 2019/20 (including verbal update on Council Vision) Report of the Organisational Improvement and Development Policy Committee. Part 2 Items of a "confidential or other special nature" during which it is likely that the meeting will not be open to the public and press as there would be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in Section 100I of the Local Government Act 1972.

Nil

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ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT & DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMMITTEE

4 June 2019 Present: Councillors J Kerr-Brown (Chair), A King (Deputy Chair), L Dirir, S Harris (for Cllr Walker). Also Present Gareth Hopkins, Assistant Director, Customer and Business Transformation A Kellock – Democratic Services Officer (for item OID4) C Oliver – Executive Assistant to the Leader OID 1 Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J Davidson, K Morris, S Parish, A Fradgley and P Walker. OID 2 Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest made. OID 3 Minutes The minutes of the meeting held on 16 April 2019 were agreed and signed as a correct record. OID 4 New Committee Management System The Committee received a joint report of the the Assistant Director – Customer & Business Transformation and the Senior Democratic Services Officer, which provided an update on progress with regard to the move to a new committee management/democratic services system. It was noted that since the previous committee management system (CMIS) was taken down due to a security incident that the interim system solution currently in place is meeting the statutory requirements. It was also noted that capital funding had now been secured to procure a new system and that the procurement process is very lengthy and complicated. Officers are currently looking at various options available and are scoping out what will be required. The new system has to also meet the Council’s IT requirements too. The aim is to get a new system in place prior to the upcoming elections in May next year but it is essential to have the right system in place before it is rolled out to a new cohort of members. It will be a requirement that the new system will have increased functionality to help both members and officers. At the least the new system will have the following functionality:

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• Agenda and Meeting Documents (Uploading documents, Producing Agendas,

storing historical information, automatically notifying a distribution list of agendas being published)

• Management of the Cabinet Forward Plan and Decision Notices • Management of the administration of Committee Meetings including recording

Member attendance and managing the calendar of dates • Managing the workflow of committee meeting papers from first draft, through the

approvals process through to publishing on web site • Administration of councillor details • E-Petitions functionality

Decision That the Committee -

(i) Noted the contents of the report. (ii) Requested that a further update report on progress be brought to a future meeting.

OID 5 2018 Employee Engagement Survey Results The Committee received a report of the Assistant Director – Customer and Business Transformation, which outlined the 2nd annual WBC employee survey (in its current guise) was undertaken during November and December 2018 using the same questions that were used during the survey of the previous year. The report was the 4th staffing engagement survey report the Committee has received. It was noted that the completion rate this time is slightly lower than last year’s although the overall responses made positive reading. The results have been shared with Directorates and Managers have developed action plans as outlined in the appendix to the report. 34 of the 40 questions look better this year. Overall a good set of results. Some of the highlights from the report were:

• 87% of staff believe that the work they do has a positive impact for the council and the people of Warrington

• 72% of staff being proud to work for the Council (against just 6% of staff who report that they aren’t)

• Other high scores around work life balance, flexibility, the role of their line manager and the ability to use initiative in their work

Summary of main issues raised by members:

• That it might have been helpful if the survey was stripped down to individual directorates.

• It was acknowledged that the move to the new offices will help with visibility of managers because there are no individual offices in the new building.

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• Culture Change/new set of behaviours. • What plans will be put in place to increase participation in future years. • Face to face briefings with Managers. • Connectivity with Councillors.

Decision That the Committee noted –

(i) The positive responses to the Council’s employee survey, which continued to show a well engaged and motivated workforce.

(ii) An update report will be brought back to a future meeting of the Committee. OID 6 Female Talent Development Update The Assistant Director, Customer and Business Transformation presented a report of the Head of Human Resources/Organisational Development, which provided some background to the rationale for the development of a female talent development programme together with an update on the early proposals for what the programme may cover. It was noted there were two reasons for the report coming to Committee (1) gender pay gap and (2) a predominantly male SMT, although across the wider senior management team there is a good balance of males and females. It was therefore proposed that a survey be undertaken in order to attempt to identify whether this was a genuine or perceived issue.

Issues were raised (and responded to) at the meeting regarding:

• Whether because within the teaching profession there are more female than male teachers does this balance it out?

• A future talent programme • Trade Apprenticeships and Apprenticeship Levy.

Decision That the Committee noted the report and the council’s plans and requested a further update be brought back to the committee when the council’s plans are further developed. OID 7 Work Programme – 2019/20 The Committee received and noted the Work Programme for 2019/20. It was also noted that a Living Wage Working Group meeting will scheduled prior to the 16 September 2019 Committee meeting. OID 8 Date of Next Meeting It was agreed that next meeting will be re-scheduled to Monday, 16 September 2019.

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Chairman ………………………………………

Date ……………………………………..

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WARRINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – 16 SEPTEMBER 2019 Report of: Claire Harris, Head of Finance – Deputy Section 151 Officer Report Author: Claire Harris, Head of Finance – Deputy Section 151 Officer

Contact Details: Email Address:

[email protected]

Telephone: 01925 442766

Ward Members:

All

TITLE OF REPORT: COMMERCIAL STRATEGY UPDATE 1. Purpose

1.1 To provide the Organisational Improvement and Development policy committee with

an opportunity to comment on the Council’s current Commercial Strategy and activities, and to contribute to the next Commercial Strategy.

2. The Strategy

2.1 The Council launched its first Commercial Strategy – ‘Enterprising Warrington 2017-20’ following its approval by Cabinet on 14 November 2016 (see attached Appendix).

2.2 The strategy set out the approach that the Council would take to ensure that the organisation fully maximised commercial opportunities, as well as taking an appropriately commercial approach to the way it conducts its core business.

2.3 At that that point and since, the Council had already been very successful with a number of initiatives detailed within the strategy, which continue to make a significant financial contribution to partly offsetting the cuts made to Local Government funding at a time of increasing pressure on frontline services.

2.4 As we move towards the end of the life of the strategy, much within its ambition has been achieved, and new projects and activities are also underway which have commercial elements to them. For example, the council is currently considering whether to invest in an energy company, and continuing to widen its property investment portfolio.

2.5 Therefore the time is now right for the Council to reflect on its progress and undertake an inclusive process with members, officers and stakeholders as it develops its next

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Commercial Strategy which it intends to launch in 2020, with it provisionally planned to be agreed at the same time as the budget is set for the 2020/21 Financial Year.

3. Recommendation 3.1 The Policy Committee is recommended to :

(i) Note the Council’s delivery of the objectives contained within the Commercial

Strategy since its launch in November 2016.

(ii) Ask any questions it has in relation to the Council’s activity in this area. (iii) Consider any elements it would like to see reflected in the next Commercial

Strategy, which would be considered as part of its development and final agreement by Cabinet.

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Enterprising Warrington 2017-2020 Commercial strategy

warrington.gov.uk9

BackgroundSince 2010 we have faced a particularly challenging financial situation due mainly to significant cuts in the funding we receive from central government. In the early days we managed these cuts through taking relatively simple steps, such as reviewing our contracts with suppliers and reducing our spending. Over the years we have taken a more proactive approach to the cuts, seeking innovation and working with other public, private and third sector organisations to change the way residents receive services. Good examples of this are the creation of LiveWire, Culture Warrington and Catalyst who now directly offer many services on behalf of the council, including leisure centres, libraries, theatres and social care facilities.

Whilst it hasn’t been easy and we have had difficult decisions to make we have survived so far, and in many cases flourished. We now sell several of our services commercially, protecting the expertise that local schools and businesses value, and removing the need for the council to use its funding to maintain them in the future.

Despite our challenges our Vision for the town remains the same:

“We will work together with our residents, businesses and partners to make Warrington a place where everyone can thrive”

We have saved £92 million from our budget since 2010 and we have to save another £35 million by 2019. This will mean, in reality that we have a real terms reduction of £1,396 per household since 2010.

IntroductionI am pleased to present ‘Enterprising Warrington’ Warrington Borough Council’s first commercial strategy.

Despite the extreme financial challenges that we continue to face, through reduced funding and increased demands, the Council has continued to innovate to increase the income we are able to generate which has helped to offset some of these pressures.

This strategy makes it clear that we will continue to invest wisely on a commercial basis and to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves, supported by our robust governance processes.

The successful delivery of this strategy will be an important part of securing a sustainable financial future for the Council, and to support the continued delivery of vital services to our residents.

Councillor Russ Bowden, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance

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We now need to think and do things differently in order to deliver on our ambitions for Warrington and respond to our challenges.

VisionOur commercial vision is:

In order to achieve the joined up and efficient delivery of this vision, the commercial strategy will align with the overall Council strategy and other relevant financial strategies to support the delivery of a stronger Warrington.

“To make Warrington a place where everyone can thrive by becoming the most dynamic and customer-focused council in the UK and the recognised leader in local government financial self-sustainability.”

Our Aims & ObjectivesThe overarching aim of this strategy is to improve the financial envelope of the council to help support and sustain the delivery of priority outcomes as outlined in the Council strategy, Growing a Strong Warrington, as well as those identified in our new Outcome Based Budgeting process and the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

In order to achieve the key aim of the strategy, the Council must set out its objectives which will help us achieve goals. These will be:

• Improve the experience of customers who choose to transact with the Council in return for a product or service• Raise income through improved charging and trading• Constantly seek out efficiencies and remove duplication• Upskill our staff and offer them professional development• Exploit our assets and unique status, including acquiring new or developing existing assets to generate long term improvements to the revenue budget• Grow our economy• Price products and services effectively and competitively• Work with our suppliers to deliver better outcomes• Actively engaging in market development and market shaping where no such market currently exists using insight to manage specification and demand• That commercialisation will become business as usual by 2020.

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Stadium Quarter development

Guiding PrinciplesThe basis of our commercial strategy is to prioritise those non-core activities which offer the best return, whilst being mindful of our role as a local authority to improve the lives of the residents of Warrington as well as developing a strong economic proposition for business across the borough.

We will deploy a range of guiding principles to act as a framework for officers to create the right environment in which to nurture innovative ideas and provide guidance and support to develop viable business cases for change and to win and retain business that will improve the organisation.

The principles we will adopt are that:• Senior leaders champion the development of a more commercially focused organisation in line with the key aims and objectives.

• We are open to new, innovative and alternative methods of service delivery. To assess the options fully and support officers to make decisions on the best available evidence.• We have a willingness to determine an acceptable level of risk and manage failure quickly and positively. • We will use a thematic approach to commercialism with a focus on achieving the best possible outcome and not being constrained by the structure of the organisation• We are able to invest now for a return in the future• We will be honest about current performance, with a willingness to flex around customer need• We strive to be a strategically adept, pro-active and can-do organisation• We create compelling business proposals, whilst remaining realistic about what a local authority can deliver • We are clear what our competitive advantage in a given marketplace is (Position, Price, Professional Capability, Quality, Brand, Added Value or Value Chain)

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Our approachDeployment of resources to undertake this work will be mindful of the financial constraints currently imposed on the council. Our approach will be measured and projects prioritised to deliver a sustained period of financial return. We will also ensure that commercialism is inclusive and available for all. This means that we will consider ideas from all sources including staff from all levels of the organisation as well as those from our partners and stakeholders.

We will use the Enterprise theme of our Outcome Based Budgeting programme to prioritise which projects will deliver a return and when, as well as providing the basis for investment in business cases when required. In order to ensure we target the appropriate level of resources, we will also adopt a flexible project management approach that will range from light touch through to a full and detailed project lifecycle depending on the level of investment and return.

As a local authority, we recognise that we must be responsible with public money and have the highest standards of governance. We are clear that commercialism comes with a level of risk and that not every project will be a complete success. Therefore, we will adopt a ‘risk managed’ approach to developing commercial opportunities which will ensure that clear accountability exists and when failures occur, that we fail fast, minimise any losses to finances or reputation and ensure that all learning is recorded and distributed across the organisation.

The development of a more entrepreneurial culture will be encouraged and supported through formal training such as an internal commercial skills programme, external support as necessary, plus mentoring and coaching from our developing

group of ‘expert’ colleagues and using 1:1’s through and the PR&D process.

Finally, in order to ensure transparency, we will produce a bi-annual report detailing the range of commercial activity that has been undertaken, the contribution to the council finances and a list of proposals under consideration for the next period.

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Our CustomersIn line with our Customer Strategy we will follow the principles of:

• Always be honest about what we can and can’t do, and the reasons for this• Involve real customers in helping us to design our new ways of working and in testing our new technology• Listen carefully to your feedback and act on it, whether it’s a complaint or a compliment• Use plain language and make sure our communication is easy to understand In addition, for clients who trade with us, we will:

• Share our performance standards and KPIs with them in order to set and manage their expectations• Get to know their business and support them by delivering services which help them overcome their own business challenges• Contact them at appropriate time intervals in order to discuss our performance, ask for feedback and to identify areas of continuous improvement. We will also take this opportunity to cross-promote other traded services relevant to the customer.• Identify issues and will respond promptly by communicating our intended resolution and timescales to our customers and make every effort to adhere to this.• Respect a customer’s decision to select an alternative supplier and continue to provide high standards of service throughout any transitionary period

• Be clear about our rationale for trading and the expectation that the pricing policy of each discretionary service will include a contribution to council operating (indirect) costs

GovernanceOur approach to governance will be thorough, yet permissive, encouraging entrepreneurial behaviours across the organisation while retaining a strong overview of risk and reward profiles.

We will support officers to develop good ideas into strong and compelling business cases and create a framework for delegated approval for projects with low or medium risk. For projects with a higher risk rating or that require substantial investment, we will develop the skills to present high quality proposals allowing decisions to be made on the greatest possible body of evidence.

As part of our toolkit to help officers implement this strategy, we have developed clear pathways for developing new commercial propositions, and guidance to ensure they have positioned their proposal and understand the environment in which they will be operating. There will also be a regularly reviewed action plan which will monitor the delivery of the activities as shown below.

Our governance framework will be kept under review to ensure the Council remains adaptable, effective and able to benefit from opportunism within an agreed risk profile.

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Commercial Activities:What are we already doing? Priority Activity

1 Challenging ourselves to grow our trade with existing customers, such as schools, the early years sector and regulatory clients and ensuring full cost recovery

Loans to RSLs and other appropriate investment partners using innovative financing methods

Using our capital programmes to deliver long term revenue or transformational efficiencies Developing clearer cost modelling processes for traded services to support officers in developing sustainable financial models

2 Undertaking a review of our Fees and Charges to ensure they are appropriate and in line with our peers as well as ensuring that costs are recovered where possible.

Using technology to drive down the cost of transaction through digitisation and automation

Digitising services to promote self-service for residents and business customers and reducing the cost of non- essential contacts

Conducting a wholesale procurement and commissioning review

Exploring the benefits of developing a paperlight office

3 Conducting a range of value for money reviews testing our services for cost and quality

Exploring the benefits of developing an improved temporary recruitment solution to improve the quality of staff engaged and better control costs

Reviewing the Learning & Development offer and our ability to trade the service more widely Commercial Skills programme refresh, including e-learning, to enable officers to be deliver more customer focused services and better engage clients

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What will we do?Continue to work with schools to develop our offer to meetthe evolving needs in a rapidly changing landscape – createan value index/matrix with schoolsIdentify discretionary services (or discretionary elements)and ensure they can demonstrate a full cost recovery model Target high value revenue spend and explore opportunitiesto deliver more efficientlyRe-energise discussions and explore the tangible benefits of adopting a Corporate Landlord Model (CLM) to reduce the cost of managing our estate and maximise income from property and land assetsExplore aligning provision with external market consensus– for example, Facilities Services rather than separate environmental services such as cleaning, grounds maintenance, pest control…Technology / equipment reviews to enhance productivityExplore the possibilities of shared revenue agreement using a borough wide advertising contract. Prioritise digitalwhere possible in line with planning requirements and spatial strategiesDevelop and recruit regional partners to expand the Bondprogramme and benefit financially from our expertise inthis areaContinue to explore alternative delivery models and rigorously test any stated benefits of delivering outside ofthe Council. Develop our brand, marketing and communications activityto champion the Council as a professional supplier of business services and raise the profile and perceptionamongst its peers.

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WARRINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – 16 SEPTEMBER 2019 Report of: Gareth Hopkins, Assistant Director, Customer & Business

Transformation Report Author: Gareth Hopkins, Assistant Director, Customer & Business

Transformation

Contact Details: Email Address: [email protected]

Telephone: 01925 443932

Ward Members:

All

TITLE OF REPORT: LGA PEER REVIEW 2019 1. Purpose

1.1 To provide the Organisational Improvement and Development policy committee with

the LGA Peer Review report and the draft improvement action plan created in response, to ensure it is involved in the consideration and monitoring of it going forward.

2. Introduction and Background

2.1 The Council recently underwent an LGA Peer Review. The report was published on the council’s website in August, with Cabinet due to consider a report and associated improvement action plan at its meeting on 9 September. These documents are included in full with this report and provide full details of the review, so are not repeated in this report.

2.2 It has previously been agreed that this Policy Committee would review the report and

the actions taken in response to it, as part of its 2019/20 work programme. 3. Recommendation 3.1 That the Policy Committee considers the LGA Peer Review report, along with the

improvement action plan, and considers any additional items that should be considered or any other comments it wishes to put forward.

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Corporate Peer Challenge Warrington Borough Council

26th – 29th March 2019

Feedback Report

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18 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HZ T 020 7664 3000 F 020 7664 3030 E [email protected] www.local.gov.uk

1. Executive Summary Warrington is a distinctive borough in the North West and is home to 210,000 residents. Over a number of years Warrington has been known for strong economic growth built on high skill levels and good transport links to the rest of the North West. The Council has played a key role in driving forward local economic growth including the ongoing regeneration of the town centre. One example of particularly innovative practice is the approach taken in forming ‘Warrington and Co.’ which is the Council’s development and regeneration arm. It has been successful in repositioning the Council in its relationship with local businesses. Since 2010 government funding to the Council has reduced by £137m and in recent years the Council has applied a commercial mindset in response. The Council has had success in generating substantial returns on investment, which have been reinvested into local frontline services. In 2019/20, the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) forecasts that income of £20.5m will be received as a result of the Council’s commercial efforts. The Council’s commercialisation achievements are well known and they have shared their learning from this with others in the Local Government sector. Whilst the Council’s additional commercial income has limited some of the effects of reduced public funding and increased demand, it has not been enough to protect the Council completely from the need for savings and efficiencies. Like most councils, significant year-on-year savings have also been a focus of each annual budget. In recent years however the Council has consistently overspent against the budget, often having to make up shortfalls through a combination of further additional income, financial changes or the use of one-off reserves. This has led to some budget pressures being carried forward into future years and a reduction in earmarked reserves. At quarter three, general fund and MTFP reserves sat at £6m (combined) with general fund reserves reported at around 3.5% of the 18/19 net revenue budget. Whilst the amount held in the general fund reserve has remained fairly static in recent years, the MTFP reserve is expected to reduce significantly by the end of the 18/19 financial year and further-still in 2019/20. In recent years the Council has also taken a number of decisions which have provided one off savings, with spending pressures then returning in future years. This has on occasion been in place of some of the more difficult decisions which have been taken by councils elsewhere and have delivered ongoing efficiencies or savings. While the Council is aware of the risk of continued overspend against the revenue budget and the wider consequences this can have for financial sustainability, it is the clear view of the peer team that the budget approach taken to date should be redesigned to ensure the Council is able to deliver services from a more sustainable financial footing. This should result in a new process that is fully understood, owned and delivered by all. This will need to be driven by the political and managerial leadership. This new approach will require collective responsibility to make this happen, but with clear accountability and consistent, robust challenge. The Council is working hard to avoid a situation where it continues to overspend against its revenue budget and eat further into its relatively low levels of reserves. Whilst doing this, the Council should review the measures that can be taken in the immediate term to reduce

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short term pressures on net revenue expenditure. The Council should also continue to review any risks to the delivery of the MTFP and address these appropriately. These include but are not limited to delivery of savings, commercial income and the methods by which Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) is accounted for. In the case of MRP specifically the Council should look to ensure that the risks are fully understood by all and are clearly articulated when informing decision making. With a new Leader being appointed in the months leading up to the peer challenge, there is an opportunity now for the leadership to communicate a new political vision for the Council which has both the budget challenge and modernisation at its core. Officers will need to turn this vision into a clear strategy with meaningful priorities, milestones and measures to ensure it is delivered. Good, open working relationships between members of all parties in Warrington were observed. This is a real asset which will help when meeting the financial challenge. An example of this is in how members appear to work together on the local Treasury Management Board. Members across the Council hold senior officers in high regard and demonstrate respect and trust towards them. This respect is reciprocated back to members by officers. This is important and is an asset to now build on by refreshing the distinctly different roles of members and officers in Warrington. In refreshing the relationship it is important to consider the significance of increased challenge that members can bring to decision making and delivery. All officers, in all councils regardless of their experience and knowledge require an appropriate level of checks and balances that members can bring. Members of the Executive may now also wish to replicate the forward thinking leadership that has been applied in commercial investments to the wider set of Council services. There is an opportunity for members of the Executive to take a clear ownership of this as well as the financial and service performance of their portfolios. An enhanced member development programme will be beneficial in helping members of the Executive in these refreshed roles. This member development programme should vary depending on roles but is not limited to the Executive and will require the involvement of all members. Whilst this is up to members locally to decide, this might include decision making, member/officer roles and relationships, performance, commercial, financial management and scrutiny. In supporting members to hold the Executive to account, a review of scrutiny and the structures around it should take place to ensure that Overview and Scrutiny is fit for purpose. The Council may also wish to consider the parts of the governance system that could benefit from independent involvement, given the complexity of commercial investment in Warrington (the Audit and Governance Committee may be one example of this). Such is the pace of commercial income growth in Warrington and the complexity that comes with it, the team believe that the Council should seriously consider commissioning an independent review of its approach to risk management and commercial decision making. This is to ensure that all members and officers have ongoing and informed, assurance in place in light of the growth of this work.

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Whilst the Council has been delivering significant growth of commercial investments, senior managers with responsibilities outside of this immediate field have been able to take a focussed approach to their own, specific service areas. However, the challenge of dealing with the financial pressures now being faced will require transformation and modernisation that goes across service areas, therefore requiring increased shared ownership. This will mean a change from a siloed approach towards collective strategic ownership of the key corporate priorities. The senior officer cohort has an essential, leading role in making this happen. To deliver on a new political vision for the Council which is linked significantly to the pressing budget position and the wishes to modernise, consideration needs also to be given to how this can be achieved and the culture and structures required to make this happen. A ‘one council’ approach is required to deliver the scale of sustainable transformation required. One example is how the Council deploys the skills and expertise it has available to it. The Council has the potential to be innovative by looking at how this commercial skillset could be utilised more widely to support transformation in wider service areas. This is not necessarily to make an additional, immediate income return, but to help deal with some of the issues like demand reduction, cost reduction and alternative service delivery models (to name but a few). It is additionally about bringing different experiences together to broaden skillsets and develop the overall collective understanding of the whole Council’s business. Another opportunity for the Council is how the gathering pace of digital transformation can be embraced more broadly across the organisation, building on the early successes demonstrated in making up ground with councils elsewhere. The Council is well placed to use digital in tandem with the opportunity presented by the majority of staff moving to new office space to bring the workforce more closely together under a ‘one council approach’. The visibility of senior members and officers throughout this transformation will continue to be important. The frontline staff, middle managers and partners met by the peer team in Warrington demonstrated a strong public service commitment to “doing the right thing”, a real pride in Warrington ‘the place’ as well as the Council’s achievements. The budget position is now clearly pressing in Warrington but with a new political vision for the Council which has the budget challenge and modernisation at its core, the Council can meet this challenge by taking clear and decisive action now and owning it as ‘one council’.

2. Key recommendations There are a range of suggestions and observations within the main section of the report that will inform some ‘quick wins’ and practical actions, in addition to the conversations onsite, many of which provided ideas and examples of practice from other organisations. The following are the peer team’s key recommendations to the Council:

1) Communicate to all a new political vision for the Council which is relevant to the challenges and opportunities facing the Council. This should then be translated into a clear strategy with specific priorities, measures and milestones. This needs to be collectively owned with suitable monitoring and

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accountability to ensure it is delivered at pace where needed. The priorities and actions will need to be reflected in all service plans to help make this happen.

2) Develop a budget implementation plan that will address the short term issues being faced. This will include ensuring suitably detailed, deliverable savings plans for each line of the MTFP are in place. This should make clear where there are risks involved in spending decisions and any potential shortfalls in the savings identified. These plans should also highlight early risks of slippage or non-delivery and where capacity for a fixed period may be required to ensure delivery of savings. The ‘budget implementation plan’ should then allow for accountability and monitoring including a clear and comprehensive ‘budget tracker’ approach, communication and considered equality impact assessments.

3) Re-design the budget process so that:

It is genuinely medium term and includes the development of more considered savings options beyond the next 12 months.

Is suitably informed by a full consultation with relevant stakeholders on spending proposals. These responses must be clearly evident when reporting to members.

Includes detailed delivery plans and Equality Impact Assessments against all spending proposals as a matter of course.

Has true corporate buy in and is jointly owned by the Executive and across the senior officer cohort with members of the Executive holding their senior officers to account over delivery.

Is communicated to all members in a way that can be more easily scrutinised and challenged. This should also assist opposition members to more easily develop alternative shadow budgets.

4) Gain further assurance of any risks that exist in the current MTFP and

address these appropriately. These include but are not limited to the delivery of savings, commercial income and MRP. Clarifying whether a further £6m of potentially unfunded pressures needs to be addressed in 2019/20 (in addition to the £22.1m of savings identified in the MTFP) will be crucial. The Council should also ensure it has a suitably resourced SEND budget delivery plan in place which is monitored and delivered. This will allow the Council to address the additional costs of a further £1m on a more sustainable footing.

5) Given the rapid growth and complexity of the Council’s commercial activity,

a dedicated external review of governance, monitoring, reporting, capacity, capability, process and risk is necessary to give members and officers suitable ongoing assurance.

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6) Review, adapt and communicate the distinctive roles of members and officers to ensure these roles are clear, with specific responsibilities. This will help bring the necessary checks and balances all senior members and officers, regardless of their experience or skillset require.

7) Conduct a dedicated review of internal governance arrangements. This

includes but is not limited to:

Considering whether the structure and culture of scrutiny suffers from confusion with the various policy committees and how any obstacles to effective scrutiny of Council decision making (e.g. the budget) can be removed.

Whether given the complexity of treasury management / commercial investment, there are parts of the local governance approach which would benefit from additional, suitably experienced independent representation to help bring added challenge (the Audit and Governance Committee may be one example of this).

Where changes could be made to the call in procedure to ensure this important ‘holding to account’ mechanism can be triggered by fewer members from a broader constituency of non executive members

Recognising the challenges now being faced, advises on an enhanced

member development programme. This may include a range of different elements to be locally determined but should include financial and commercial awareness.

8) Consider whether the type and amount of capacity required is currently in

place to deliver on the Council priorities. This includes the delivery of savings in the MTFP and the modernisation of services. The council should also consider whether the right type of core capacity (such as legal and financial) is also available to services – given the demands placed on these services particularly by the significant commercial programme.

9) There is now an opportunity for the Council to take the next step with colleagues at the CCG by starting the strategic conversation about greater integration both for the benefit of Warrington residents and financially for both organisations. This will require locally elected members coming together with the CCG Board to deepen the strategic conversation and explore how to evolve the relationships for the benefit of the mutual citizens you serve.

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3. Summary of the Peer Challenge approach

The peer team Peer challenges are delivered by experienced elected member and officer peers. The make-up of the peer team reflected your requirements and the focus of the peer challenge. Peers were selected on the basis of their relevant experience and expertise and agreed with you. The peers who delivered the peer challenge at Warrington Borough Council were:

• Dawn Baxendale (Chief Executive – Birmingham City Council). • Cllr Rishi Shori (Leader – Bury Council). • Cllr Lucy Nethsinga (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group - Cambridgeshire

County Council). • Robin Porter (Deputy Chief Executive & Corporate Director Customer and

Commercial - Luton Borough Council) • Chris Tambini (Director of Corporate Resources - Leicestershire County Council) • David Wilcock (Assistant Director for Legal Governance & Workforce / Monitoring

Officer – Rochdale Borough Council) • LGA peer challenge manager: Dan Archer (LGA Programme Manager).

Scope and focus The peer team considered the following five questions which form the core components looked at by all Corporate Peer Challenges. These are the areas we believe are critical to councils’ performance and improvement:

1. Understanding of the local place and priority setting: Does the council understand its local context and place and use that to inform a clear vision and set of priorities?

2. Leadership of Place: Does the council provide effective leadership of place through its elected members, officers and constructive relationships and partnerships with external stakeholders?

3. Organisational leadership and governance: Is there effective political and managerial leadership supported by good governance and decision-making arrangements that respond to key challenges and enable change and transformation to be implemented?

4. Financial planning and viability: Does the Council have a financial plan in place to ensure long term viability? Is there evidence it is being implemented successfully?

5. Capacity to deliver: Is organisational capacity aligned with priorities and does the Council influence, enable and leverage external capacity to focus on agreed outcomes?

In addition you have asked the peer team to provide particular observations and feedback on your approach to commercialisation.

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The peer challenge process It is important to stress that this was not an inspection. Peer challenges are improvement focussed and tailored to meet individual councils’ needs. They are designed to complement and add value to a council’s own performance and improvement. The process is not designed to provide an in-depth or technical assessment of plans and proposals. The peer team used their experience and knowledge of local government to reflect on the information presented to them by people they met, things they saw and material that they read. The peer team prepared for the peer challenge by reviewing a range of documents and information in order to ensure they were familiar with the Council and the challenges it is facing. The team then spent 4 days onsite at Warrington Borough Council, during which they:

Spoke to more than 90 people including a range of council staff together with councillors and external stakeholders .

Gathered information and views from more than 35 meetings as well as additional research and reading.

Collectively spent over 260 hours to determine our findings – the equivalent of one person spending over 7 weeks in Warrington.

This report provides a summary of the peer team’s findings. It builds on the feedback presentation provided by the peer team at the end of their on-site visit (29th March 2019). In presenting feedback to you, they have done so as fellow members and officers, not professional consultants or inspectors. By its nature, the peer challenge is a snapshot in time. We appreciate that some of the feedback may be about things you are already addressing and progressing.

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4. Feedback 4.1 Understanding of the local place and priority setting

There is a shared understanding between the Council and its partners of the challenges and opportunities facing Warrington ‘the place’. This was evidenced through references to the Council Plan, Warrington Means Business strategy and the Health and Wellbeing strategy. Partners are also clearly bought into the priorities of the Warrington Together partnership which brings together the main health and social care bodies who are working together to explore ways of delivering improved, integrated services to local people. The Council has an ambitious approach to economic growth both across Warrington and notably within the town centre. This demonstrates a clear understanding of the economic strengths locally as well as the opportunities presented through Warrington’s geographical location. The Council is now taking steps to consult on a new Local Plan to further capitalise on its local assets. The new Leader is keen that the Council engages in more depth, more proactively and more broadly with local residents in future and his signalled this by launching a series of Leader’s Forums in recent weeks. Engaging with other stakeholders more consistently and with increased depth will help the Council harness more insight that can be used when shaping future priorities and spending decisions. As part of this, the Council may also wish to review whether putting in place a regular, overarching resident satisfaction survey will now be of benefit in informing future decision making. The new Leader has the opportunity to signal a fresh political vision for the Council which has been referred to elsewhere in this report. Once set, this should be communicated to all members, officers, residents, partners and businesses alongside a meaningful strategy which translates this vision into a clear and deliverable set of priorities for the Council. The priorities will need to be more specific than those used previously, to enable members and officers to challenge the delivery of them, building on the performance and business intelligence capability available at the Council. The delivery of these priorities should then be reflected in individual service plans, consistently across Council services as part of a ‘one council’ approach. In setting a new political vision for the Council and the corporate priorities required to deliver this, the Council should consider how to most effectively communicate this, in light of the other tough decisions that will be required. This can however be a positive vision for the future of public service delivery in Warrington which includes a new relationship between the Council, residents and other local stakeholders. In recent years, the Council has attempted to develop a new relationship between local residents and the Council under the banner of ‘Count me in’ which has not yet gained the traction that was hoped for. Whilst this has been used to an extent in specific service areas it does have the potential to form part of a positive vision for how public services in Warrington work with communities. This would require collective ownership and a consistency of application across all services. This can

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only really be achieved when it is truly understood by all and is used to inform decision making across all service areas. Internally the Council recognises the need to reduce the gender pay gap that exists at the Council. This is a management development priority for the Council in 2019/20 and the Chief Executive has taken the personal step of chairing an internal group looking at the diversity of the workforce.

4.2 Leadership of Place Partnership working in Warrington clearly has significant strengths which are very much valued by local businesses, the LEP, partners sub-regionally and the community and voluntary sector. One example of particularly good practice, already highlighted in this report is the approach taken in forming ‘Warrington and Co.’ which is the Council’s development and regeneration arm. It has been successful in repositioning the Council in its relationship with local businesses. This has been a success and is recognised as a positive step forward for engaging with local businesses. Businesses in Warrington have reported seeing the Council as a real asset to the town. In particular the leadership and investment the Council has brought to driving forward the regeneration of the town centre is recognised and valued by residents, businesses and the local media. On health, the Council has also taken positive steps in launching ‘Warrington Together’. Whilst this partnership remains in its relative infancy, partners are very much bought into this way of working and the potential opportunities it presents. Partners that the peer team were able to engage with commended the Council for embracing partnership working and identified pragmatic examples of this – such as including partnership representation (including CVS) on senior officer recruitment panels. All of this is symptomatic of health partnerships more generally across Warrington being based on firm foundations. A further example being the strength of engagement through the Health and Wellbeing Board which has a range of local partners involved. The Health and Wellbeing Board in Warrington continues to be chaired by the Council Chief Executive who began chairing this board independently before commencing a second period as Chief Executive. It is the view of the peer team that relations with health partners are stronger than the Council gave themselves credit for in the self-assessment. This is a real positive for Warrington and presents an opportunity now for the Council to take the next step with colleagues at the CCG by instigating a more strategic conversation about the potential opportunities available. This will require active engagement of senior politicians with CCG Board members to further develop relationships and explore tangible ways in which the integration agenda can be progressed, at pace, to improve outcomes for local residents and tackle shared financial challenges. Looking at the numerous examples of where this has happened elsewhere, this may include

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discussions about the opportunities presented by integration, pooled budgets and shared outcomes. The Council should also consider opportunities where its commercial expertise could be connected with the efforts of all local stakeholders in improving outcomes for local residents. This could generate innovative new solutions locally and not necessarily where immediate or direct additional financial returns are an aim. Opportunities include health, skills and social care amongst others.

4.3 Organisational leadership and governance

Elected members clearly demonstrate a cross party commitment to making Warrington a place that works for all. Relationships between members of all parties are open and there is a consistent buy in across parties to the Council’s commercial income approach. Members across parties are supportive of the recently appointed Leader and his style of open engagement. Trade union relations also appear open and strong. The respect shown between members is also evident between members and officers, with members demonstrating a significant amount of trust in the experience, abilities and decision making of the senior officer cohort, including the Chief Executive. As detailed in this report elsewhere, the scale of the budget challenge in the immediate and medium term means that the leadership now needs to take steps to set a new political vision for the Council with a new approach to dealing with the budget situation at its core. This will require refreshed, distinctive roles and relationships for both officers and members to help the Council achieve the improvements required. In order to achieve the sustainable transformation required to meet the budget challenge, as well as deliver on modernisation, members need to build on the respect they have for senior officers by introducing more of the necessary checks and balances includes a recognition of appropriate officer/member boundaries at all levels in the organisation. This can also be done distinctively by each portfolio holder by bringing both the forward thinking leadership demonstrated in the commercial field to the wider service offer, as well as the support and challenge lead officers require (such as budget delivery, service performance, organisational health and modernisation milestones). As a collective, the Executive Board also has a crucial role in holding senior officers to account over the delivery of a new set of priorities for the Council which is informed by a new political vision. To have the best chance of delivering a sustainable modernisation programme, senior officers will now be required to work more closely together than ever. This should be used to set the tone for all staff embracing a refreshed ‘one council’ approach and a positive learning culture. This requires consistent buy in to a revised set of corporate priorities and principles which are put in place to deliver on a new political vision for the Council. Once the priorities under this new vision have been set, and the implications for member and officer roles have been established, these

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should be clearly and consistently communicated in a visible, engaging way to all members, staff and partners. Given the heightened financial challenge being faced and the rapid growth in the amount and complexity of the Council’s commercial income, members need to be assured that sufficient checks and balances are in place and strengthened where necessary so that they are able to suitably hold officers and the Executive to account. To achieve this a dedicated review of governance arrangements is required which would include but is not limited to:

Ensuring the structure and culture of scrutiny avoids confusion with the various policy committees. There may be obstacles to effective scrutiny of Council decision making (e.g. the budget) which can be removed.

Whether, given the complexity of treasury management in Warrington, there are parts of the local governance approach which would benefit from additional, suitably experienced independent representation. This can help bring added challenge and the Audit and Governance Committee may be one example of where this could help. Whether changes could be made to the call in procedure to ensure this important ‘holding to account’ mechanism can be triggered by fewer members from a broader constituency of non executive members.

Recognising the challenges now being faced, advises on a suitably enhanced member development programme. This may include a range of different aspects which must be determined and owned locally. It is the view of the peer team that this should include financial and commercial management.

4.4 Financial planning and viability

Since 2010 government funding to the Council has reduced by £137m. The Council is now in a position of a further £22.1m of savings / efficiencies / new income being required in 2019/20. This is a significant challenge given that the overall net revenue budget is set at £ £130.365m. This target equates to 16% of the 2019/20 budget. This is then followed by a further £23m being required by the end of 2022/23, including an extra £13m in 2020/21.

A significant part of the Council’s response to this reduction in public spending and increased demand for public services has been to try and off-set some of the decisions that other councils have been forced to take through the use of an ambitious investment strategy. This has moved the Council towards a commercially focussed model, based on acquisitions and investments. This has led to substantial additional income (which is forecast at £20.5m in 19/20). These investments have been mostly funded by external borrowing. These investments have included (but are not limited to):

The £211m acquisition of a 123 acre science and business park in Warrington

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£275m of loan facilities being put in place with 10 housing associations

The £30m purchase of a 33% share in the Redwood Bank

The planned £62m acquisition of two solar farms in the Yorkshire/Humber region.

The Council continues to share their learning from the growth of this investment strategy with colleagues both regionally and nationally. Given the rapid growth of the scale and complexity of investment activity in Warrington, a dedicated external review of governance, monitoring, reporting, capacity, capability, process and risk is necessary to give the Council ongoing assurance about their investment activity. Despite the work the Council has done, this additional income and the separate one off savings and efficiencies taken by the Council have not been able to protect the Council from the need for difficult decisions. In recent years Council service have consistently overspent against the budget and failed to deliver planned savings in full. At the time of the peer challenge, this was forecast to be the case for 25% of planned savings in 2018/19, with a forecast overspend of £5.2m at quarter three. At the same point in the previous year, the budget was also overspent by £3.9m. Overspending has required the Council to make up this budget shortfall through the use of further additional income, finance changes and the use of one-off reserves. This has led to some budget pressures being carried forward into future years which has reduced reserves. General fund and MTFP reserves are relatively low compared to similar councils elsewhere, at £6m or ‘around 3.5% of the net revenue budget’ for 18/19. Quite simply, the Council can no longer afford slippages in the delivery of planned savings and efficiencies. The Council must now deliver on the planned budget in 2019/20, whilst at the same time redeveloping its budget approach for future years. A suitably detailed in year ‘budget tracker’ which is regularly reviewed by members and officers, allowing for challenge and remedial action to be taken as early as possible would also help to ensure savings are delivered more fully. The Council should now also consider in more detail the measures that can be taken in the immediate term to reduce pressures on net revenue expenditure, which might include restrictions and spending gateways as necessary. A detailed ‘budget implementation plan’ to address short term issues is required. Underpinning this is the development of suitably detailed, deliverable savings plans for each line of the MTFP. This should make clear where there are risks involved in spending decisions, any potential shortfalls in savings and how savings from one area which may have a negative impact elsewhere (such as rising demand) will be mitigated. These plans should also highlight early risks of slippage or non-delivery and where capacity for a fixed period may be required to ensure delivery of savings. The ‘budget implementation plan’ should then allow for accountability, monitoring, suitable engagement and equality impact assessments.

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The Council should also gain further assurance of any risks that exist in the current MTFP and address these. This includes but is not limited to delivery of savings, commercial income and Minimum Revenue Provision. The Council is aware that the rules and guidelines governing investment have recently been tightened. There has been recent publicity and public interest around this issue, prompting professional debate in a number of related areas including the way local authorities account for and fund Minimum Revenue Provision. The council should keep its policies under review and satisfy itself that it is fully compliant with legislation and generally accepted accounting practice in the way it manages, finances and accounts for its commercial activities and MRP. The Council continues to change - most obviously being in the investment portfolio and associated debt, with further investment planned. In addition to the ‘delivery’ risks mentioned above the Council also needs to further consider the wider risks associated with it changing role and responsibilities. Risks and the associated assessment of appropriate reserves must be kept under review. Clarifying whether a further £6m of potentially unfunded pressures needs to be addressed in 2019/20 will be crucial. The Council should also ensure it has a suitably resource SEND budget delivery plan in place which is monitored. This will allow the Council to finance the additional costs of a further £1m on a more sustainable footing. The Council will need to re-design its budget process so that: It is genuinely medium term and includes the development of savings options

beyond the next 12 months. This will also require the Council to begin the budget setting process earlier, which will increase the likelihood of savings being delivered in full.

Suitably includes a full consultation with relevant stakeholders on spending proposals that is clearly evident when reported to members. Members must be sighted on consultation responses in the decision making process.

Includes detailed delivery plans and Equality Impact Assessments against all spending proposals as a matter of course.

Is jointly owned by the cabinet and across the senior officer cohort with members of the Executive holding their senior officers to account over delivery. A clear opportunity for meaningful engagement, development and challenge from the scrutiny and policy committees is also important.

Is communicated to all members in a way that is more easily scrutinised and challenged and helps opposition members to more easily develop alternative shadow budgets.

Due to clear political and operational leadership around the commercial agenda which has resulted in additional income, coupled with a significant use of ‘one-off savings options’, the Council has not yet made some of the budget savings that other local authorities have had to. Given the financial challenges, it is now imperative that the Cabinet and wider group of members commit to a programme of savings and service transformation that will help meet these challenges. This will require tough political decisions, however is essential for the financial sustainability of the Council.

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At the time of the peer challenge a delay in the signing off of the 2017/18 accounts by the external auditor was being experienced. This is due to a challenge received from a local resident in relation to the Council’s investment in the Redwood bank.

4.5 Capacity to deliver

The Council benefits from a proud workforce characterised by the phrase given to the team on more than one occasion during the challenge of “doers not talkers”. The Council employs 2,774 officers who are evidently committed to the borough with 72% living in Warrington. Staff morale overall is high when compared to a number of other councils with 87% of staff seeing that their work has a positive impact on the people of Warrington. The Council has a middle manager cohort who are open to change and seek new challenges. The workforce the Council has available to it is also unique compared to most other councils in the range of skills they possess, in particular in the commercial income generation field. When a new political vision for the Council is communicated, with clear priorities, and principles developed on the back of this, there is a capable and adaptable workforce who are ready to respond. Officers also appear comfortable in presenting challenge to other officers – including those more senior in the organisation. This is again an important characteristic to further encourage on the improvement journey. A revised organisational development strategy will help officers to adapt to new ways of working. Equally, the imminent move to new office accommodation for the majority of the workforce is another opportunity when embedding a ‘one council’ approach. Officers were not consistently convinced that this opportunity is being fully capitalised on. As detailed elsewhere in the report, during the course of the peer challenge the Leader, Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive (s151) recognised the scale of the budget challenge presented. In order to meet this challenge, ensuring the right type of capacity at all levels is in place to deliver on the budget proposals in the MTFP for 19/20 will be important to avoid the type of slippage and non-realisation of savings which has been seen in recent years. The low level of general fund reserves now available and the increasing budget pressure means that there is now much less room for slippage than in previous years. The Council reflected on the steps taken in previous years via one-off measures with the budget “to give four years to deliver transformation … but this didn’t happen as we hoped”. The Council needs to be clear on why this didn’t happen previously and what will make the difference now. A collective ‘one council’ approach to this key priority can make a difference, although it is worth reflecting on whether the Council has the type of projects/programme capacity available currently to do this and if not, how it can make sure this capacity is in place.

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In addition to the capacity to realise the savings required and modernise services, the Council may also wish to reflect on the demands placed on core functions such as legal and financial services by the significant commercial programmes the Council is dealing with. The finite amount of capacity these teams inevitably have is seen by some as now limiting their availability for more traditional Council work. Whilst their support for commercial work is clearly important, the Council may wish to consider whether the current amount of capacity is now sufficient. In the Council’s self-assessment, there was a reflection that the Council is behind councils elsewhere on digitisation and is seeking to make up on lost ground. Whilst the peer team acknowledge that this is the case, the pace has quickened and individual examples are now bearing fruit locally. With a clear awareness of the ‘art of the possible’ evident and some early wins being seen, the pace here is quickening. The Council may wish to reflect on how visible support of senior members and officers can help promote these successes internally to help drive through this cultural and technological change. Throughout this report there is reference to the distinctive roles of members and officers as well as the need for additional challenge to ensure the Council is able to stay on track when delivering its key priorities. The Council benefits from the fundamentals of business intelligence and performance management being in place to a level which is more developed than is seen in a number of other councils currently. Good quality performance management is a critical tool for all members and when done well, can help members and officers when maintaining appropriate member/officer relations. There is an opportunity to continue to build on these strong foundations when furthering empowering the Executive and scrutiny. Communicating the performance of the commercial portfolio more clearly is an area which would help members specifically.

The Council has identified an increase in sickness absence in the last year which is now at 12 days per FTE. This is at odds with the high levels of staff morale and includes a number of service areas where this is particularly high. Steps have started to be taken in addressing this, the impact of which will require ongoing monitoring and visibility at a senior leadership level. Officers and the trade unions spoke positively with the team about the various workplace wellbeing initiatives put in place and there are examples of particularly good practice here, including the British Heart Foundation funded ‘health check kiosk’.

5. Next steps

Immediate next steps

We appreciate the senior managerial and political leadership will want to reflect on these findings and suggestions in order to determine how the organisation wishes to take things forward. Claire Hogan (Principal Adviser) is the Council’s lead contact at the Local Government Association (LGA). Claire will arrange a follow up meeting in the

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coming weeks to discuss support for the Council and provide further information and guidance on the issues raised in this report. Claire’s email address is: [email protected]. Follow up visit The LGA Corporate Peer Challenge process includes a follow-up visit. The purpose of the visit is to help the Council assess the impact of the peer challenge and demonstrate the progress it has made against the recommendations identified by the peer team. It is a lighter-touch version of the original visit and does not necessarily involve all members of the original peer team. The visit is expected to take place within two years, with the exact timing decided in discussion with the Council. Next Corporate Peer Challenge The current LGA sector-led improvement support offer includes an expectation that all councils will have a Corporate Peer Challenge or Finance Peer Review every 4 to 5 years. It is therefore anticipated that the Council will commission their next Peer Challenge before March 2024.

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LGA Peer Assessment Action PlanAugust 2019

Issue

1. Publish report.

2. Discuss with Trade Union at October JCC.

3. New political vision and priorities.

4. Refresh our Council Corporate Strategy (2019/2020).5. Integration of Health and Social Care.

6. Re-invigorate resident communication.

7. Budget Implementation Plan (BIP).

Implement Transformational Agenda.

Action

Website and to all Members/ Staff/ Trade Union.

Cabinet report.

Cabinet / SMT via a joint event - Trade Unions to be invited.

Key outcomes from joint event.Ensure that is has specific priorities and outcomes.Cabinet meet CCG Board to develop greater understanding and awareness in order to provide enhanced mutual outcomes.Health & Wellbeing Board report in May to increase pace and outcomes. LGA support to consider how to make more effective joined up policy and practice

1. Leaders Forum

2. Prepare a new resident survey.

3. New website.

4. Reposition the council- customer relationship through ‘Count me in’.

1. New monthly monitoring and tracking arrangements of the agreed savings / Republish budget plans / Budget Implementation Plan.

2. All Cabinet members to be involved in the above.

3. Monthly report to Cabinet / SMT.

4. Service redesign.

5. Assess future reserves position.

Who/When

SB / RB / CM On receipt of final report

RB / SB Q3

RB / SBQ3

RB / SBQ3

RB/SBQ4

Ongoing - RB

Implement - Q4RB/GH

Q4 - GH

Q4 - RB/SB

AllQ3

Cabinet

H P and Cabinet/SMT

SMT/HP

CM/LG

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Issue

8. Review commercial strategy and governance

9. Develop new smart performance management arrangement

10. Organisational structure

11. SEND Budget

12. Membership of Audit and Corporate Governance Committee

13. Enhance new Member Development Programme

14. Review internal governance arrangements

Action

Seek external consultation advice to consider risk capacityand monitoring.

Simple KPIs to be reported onon a monthly basis. LGA support to consider performance management analysis

Review current organisational structure in relation to refreshed Corporate Plan.

Embed new staff culture and modern working practices following move to new Council offices.

SEND recovery plan in place as agreed with Schools Forum and SEND Strategic Board.

Review and consider appointment of independent external members.

Develop revised programme to include financial and commercial awareness.LGA support for Cabinet/Member development

To consider role and purpose of scrutiny and role of Policy Committee.Review ‘call in procedures’.

Who/When

SMT/ CMQ3

SMT / HPQ3

SB/CMQ4

SB/GHQ4

MS/SPQ3

LG/MC/HPQ3

MC/HPQ4

Q4 - CM/SB

LGA Peer Assessment Action PlanAugust 2019

Key

Exec Board = Executive BoardSMT = Senior Management TeamRB = LeaderSB = Chief ExecutiveHP = Hitesh Patel

CM = Cathy MitchellMC = Matt CumberbatchLG = Deputy Chief ExecutiveMS = Matt SmithGH = Gareth Hopkins

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Agenda Item 6

WARRINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMMITTEE – 16 SEPTEMBER 2019 Report of: Gareth Hopkins, Assistant Director Customer & Business

Transformation Report Author:

Helen Hill, Business Intelligence Officer

Contact Details:

Email Address: [email protected]

Telephone: 01925 442203

Ward Members:

All

TITLE OF REPORT: PROPOSED EQUALITY OBJECTIVES 2020-2024 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of the report is to update the Policy Committee on new proposed equality

objectives 2020-2024. The report contains details of the draft objectives and priorities, why they have been selected and the consultation process and timetable.

2. CONFIDENTIAL OR EXEMPT 2.1 This report is not confidential or exempt. 3. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 3.1 The Equality Act 2010 requires the council to publish Equality Objectives every four years. The

Council’s current objectives expire at the end of 2019. Our equality objectives are very important to us as an organisation. They guide the work we carry out and demonstrate our commitment to challenging discrimination and improving life chances.

4. PROPOSED OBJECTIVES

4.1 For 2020-2024 we are suggesting 3 objectives, each with a set of specific priorities. These are:-

• Provide opportunities to improve life chances

• Work with our partners and businesses to improve accessibility and tackle discrimination

• Promote and foster an inclusive working environment for our workforce

Details of the objectives, specific priorities and why they have been proposed is attached (Appendix A).

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mailto:[email protected]

Agenda Item 6

5. CONSULTATION PROCESS 5.1 The online consultation commenced on 15 August 2019 and will close on 26 September 2019.

Paper copies of the survey have been offered in other formats e.g. other languages or formats including large print, Braille, audio or British Sign Language upon request.

5.2 Details of the consultation have been circulated as follows:-

• All staff via direct emails to Leaders, Middle Managers and Staff Engagement Forums. The consultation has also been published in Your Voice and WINNIE

• Direct email to all councillors • Direct email to a wide range of community and partnerships groups. These included;

Disability Partnership, Carers Partnership Board, Speak Up, WECA, Impact Youth Council and TAGS (Teenagers, gender and sexuality). Focus groups have been offered to all community groups

• Direct email to businesses via the Business Improvement District (BID) • All schools via the School News newsletter.

6. NEXT STEPS 6.1 The feedback from the consultation will be analysed and considered by the Council’s Strategic

Equality Group in October 2019. This group leads equality, diversity and inclusion at the council and is responsible for delivering these objectives. This group is chaired by the Chief Executive and comprises of all directors and trade union representatives.

6.2 All feedback from the consultation and the council’s response will be published on the

council’s intranet WINNIE and forwarded to all participants (outlined in paragraph 5.2) in October/November 2019. The final equality objectives will be included in the new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy 2020-2024 which will be published on the Council’s website in December 2019. An action plan setting out how the objectives will be delivered will be developed and published.

7. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS 7.1 N/A 8. RISK ASSESSMENT 8.1 N/A 9. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY / EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT 9.1 N/A 10. RECOMMENDATION 10.1 That the Policy Committee considers the proposed equality objectives and priorities 2020-

2024 and forward its comments.

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Agenda Item 6 Appendix A - Proposed Objectives and Priorities

Proposed Objectives 2020 – 2024

Provide opportunities to improve life chances

• Reduce income inequality and improve social mobility by promoting the living wage through the council’s procurement strategy.

• Work with our partners to reduce the gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived communities in the borough.

• Improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children and children in care.

• Improve employment opportunities and educational opportunities for:- - Young people with special education needs and disability (SEND) - Young people who have left foster or residential care. - Adults who have a learning disability - Adults who have a mental health disability

Why – In Warrington there are wide inequalities between people living in areas with high levels of deprivation and those living in areas of low deprivation. Welfare reform and tax changes have intensified these inequalities. Approximately 19% of residents live in the most deprived areas of the town. Inequalities include a lack of social mobility, lower life expectancy and lower levels of educational attainment for children and young people. We want to improve life chances and life expectancy for people living in the most deprived areas of the town. The gap between the employment rate for young people with special education needs and disability (SEND) and the overall employment rate in Warrington is higher than regional and national averages. We are committed to reducing this gap and improving employment opportunities for SEND young people and those who have left foster or residential care. Work with our partners and businesses to improve accessibility and tackle discrimination

• Work with partners and businesses to improve accessibility to the town for disabled people, their carers and older people. We will also work to improve digital accessibility to our services.

• Develop a transparent robust equality impact assessment process to help improve our services and make sure they are accessible and inclusive. This work will include increasing our knowledge of our customers through improved equality monitoring.

• Strengthen our knowledge, understanding and communication with existing and emerging communities.

• Work with Cheshire Police and Warrington Hate Crime Alliance to improve reporting and reduce levels of hate crime.

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Agenda Item 6 Appendix A - Proposed Objectives and Priorities

Why – Our council vision is to “create a place that works for everybody”. This includes physical and digital access to buildings, facilities and services for disabled people, their carers and older people. We will work with our partners and businesses to remove barriers and continue to improve accessibility in Warrington. Warrington’s immigration rates are lower than regional and national averages. However the town has experienced a growth in different minority groups in recent years and we’re keen to make sure that communities continue to get along together.

Promote and foster an inclusive working environment for our workforce

• Deliver the action plan for the Stonewall1 Diversity Champions Programme and submit application for the Workplace Equality Index.

• Work towards level 3 leader status under the Disability Confident Scheme.

• Develop and deliver a female leadership and career development programme to improve employment opportunities for women.

• Improve our equality monitoring information for our workforce and reduce the proportion of unknown equality data.

• Develop and deliver an equality, diversity and inclusion training programme for councillors.

Why – National research shows that 35% of LGBT+ staff feel unable to declare their sexual orientation in the workplace for fear of discrimination. The council’s equality monitoring information shows that sexual orientation has a low declaration rate. We have joined Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme to address this gap and make sure LGBT+ staff are accepted without exception. Workforce equality monitoring information also shows a low number of staff declaring that they have a disability or health condition. Progression through the Disability Confident Scheme will help us to address this gap and improve our recruitment and retention practices for disabled people and those with health conditions. The mean or average difference between male and female employees shows that female employees are paid 15.7% less per hour than male employees. We will be exploring the reasons why and initiating actions to address this gap. Note – Further Information on Warrington’s customers, workforce, equality achievements and challenges can be found here.

1 Stonewall is the UK’s leading LGBT+ rights organisation

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https://www.warrington.gov.uk/info/201081/the-council/830/equality-and-diversity

Organisational & Improvement Development Policy Committee

Draft Work Programme 2019-2020 Produced by the Business Intelligence Team

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to assist in the development of the policy committee work programme 2019/2020. The document contains the following information:

• Purpose and remit of the policy committee and topics it has looked at in 2018/19. • Guidance from the LGA on selecting work programme topics • National policy themes relevant to this committee • Ideas for inclusion in the 2019/2020 work programme.

What does the Committee do?

• The Committee assists the Council and Cabinet in developing, monitoring and reviewing the Council’s plans, policies and strategies

• Scrutinises decisions taken by Cabinet, Committees, Sub-Committees and Officers where appropriate.

• Makes recommendations to Cabinet relevant to its area of activity.

What topics can the Committee look at?

• Customer gateway programme • Customer engagement and involvement • Development of accessible services • Innovation and new ways of working • Human Resources policies • Workforce skills and learning • Telephony, digital and office accommodation strategies • Corporate Strategy and corporate plan • Development of Council budget

What topics has the Committee looked at in the last year?

During 2018-19 the committee looked at the following topics;

• General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) • ICT Security Update • Warrington 20:20 Service Redesign • Records Management & Document Retention • Apprenticeship Levy 2017/18 • Procurement Strategy • Strategic Equality Group

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Guidance for selecting work programme topics

The following criteria is a guide for prioritising and selecting topics for policy committee work programmes:- Topics are suitable for inclusion when: • the policy committee could have an impact and add value

• the topic is of high local importance and reflects the concerns of local people

• it avoids work duplication elsewhere

• the issue is one that the committee can realistically influence

• the issue is related to an area where the council is not performing well

• the issue is relevant to all or large parts of the local area

Topics are not suitable for inclusion when: • the issue is already being addressed elsewhere and change is imminent

• the topic would be better addressed elsewhere (and will be referred there)

• policy committee involvement would have limited or no impact upon outcomes

• the topic is too broad to undertake any meaningful policy development

• new legislation or guidance relating to the topic is expected within the next year

• The topic area is currently subject to inspection or has recently undergone substantial change. Defining work programme topics For every item on the work programme, it should be clear: • What is the issue/activity/policy development topic under consideration?

• What is the policy committee being asked to do?

• What are the reasons for/expected benefits of involving the policy committee in the matter? • Is there a specific deadline for the piece of work?

Note: - Adapted from the Local Government Association Scrutiny for Councillors, Councillor Workbook

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https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/lga-scrutiny-councillors-123.pdf

https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/lga-scrutiny-councillors-123.pdf

National Policy Themes relevant to this Committee This section contains details of key national policy themes relevant to the committee which could impact on the Council’s customers and the town:-

Workforce

Local Government Officer Skills – This Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) briefing examines what skills local government officers need now and are likely to need in the future. Local authorities are facing substantial challenges, and this has led to a need for its workforce to change and adapt.

Rise in Apprenticeships - Apprenticeship numbers in England have risen for the first time since the introduction of a levy on big employers to fund workplace training. Government figures show that between August 2018 and January 2019, 225,800 apprenticeships were started, a 10 %increase on the same period a year earlier but lower than the 296,600 in the previous year, before the levy was introduced in April 2017.

In contrast a National Audit Office (NAO) report dated March 2019 found that employers have made only limited use of the available Apprenticeship Levy funds to support new placements, and that the period after the Levy was introduced saw a large drop in apprenticeship starts. The NAO report suggests that there are risks that the programme is subsidising training that would have happened without government funding, and that the Department for Education (DfE) has not set out clearly how it is measuring the impact of the programme. The report concludes that the DfE has some way to go before it can demonstrate that the programme is achieving value for money and that resources are being used to best effect.

Disability and Inclusive Employment – Leonard Cheshire published a report in March 2019 exploring options to improve inclusivity for disabled people in the workplace. 7.5 million people of working age in the UK are disabled or have a long-term health condition. Despite this, half of disabled people are employed (51.3 %), compared to 8 in 10 non-disabled people (81.4%). The report contains a number of recommendations which include mandatory disability pay gap reporting.

National Living Wage - Almost 2 million workers in the UK are in line for a pay rise from 1.4.19 as the legal minimum wage increases by nearly 5%. Adults on pay rates rebranded as the “national living wage” will receive a 4.9% rise from £7.83 to £8.21 an hour, worth an extra £690 over a year and affecting around 1.6 million people. The hourly rate for 21- to 24-year-olds will go up from £7.38 to £7.70, and for 18- to 20-year-olds from £5.90 to £6.15 in increases that cover about 230,000 people.

Corporate

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) – On 5.3.19 the BBC reported that Gateshead Council had admitted 19 data breaches under the new regulations. These included uploading personal medical details to an online forum and sending letters containing private information to the wrong addresses. The Information Commissioners Office is due to make a ruling on the breaches.

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https://www.lgiu.org.uk/briefing/the-local-government-officer-is-it-time-for-a-change/

https://www.ft.com/content/a3000176-5144-11e9-b401-8d9ef1626294

https://www.nao.org.uk/report/the-apprenticeships-programme/

https://leonardcheshire.org/sites/default/files/employment_report.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/01/pay-rise-nearly-two-million-national-living-wage-legal

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-47460370?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cp846mrw2w0t/gdpr&link_location=live-reporting-story

Risk and Commercialisation Guide – APSE and the Centre for Public Scrutiny have published a report on ways in which scrutiny can engage with issues arising from commercial activity. The report explores the current landscape around commercialisation, and provides a toolkit and guide for councils to help build their own bespoke, locally-relevant governance and scrutiny systems for commercial activity.

Public Trust – The LGiU and The MJ run an annual “State of Local Government Finance Survey” every January. Over half (53%) of councils responding to the survey said that the current financial situation is negatively affecting their relationship with residents. While some respondents said their residents are sympathetic to their financial situation, others said that a lack of understanding about how local government is funded and structured, along with rising council tax bills, has led to negative perceptions about council services.

New Taxi Licensing Guidelines – The Department of Transport launched a consultation on 12.2.19 on robust new rules for licensing authorities to protect vulnerable passengers from harm. New safety measures proposed include recommending councils ensure every driver undergoes enhanced criminal record and background checks and mandatory CCTV in taxis.

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https://www.apse.org.uk/apse/index.cfm/research/current-research-programme/risk-and-commercialisation-a-guide-for-local-scrutiny-councillors/

https://www.lgiu.org.uk/briefing/lgiu-mj-state-of-local-government-finance-survey-2019/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-guidance-on-taxi-licensing-to-protect-passengers

Organisational Improvement and Development Policy Committee Work Programme 2019-2020

This section contains the draft work programme 2018-2019 for approval by the Policy Committee. It contains items that have been brought forward from the 2018-2019 work programme and new topics for inclusion in the 2019-2020 work programme. The purpose of the topic and what the committee is being asked to do have been included in the work programme.

Work Programme Topic

Purpose of the item

What is the Committee being asked to do?

Link to National Policy & Local Context

Lead Officer

Date of Meeting

Theme – Corporate LGA Peer Challenge report and action plan

To provide the committee with an overview of the LGA peer challenge, the key findings and the action plan

Contribute to the delivery of the action plan

Sector led improvement Gareth Hopkins, Customer & Business Transformation Assistant Director

June 2019 – verbal update

as part of work

programme item

September 2019

LGA Peer report and action plan

Warrington’s commercial approach

Review Commercial strategy and council approach

Review how this policy and council approach is delivered to members

Links to the LGA Peer Challenge Claire Harris, Head of Finance

September 2019

Career and skills development of the female workforce

To look at opportunities to help women develop their skills and progress their career within the council.

To submit the findings of the committee to Cabinet

The Strategic Equality Steering Group has agreed to put together a female workforce development programme to help address the current gender pay gap of 15.7%.

Gareth Hopkins, Customer & Business Transformation Assistant Director

June 2019

November 2019

New Council Vision and Strategy

To assist in the development of a new Council vision and strategy and supporting performance framework


This was one of the recommendations from the LGA Peer Review. The council vision and strategy is a key document

A Juggins Deputy Head of Business Intelligence

Sept 2019

verbal update as part of

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Work Programme

Topic Purpose of the item

What is the Committee

being asked to do? Link to National Policy & Local

Context Lead

Officer Date of Meeting

which sets the future direction of the council

work programme

item

Committee Management

To look at the implementation of a new committee management system,


Links to the digital vision and transformation programme and innovation for local government


June 2019

Future meeting (tbd)

Strategic Equality Group To review progress on the delivery of the groups priorities. This will include reviewing the delivery of the Council’s new equality objectives and strategy


The purpose of the Strategic Equalities Group is to ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and embed equality and inclusivity throughout the council. Part of its governance arrangements are to regularly report to the policy committee on its progress.


Ongoing – Consult on

draft objectives -September

2019 Next report November

2019 General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

To scrutinise the implementation of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). In addition this item will look at outcomes and issues arising from the implementation and national GDPR developments.

To forward the committee’s findings to the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee

GDPR is a new framework for data protection laws which commenced on 25 May 2018. GDPR includes enhanced individual rights and increased penalties for non-compliance

Amanda Juggins, Deputy Head of Business Intelligence

Annual report

March 2020

Theme – Customer Warrington 20:20 To scrutinise progress on the

development of digital customer services and look at progress on the review of internal services. .

To forward the committee’s findings to Cabinet

Links to public service reform which aims to fundamentally change how services are received by customers. Also links to a digital vision and innovation for local government

Gareth Hopkins, Customer & Business Transformation Assistant Director Kate Lindley, Head of Transformation

November 2019

Warrington 20:20 – Service Design Working Group

The working group will test and provide input into the design of customer facing services as part of the Warrington 20:20 programme.

That the views of the working group be incorporated into the

Links to public service reform which aims to fundamentally change how services are received by customers.


Ad Hoc meetings

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Work Programme

Topic Purpose of the item

What is the Committee

being asked to do? Link to National Policy & Local

Context Lead

Officer Date of Meeting

This will include the development of a new website

new customer facing services

Theme – Workforce Employee Engagement Survey

To consider the findings from the employee engagement survey


This is the second survey undertaken which aimed to find out what it’s like to work for the council.


June 2019 Future

meeting (tbd)

Apprenticeship Levy To review the number of apprenticeships and new starts throughout the council


The national Audit Office has found that employers are making limited use of the Apprenticeship levy and the funding is being used to subsidise training


November 2019 (moved

from September

2019) New Office Accommodation

To review progress on the development of the new council building including the design of the ground floor. This topic will also review progress on the development of workforce agile working.

To submit recommendations to Cabinet on the design of the ground floor

Council initiative to build new office accommodation. Agile working is an initiative to enable employees to work unrestrained from a physical office base

A Fields Head of Business Intelligence and Change

November 2019 (moved

from September

2019)

March 2020 Living Wage (including Working Group)

Review the implementation of the Living Wage policy throughout the Council and consider future working with businesses in the Borough.

To forward the committee’s findings to Cabinet Committee working group to look at the detail

Links to the national living wage and rising living costs due to housing shortages, high rents and welfare and tax reforms


November 2019

(Working

Group meeting November

2019)

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