To receive a presentation from the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation from the Chief Executive about the ongoing development of the corporate structures and functions of the Council. He explained how this sat within the context of delivering the objectives and values of the Corporate Strategy and the Council’s new operating model. He gave an overview of the current structure of five corporate directorates and sixteen service directorates which had been established by the Shadow Authority. Particular points of note included:
· Corporate Management Board now included the statutory officer roles of Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer.
· Public Health was a shared service with Dorset, with the Director forming part of the ASC management team.
· Children’s Services had seen some of the first external appointments made. All three Children’s Services in Dorset required improvement.
· The new service within Regeneration and Economy (Destination and Culture), which had been unable to recruit a permanent director.
The Chief Executive reported that the corporate structure had served the Council well during its initial transition period. Compared to some other councils it was quite lean but it was also larger than either of the preceding unitary authorities. He anticipated that the number of directorates would reduce once the Council reached its business as usual stage. In the meantime he highlighted some interim changes that he was proposing following consultation with corporate/service directors.
Firstly, it was suggested that the Directors of Resources and Law and Governance should report direct into the Chief Executive, allowing the Corporate Director for Resources to focus on the transformation agenda. Secondly, within Regeneration and Economy it was proposed to transfer some operational services including the seafront to Environment and Community, to provide more clarity in place shaping/leading. Within the Growth and Infrastructure service it was also proposed to split planning and transport in order to increase capacity to deliver the transforming cities fund and transport infrastructure and improve planning performance.
The Chief Executive highlighted other potential structural changes which could bring together expertise at the same time as reducing the cost of the function. One proposal under consideration was to create a Director of Communications, Marketing and Strategy (replacing Destination and Culture) to centralise functions currently spread across other services. Another area being looked at was commissioning and procurement. In conclusion the Chief Executive predicted an extensive and continual evolution of the structure, with further refinements made during the business as usual phase in around 18 months from now.
The Chief Executive responded to questions from the Committee on his presentation. He was asked about the evolution of the structure in the context of the Covid-19 situation. He explained that the capacity of the current structure had been needed in the last six months and he commended staff for their response. In areas such as safeguarding the situation had brought the Council and partners closer together in their working arrangements. It had also changed thinking and highlighted the need to drive through transformation.
He was asked about the rationale for moving seafront services in view of its pivotal place in the visitor economy. He explained that it was the day to day operational services along the seafront which would transfer. The development of a new seafront strategy was part of the place shaping agenda and would remain where it was. A councillor asked if the entire length of the coastline could be included in the transformation plans. It was noted that the Beach App did not extend beyond Sandbanks and the Leader of the Council confirmed that this was because the app was intended to cover managed beaches to ensure social distancing and would in future be managed by digital means (meaning all areas could not be included).
The Chief Executive was also asked whether transformation and evolution were incongruous. He explained the differentiation between the need to transform rapidly the way the Council worked and the advantages of continual evolution of the structure as opposed to one major reorganisation. The Leader of the Council responded to a question to the Chief Executive on the structure chart and explained that she had worked with senior officers to produce a version of the structure chart with contact details at Tier 4 officer level to assist councillors in their day to day work. This would be available in the next 14 days. The Chief Executive confirmed that a guaranteed route for councillors to submit and track complaints was also being worked on.
The Corporate Director of Resources highlighted the scale of both transitional and transformational changes which would be taking place across the Council over the next few years. He explained that while the response to the Covid-19 situation had required a significant change in working practices the underlying challenges of transformation, such as technology and office requirements, had yet to be addressed.
The Chairman thanked the Chief Executive for his presentation and requested an update to the Committee at a future meeting.
The Chairman thanked councillors and officers for their contributions to the meeting.