Issue - meetings

The Chairman announced that a matter had been brought to her attention which she considered to be of so urgent a nature that it could not wait until the next meeting.

The Committee were informed that a letter had been received, immediately prior to the meeting, from Councillor P. Swinburn, Chairman, Worcestershire Hub Shared Service (WHSS) Management Board in respect of funding for work WHSS undertook on behalf of Worcestershire Regulatory Services and the withdrawal of these services at the end of October 2013, due to the number of customer service advisors that was now required to provide these services.

The Head of WRS provided the Committee with background information and assured Members that WRS was committed to finding a way forward in order to resolve this matter.  Discussions had been on-going in recent months and delays had occurred in demand data being received by WRS from Worcestershire Hub in order to clarify the request for financial support to provide further staff.  The Head of WRS confirmed to Members that he was disappointed with the letter received from the Worcestershire Hub Shared Service Board as he understood that negotiations were still on-going in order to resolve this matter.

Mr. I. Pumfrey, Head of Community Services, Malvern Hills District Council, informed Members that as a Member of both Management Boards he had been aware of the situation and understood that the letter was a reflection on the Board’s frustrations as the matter was now causing some disruptions to the Hub partners and putting staff under significant pressure.  By highlighting this to the Committee it hoped that a swift conclusion could be reached.

Councillor L. Denham informed Members that she was a Member of the Worcestershire Hub Shared Service Board and had been present at the meeting when the letter had been discussed.  The Principal Solicitor, Bromsgrove District and Redditch Boroughs Councils advised Councillor L. Denham that she may have a conflict of interest and that it was not appropriate for her to comment further on the matter.

Members were disappointed that this matter had not been brought to their attention at an earlier stage of the negotiations and that the timescale given did not give them sufficient time to investigate the situation and provide a suitable response.  The Committee also discussed the options for alternative delivery and the Head of WRS confirmed that a number of options were being considered in light of the on-going negotiations.

After further discussion it was

RESOLVED that the Head of Worcestershire Regulatory Services would respond to the letter and the Committee would receive an update report at the next meeting of the Joint Committee to be held on 21st November 2013.