Minutes:
The Chairman reminded the Board that consideration of the Joint Worcestershire Regulatory Services Scrutiny Task Group report had initiated this presentation.
The Head of Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) delivered a presentation on WRS Strategic Partnership. He gave thanks to Councillors R. L. Dent and M. A. Bullivant for attending and who represented Bromsgrove District Council on the Worcestershire Shared Services Joint Committee.
The presentation provided Members with details on the following:
· Project Objectives
· Benefits of strategic partnership
· Alternative options considered to meet financial pressures
· What WRS could offer
· The Process
Following the delivery of the presentation a number of questions were put to the Head of WRS:
· Partners reducing their contributions to WRS and the effect this would have on the services provided by WRS.
· The implications (to those remaining and those opting out) of Partner authorities opting out of WRS.
· Governance arrangements and the changes to governance in respect of Strategic Partnering.
· The effect on the service if partner contributions were significantly reduced and whether there was the possibility of the service failing because of this.
The Head of WRS informed the Board that partner authorities had no perception of the financial pressures they would be faced with when the Worcestershire Shared Services Partnership legal agreement was agreed in 2009. A number of partners had identified the need for additional reductions in their contributions from 2014/2015 onwards, with the most significant of these being Worcestershire County Council. Members were further informed that the current Worcestershire Shared Services Partnership agreement protected the other member authorities against any negative impact and that any substantive or one off costs would have to be met by that partner authority. A significant reduction in partner contributions year on year could have an impact for some partner authorities if statutory requirements were not being met.
The Head of WRS also referred to the Joint WRS Scrutiny Task Group findings in respect of governance and informed Members that initially the governance arrangements had been set up as a need for trust and that at the time there had been no benchmarking to refer to. As the service developed there had become a need, which had been recognised, for the governance arrangements to change and WRS Joint Committee Members would determine good governance arrangements.
Partner authorities now wanted very different levels services; there was therefore a need to identify what those partner needs were and how these could be provided. Strategic Partnership working would enable the service to look at an alternative delivery model which would meet the needs of all those involved.
The Head of WRS further informed Members that WRS had achieved a national reputation and had national experts. As a result of this achievement WRS had been approached by other authorities who were considering a shared regulatory service and looked at very closely by the private sector. Members agreed that it was refreshing to hear of a public sector success.
The Chairman of the Board and the Chairman of the Joint WRS Scrutiny Task Group thanked the Head of WRS for his presentation.
RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.