Successfully Sharing Services

Pre-holiday high

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:32:02 GMT

Pre-holiday high

Probably like the majority of the country I am so proud of our Olympic achievements. I must admit that I wasn’t really that bothered before the opening ceremony but have been glued to the TV ever since! This interest hasn’t stopped me from going to the gym – although I never get there as often as I would like!! As you have probably read in other blogs, it doesn’t take much to divert me away from the treadmill – however whether it’s because of the Olympics and being inspired as a result or the need to lose some weight before my holidays I have been quite a lot recently!!

I am also soon to go on holiday which I am really looking forward to as I do feel like I need a break – its been a really busy period. Although as well as catching Olympic fever I do feel I am leaving work on a high – having met the Queen during her Worcester visit last month. I told her I was a Shared Chief Executive for two councils and she asked me how I split my time and managed to cope with 2 Councils. I told her that I tried to spend two and half days in each Council – which is why I looked a lot older than 43 and had so many grey hairs!! She didn’t disagree but I must say it was a real honour to meet her.

I have also spent the last three months as a Chief Executive over two Councils with different administrations as Redditch saw a shift in power from Conservative to Labour in May.

I didn’t quite know what to expect when the changes happened but I must say both Leaders are working well together, despite their political differences, with the local needs of their constituents in mind. They came together on the Save The Alex campaign – as services at a local hospital based in Redditch but serving Bromsgrove came under threat. They have also agreed to joint branding of services that are shared between the 2 Councils.

However on issues where their views differ, such as housing numbers, they have taken completely independent stances but are working together in order to ensure the best possible outcomes.

I have always maintained that shared services is not about political merger but about providing services which are efficient and responsive to customer needs – both leaders are completely wedded to this.

We are also continuing with our Business Transformation projects. I know this is putting pressure on some teams where staff are being taken out of the day job to work as part of intervention teams and as a result staff are taking on more work to backfill. Once again I have to thank staff who are embracing this change and helping the Councils prosper and improve in these austere times.

I was also proud to be asked to do the welcome speech at a recent County forum regarding the Welfare Reform Act and the changes around that. It is imperative our residents know this is coming and we are planning a ‘call to action’ so we get a many people to check if they will be affected by these changes. Not easy when all the information hasn’t even been given out yet! But by providing consistent messages and points of information and contact we hope to draw peoples attention to the changes and encourage them to take advice and action before the changes impact.

So lots to do when I get back from my holidays – including the Police Commissioner Election, holding staff forums and more transformational work – this time with partners! I hope that when I get back I am able to update my blog more regularly!

Transforming shared services

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:07:22 GMT

Transforming shared services

In just four years we have now shared the majority of services across Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils, and sometimes even wider!

Through this blog I have tried to keep you updated on the progress, but we have sped through this project at such a rate of knots, my feet have barely touched the ground.

Not all services are shared, as with the sensitivities of local demographics, geography and politics in mind, Housing and Planning have not been shared. But they are taking part in the transformation programme. This is where, using the Vanguard systems thinking approach, we are looking at transforming services to better meet the customers' demand.

To do this we are involving staff from the very beginning and getting them to look at the processes they have been working within and the systems they have been using for years. While there is nothing wrong with the services that we have been providing or the ways of working, often waste steps have been incorporated into the process which means we overlook what the customer actually wants from us. I am really proud of how staff have embraced this project, although it has been a challenge to explain what it actually is to staff who aren't directly involved in it.

We have introduced a whole new dictionary of transformation jargon, but through our communications we do try to keep staff in the loop and as the project moves on, more teams are being involved.

On top of these two major projects, the day job continues and we have had some big events: at the local elections earlier this month the administration at Redditch Borough changed to Labour who now have one more seat than the previous Conservative administration.

We had a visit from HRH Duke of Kent and Redditch was host to the Halford Tour series cycling event, an event that Redditch can be really proud of. We hope they come back again next year!

As for my gym update - I have been going on a regular basis and will adopt this approach to more regular blog updates too!

Merry Christmas (and a busy new year)

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:53:48 GMT

Merry Christmas (and a busy new year)

Looking back over the past year it is amazing how 12 months can fly by! We started 2011 busy, and it simply did not stop with the councils' Business Transformation and Shared Services projects picking up speed and moving forward by leaps and bounds as the year went on.

We now look ready to begin sharing most of the councils' services from April after the creation of a single business case for the two authorities earlier this year. This progress with Shared Services will mean that we are in a stronger financial position than most to make it through the current economic climate, which continues to be difficult for everyone.

A number of our teams are also moving forward with Business Transformation, which fundamentally redesigns the way we operate our services to make sure customers and their needs are at the heart of everything we do. Thanks to our staff, this project is moving quickly and should start to make a huge difference to the way the Council works and how we provide our services. As our customers are key to this project I also hope that they will begin to see the difference transformation is making.

So we have an exciting but also unsettling time ahead at the councils with a number of changes planned.

But first we have the Christmas holidays, which while being another excuse for my gym visits to become less frequent, is also a great chance to spend more time with our friends and family. Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

As always my New Year’s resolution will be to go to the gym... more!

Sector led improvement - Scarborough

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:06:55 GMT

Sector led improvement - Scarborough

Last week I spent three days up in Scarborough as part of a team undertaking a peer assessment of the Borough Council. The peer assessment is part of the new sector led improvement approach which all councils are encouraged to use going forward to ensure they are continuing to improve.

The team consisted of myself, an elected member, in this instance a Council Leader, a director from a county council, with a background in regeneration which was a main focus for this review, and someone from the Local Government Group who had the unenviable job of coordinating the whole review.

Whilst the review formally started on Tuesday we had been provided with lots of background reading and a self assessment that Scarborough had prepared. All this proved absolutely invaluable in order that we could hit the ground running.

First thing on Tuesday we received a presentation from the senior management team and Leader on the key issues and challenges that the Council faced, were addressing, and wanted us to consider as part of the review. The remainder of the two days was spent meeting front line staff, service unit managers, heads of service, Members of the Executive Committee, front line councillors, community groups and partners. Thursday morning we spent pulling together all the information in order that I could give a presentation on our findings back to the senior management team and the Leader.

It was an extremely intensive three days which I enjoyed thoroughly, but by the end of it and after the journey home was absolutely shattered. Whilst it would be inappropriate to share the findings of the peer assessment in this blog, I hope that the team at Scarborough found our feedback of value in order to help the Council move on. Not only did I find the exercise very rewarding in terms of undertaking the assessment but I also learnt a lot that I can bring back to Bromsgrove and Redditch. This ranged from their extremely innovative and excellent Community Information System to their Participatory Budget exercise and also how they are tackling issues of major deprivation.

The only downside to the review for me was that it coincided with the worldwide Blackberry failures, which meant that it was more difficult to keep in touch with the office! And of course not being able to visit the gym... but I would consider the experience a good excuse!

Managing massive changes and still keeping in touch

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:05:35 GMT

Managing massive changes and still keeping in touch

Well, people say that you perform better under pressure. Last week we announced that we are drafting a Single Business Case which will see all our services shared across Redditch and Bromsgrove from April 2012. And I went to the gym five times!

I think I had to relieve the pressure of embarking on such an enormous task and the ramifications for staff and members as this period of change gathers momentum.

Of course the progression of this project is subject to the agreement of Members in September and, if approved, our Business Transformation timetable will still run alongside it.

Already, though I must repeat this is subject to Member agreement, we are preparing staff to get involved. Their views are important and, as they are from experts in the field so to speak, will help shape our excellent services of the future. I will let you know how it goes.

August is naturally a quiet period and while I do not want to speak too soon it allows me the luxury of being able to get out and about in the community. Unlike the MPs I do not have the cameras or press following me around, and instead I get to speak to people on a one to one level, people who may benefit from the services we provide.

For example tomorrow (Wednesday August 2) I am meeting Madge Tillesley MBE, who is the founder and chair of the Sunset Pensioners' Club in Redditch, for literally a cuppa! She will fill me in on issues which are affecting our communities and give me a real view of how we can tailor our services to meet their needs.

As we recognise with the staff consultation around Shared Services, we need to hear from everyone involved, not just senior managers and members.

I will also be popping down to our popular street theatre in Bromsgrove to help out on the stall. I love listening to people giving me feedback, usually about their bins, noisy teenagers and litter... only then to find out I am the Chief Executive.

I hope when I am present at these events and have the opportunity to talk to people that it goes someway to diminish the 'fat cats in the ivory tower' perception that some residents still have about public sector workers, with their gold plated pensions. I can assure you, with the slim pickings of government grant we have this year alone, there is no fat on the cats!

Especially when they go to the gym five times a week. And I am determined to keep it up!

Local newspapers are the eyes and ears, not the brains, of residents.

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:23:22 GMT

Local newspapers are the eyes and ears, not the brains, of residents.

I was enjoying a week of leave when I watched the events surrounding and leading to the demise of the News of the World unfold from the comfort of my sun bed.

I know I am perhaps comparing apples with pears, and I must say we do have our ups and downs, but at a local level I can commit to saying that we have a level headed relationship with our local press.

The crematorium energy recovery project in Redditch is an example of this interesting relationship.

The story was leaked to a local newspaper, though not through phone hacking I hasten to add, and the paper thought it was a prank because the proposal to use excess energy from the crematorium to heat the local pool seemed so absurd. We confirmed it was true and the local paper did a very factual story and left it up to residents to decide for themselves.

Of course it went national and when the national papers picked it up the gory headlines ensued. But local residents wrote to the local papers, were interviewed on radio and demonstrated their support for such an innovative idea.

I believe their opinion helped shape the headlines to come, both at local and a national level, which were in the main positive. Indeed the project went on to win a national Green Apple Award.

Local newspapers are the eyes and ears of local residents whose opinions do count, and the headlines reflect this. When beliefs are challenged, the public voices an opinion. And in this digital era of Facebook and Twitter people publicly voice their opinion immediately.

We recently had a story about "overzealous" car park attendants that the local newspaper put on their Facebook page. 29 comments appeared on it within 15 minutes.

The temptation in our position is to rush on there and put the facts straight! But if you sit back and watch, the comments turn into a debate out of which comes a conclusion, and not necessarily an amicable one.

As in the high profile phone hacking case we often have conflicts between the media, politics, public sector bureaucracy and, at times, the private sector and our communities. But where I think a lesson can be learnt is that our residents should be given the space to make up their own minds.

The News of The World created a thirst for news which they could only quench by using underhand methods. Their readers turned on them. Sensationalism is not the only newspaper seller and I think people still want to be informed and given the opportunity to form their own opinions. I look forward to continuing our relationship with our local newspapers!

...gym project update...
Yes I have been, but obviously while on holiday I retreated to the pool for my aerobic workout!

Elections teams excel, plus energy project scoops national gold

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:20:16 GMT

Elections teams excel, plus energy project scoops national gold

I have spent the last few days in communications with the MPs for Redditch and Bromsgrove following news that the Electoral Commission Chair is calling on the Government to consider the central coordination of elections.

Based on the experiences of the last election, where a national referendum was held, Jenny Watson, who was also Chief Counting Officer for the referendum, wants this structure to be adopted for future elections local and general.

I have asked our MPs to support the fight of both our Councils to retain this locally. Yes, the referendum and recent elections went very well. But I feel this was down to the expertise and professionalism of our election teams, not because of the Electoral Commission.

In fact I believe their actions and requirements have added significant additional costs to the country and placed additional unnecessary pressure on electoral teams who have all run elections successfully for a number of years.

The Commission gives guidance and should continue to do so, rather than adopt a central oversight over elections which I believe would cost the tax payer more. I am meeting with both MPs to discuss this further because I am keen to make sure our voices are heard.

On a much lighter note, I am delighted that our pioneering Crematorium Energy Recovery Project has won a Green Apple Award. This is a national scheme to find the greenest companies and organisations in Britain and our plan to reuse energy from the crematorium to heat the nearby swimming pool scooped gold. Officers and Members received the award at a ceremony in London.

Initially the project was met with scepticism in some of the national press but public opinion, which in the main was positive, did sway coverage. This award verifies that this is an innovative idea which, when it comes into place next year, will save the Council money that can be invested in other areas. And it will save energy too.

After a spate of illness I have also got my energy back, and have been expelling some of it at regular sessions in the gym. I seem to literally be back on the treadmill in every sense of the word. I even made it to an exercise class! As the Shared Services and Business Transformation Project progresses, I look forward to updating you again soon.

The benefits of transforming our business

Thu, 26 May 2011 09:59:12 GMT

The benefits of transforming our business

Business continues and I am aware I have been very neglectful of my blog. Believe it or not even my mum has scolded me as she says my blog is the only way she can keep up with me! Even at the ripe old age of 42 I am not too old to be told off by my mum!

The last few weeks has seen a huge amount of time devoted by myself, members of the management team and the transformation team to get our heads fully around business transformation and the benefits it can bring not only to both councils but the communities that we serve.

Business transformation or "systems thinking", we are using the Vanguard approach, fundamentally redesigns the way we operate our services to make sure customers and their needs are at the heart of everything we do.

Like any business local authorities pick up habits and ways of doing things, and get into a mindset that these are the only ways to complete tasks. While these ways may not be wrong, they may not be the most efficient ways and we certainly need to be as efficient as possible.

To help my management team and I roll out this approach across the organisation we took part in an intensive four day training session, as part of our Shared Services and Business Transformation Project. Representatives from Stoke on Trent City Council and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, who are also progressing along the same path, joined us as well.

It is good to share experiences with other organisations, despite that it is not conducive for us to do exactly the same thing as we have clearly different customer needs.

Along with Stoke on Trent we are looking to create an academy with a pool of skilled and trained individuals so that we can support one another in our work, and eventually support other organisations that want to use the same methodology.

We are rolling out what we have learnt about transforming the way we work to our teams imminently, with our Revenues and Benefits Teams going though the process right now. Our managers have been shown the process and the whole Council will be shown the way it works at briefings over a couple of weeks. It may not be until officers and members get involved with the process that they truly see that transformation involves a totally different way of thinking and approaching our services, but we are trying to communicate effectively and prepare everyone in advance.

Working more effectively will see savings, and with reduced grant settlements we must save more than £1m across each council in the next year. The next two years are not going to be easy in the public sector, and while shared services and business transformation will cushion us somewhat, we will not be exempt.

Since my last blog we have also had elections at both councils. My wife manages the elections service at a nearby Council so we both understand the hard work that goes into it. I must say counting during the day, though we did do the verification at Bromsgrove on the Thursday evening, was not quite as exciting as night counts. However I am pleased to report that the counts went really well and I am looking forward to working with all the councillors both new and more experienced over the next few months and years.

So, I hope that after a few weeks break we have finally caught up with progress. Although I have neglected the gym as well as this blog, I hope now to renew my regular commitment to both!

Our work on shared services featured on the BBC Politics Show

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:17:52 GMT

Our work on shared services featured on the BBC Politics Show

I returned from my holiday to see the Shared Services project between Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough councils featured on the Sunday Politics Show. I thought the piece was robust and cleared up initial fears of residents that Bromsgrove and Redditch would lose their identity.

In my absence my deputy Sue Hanley did a sterling job to set the record straight and to demonstrate that the sharing was behind the scenes, and that our customer would not notice the difference. We are working as one team serving two separate political organisations.

Customers will however benefit from no cuts to services in the next financial year, plus no increase in Council Tax. We have also avoided having to make huge job loss announcements like our neighbouring authorities including Dudley, Worcestershire and Birmingham.

The film of our community safety wardens, run as one service but delivering separate presences on the ground, was a brilliant image to depict the uniqueness of each area that we want to preserve. The clip of the CCTV room, based at Redditch but covering Bromsgrove and even parts of Wyre Forest too, showed quite visually how we were working together to save money. £1m so far! But it is not just about the money. As Head of Customer Services Amanda de Warr pointed out in the programme it is about providing efficient and effective services for our customers. And I was impressed that she drove, changing gear and lane and gave an interview simultaneously!

We do not spend all of our time on the bypass though. A lot of planning goes into making sure senior managers are in the right place at the right time, whether that be Bromsgrove or Redditch.

While the film sparked a lively debate in the studio, I was disappointed that they did not mention the fact we are not just working with each other. We host Worcestershire Regulatory Services and work with Wyre Forest on Economic Development. But we did only have four minutes of air time and the show covered a lot!

And finally, the saga of my gym project. As I have been on holiday for two weeks I can legitimately say I have not been able to get there. I suppose in my next blog there will be no excuses left.

Sharing shared services advice

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:17:57 GMT

Sharing shared services advice

While I made a personal note to self to update this blog regularly, and go to the gym, unfortunately a hectic schedule and a bad bout of flu has meant this is my first blog of the New Year, so belated wishes!

I have not been to the gym as often as I would like either, but hopefully these are the only two things I have neglected.

As I said, it has been very hectic. I spoke at a Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands conference on shared services last week which was a perfect platform to let other councils in the region know what we are doing and share some of our learning.

In February I am speaking at a Capita Shared Services Conference in Manchester so this will be another opportunity to highlight the work of the two councils. I am also pleased that we have launched our case study on Our Journey to Improvement: Together which depicts how far we have come with our Shared Services and Business Transformation projects. The document has been added to this page so I do hope you take a quick look.

As you know our progress with shared services means we are in a stronger financial position than most to weather the current economic climate. But we still have some tough decisions ahead, particularly as we approach the budget setting date of February 23, which is when both sets of books at each authority must be balanced.

After hearing the local government grant settlement announcement so late on, having to take extra time to decipher what the ramifications for us were, we are still considering options. Bringing forward our Shared Services and Business Transformation timetable is one way we can make savings, but we want to make sure we do not rush through such important processes and make sure we shape and deliver the new services successfully.

Keeping our staff in the loop is, as always, also high on my list of priorities. They are integral to us taking both organisations through this transformation process and I am being honest with them that, while we look to save money through streamlining processes, ultimately there could be job losses. Through our creative and innovative approach to joint working we can look to keep this to a minimum.

Next week I am on my travels again with some senior managers to go to Stoke on Trent City Council who are also going through business transformation. As I said earlier, it is important we all learn from each other, that is what joint working is all about.

Hopefully I will be able to update this blog more frequently over the next few months and keep you updated with what will be a very busy and challenging period!

The Local Grant Settlement announcement and speeding up the process

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:34:19 GMT

The Local Grant Settlement announcement and speeding up the process

Last week we received the long awaited Local Grant Settlement announcement. Not only was this the most complicated set of figures I have ever seen in my 20 years of local government, it was much more severe than we expected.

Grant funding for Redditch and Bromsgrove will be cut by 1.3m and 1.2m pounds respectively over the next two financial years. This is a reduction of 25.3 per cent in Redditch and in Bromsgrove 27.6 per cent. Both of these cuts are among the highest in Worcestershire. In fact the Bromsgrove cut is the highest in percentage terms, coupled with the fact that the grant the District Council receives is already the lowest in the County.

I have said before that we are well placed through our Shared Services project to deal with the pending cuts, and indeed other local authorities are being encouraged to follow this approach, as was mentioned at Westminster during the announcement. But I do not think that for others they will be able to realise the required savings quickly enough. Our Shared Services project has taken three years to get this far and the million pound savings across both Councils have only just been realised in the last year.

Following the news from Government that now calls for the cuts to be made over two years, rather than the originally expected four years, we are now going to look to bring our Shared Services programme forward in a bid to bring the savings in more quickly.

Fortunately we have done the groundwork to allow this to happen while still providing our frontline services to customers. However as we reconsider how to balance our books, some tough decisions may need to be made which will be challenging for our Members as well as officers.

I am sure this is not the last blog I will be doing around this topic as the ramifications of the announcement unfold.

This week has been quite a busy and long week. On Monday night we had Redditch full Council meeting which was preceded by Christmas Carols! As always a number of important decisions were taken there, including Redditch deciding to joint the Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as well as the Worcestershire one, which has only just received agreement.

We firmly believe that having a foot in both camps is in the best interests of the businesses and economy of Redditch. Bromsgrove are also part of both LEPs.

Last Tuesday it was my pleasure to attend the Christmas Party of the Chairman of Bromsgrove District Council, which was a great success thanks to the hard work of Sharon Chaplin who also works as my PA. It was great until someone thought I was Santa!

I have also been Monitoring Officer for a by election and had the first of my two Christmas parties, so I am looking forward for a rest in the festive period. But I have not had time to go to the gym. Maybe in the New Year…

Until then, enjoy a very likely White Christmas!

Remembrance Day perspective, back to the floor, and savings from shared Procurement.

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:16:10 GMT

Remembrance Day perspective, back to the floor, and savings from shared Procurement.

Apologies for not updating sooner, but it has been a bit hectic and so this covers two weeks!

The week before last week was a bit of a difficult week for me, as on the 9th of November it was 16 years to the day since my dad died. I was able to take the afternoon off as leave and go and visit Worcester Crematorium and see the book of remembrance and spend some time at his grave. He worked extremely hard all of his life without once moaning, and just spending some time with him on Tuesday has helped put a few things into perspective for me.

I also had a poignant experience when I went to the Remembrance Sunday service at St Johns in Bromsgrove to pay my respects. Unfortunately this was one occasion where I could not be at two places at once, as there was obviously also a service in Redditch. Fortunately Sue Hanley, my Deputy Chief Executive, was able to attend and represent us.

Apart from these moments it has also been business as usual, and once again very hectic.

It was my pleasure to formally open the first Bromsgrove and Redditch Business Expo at the Hillscourt Conference Centre, which was a joint event between the two councils, NEW College and the Chamber of Commerce. It was a chance for business people to meet one another, which they may not always get in their busy lives. The event went really well and we have received positive feedback.

As referred to in my previous blog, I attended the Worcestershire Assembly where I sat on the panel for a question and answer session. As reported I was not quite sure what the session would cover but as expected the issues became clearer on the day! It was a further opportunity to highlight the shared services work between Bromsgrove and Redditch Councils, as one of the questions posed was whether we as a panel thought the Comprehensive Spending Review was a threat or an opportunity. Other questions posed to me were about our support for the third (voluntary) sector and whether there is a conflict between the Big Society and Localism.

I also had a back to the floor experience in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). I learnt a lot in the day but I think it definitely convinced me that I should leave ICT in the hands of the experts!

On Monday of last week I spent some time going back to the floor in Planning. This was very good timing given the recent announcements that the Regional Spatial Strategy had not been abolished as we had all thought.

This unfortunately has left our plans with major difficulties in trying to put together the core strategies, but we are waiting for further clarification hopefully through the Localism Bill which should be out in December.

As part of my back to the floor I went out and about with a couple of officers from Planning and Planning Enforcement to look at planning applications.

Nigel from Planning Enforcement explained the difficulties he encounters in his role, which is not as black and white as it sounds. I then went out with Stuart Castle to look at some applications. It was nice to be able to get out and about for a change, and I do now have a far better understanding of planning on the ground, although obviously I have had to deal with lots of issues as it is a very contentious area.

For me it is very important to experience services first hand. As you can probably see I spend a lot of time in meetings and it is easy to lose touch with the services on the ground. It also gives me the opportunity to spend some more time with the staff and to get to hear what they think.

Finally at the Worcestershire Chief Executives Panel on Friday five Councils, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest, Wychavon and Malvern Hills signed a collaborative procurement deal which will increase our purchasing power and see five to ten per cent savings in the next 12 months, so it has been a productive last few days!

Delivering for two Councils

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:27:28 GMT

Delivering for two councils

One question I always get asked about my Joint Chief Executive role is whether splitting my time between two Councils means that I am doing half a role in each authority.

The answer to that is a confident no. But that has not always been the case and three years ago it would have been a much more shaky no!

When I first took over the joint post, even in an Acting capacity, there was another set of Members, managers and processes to get to know.

I did relish the challenge and, particularly once the single management team was put in place and teams and structures streamlined, the role became more comfortable. Mainly because I was not dealing with two sets of managers and teams and we could work together to discover the best way of delivering our services to our customers. The more shared services moves along, the easier being at the helm of two Councils becomes.

And when it comes to meetings, which I have to attend rather a lot of as you can see from these blogs (though I did make it to the gym three times this week!) rather than two people sitting there, I represent both authorities.

At times when I feel both Councils will take a radically different viewpoint on an issue, I make sure my Deputy is there too to represent these. After all there are two sets of Members. Shared Services is not about political merger. Only the Boundary Commission can decide this in a Review.

Speaking of meetings, I would like to give you an insight into my diary, in the main to give you an overview of the range of issues we deal with and partners with who we work.

Last week was mainly taken up with staff forums at both Councils to update staff on the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review on the organisation.

This week I am chairing two meetings. One is the Worcestershire Enhanced Two Tier Project Management Group, which is looking at potential areas for further joint working across the seven Councils of the County. The second is the Worcestershire Regulatory Services Project Management Group to ensure that the project is progressing in accordance with the plan.

Today (Thursday) I am due to attend the Worcestershire Assembly where I am due to be on the panel for a Question and Answer session. Details are a little sketchy at this stage but I am sure all will become clear on the day!

Tomorrow (Friday) will be quite interesting as I am doing a Back to the Floor exercise in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) team. I have had to promise not to touch anything. This is an exercise I like to do myself and encourage managers to do too. As you can imagine we all spend a lot of time in meetings and it is important to keep links with staff and to see for yourself the good work that goes on and the challenges they face so improvements can be made.

Working together, premises options, and avoiding short-termism

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:53:59 GMT

Working together, premises options, and avoiding short-termism.

The implications of the Spending Review announcement are still being looked at here, especially as we will not know how we will be affected directly until December 2.

We are trying to anticipate what areas will be affected and maintain our long term vision, rather than take short term decisions. As part of the budget we are putting together a package of savings options for Members.

At this time I feel it is important to keep our staff informed. After all they will feel the impact of whatever changes we make, and I have just held a series of forums across both Councils to bring them up to speed on the budget position.

The forums were also a good time to introduce more detail about the Shared Services and Business Transformation Project. As you will have seen in the media one of our long term visions, which is also part of the Bromsgrove Town Centre Regeneration Project, is the creation of a Council House in the town centre.

With the financial climate and the need for savings to be made in mind, we need to be innovative which is why I welcome the work of officers to identify relocation options which will help reduce our costs and our carbon emissions. Where we are based now is not cost effective or efficient.

One of the options is to relocate some of our back office staff, who work behind the scenes at the Council, in vacant space in Redditch.

We would keep frontline staff at smaller premises in Bromsgrove, which we would also share with partners. If this option is chosen customers would still receive the service they already do, but this is in the very early stages and there is a lot of work to do around the options before any decisions are made or consultations carried out.

Speaking of partners, I attended a meeting of the Public Services Executive Group which includes representatives of the County Council, District Councils, Primary Care Trust, Fire and Police. It aims to take a collective view of the public sector cuts and to improve working together to minimise their effects.

As I said in my last blog I attended the Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) last month where I am on the board. We discussed the Comprehensive Spending Review but also consideration of Sector Led Improvement that the Coalition Government is very keen on, particularly with the abolition of the Audit Commission.

I was able to input my views and in particular how crucial I believe the IEWM Transformation team is to public services going forward. We will be drawing on their approach and support heavily over the next few months.

My meeting with Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid saw us discussing Bromsgrove Town Centre, the Train Station, Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Core Strategy.

Last week ended with a full day with the senior management team to discuss budgets. As it turned out, I got to the gym five times that week, so this blog must be putting me under pressure!

London super council follows suit

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:40:52 GMT

London super council follows suit

On the back of the announcement of three London authorities embarking on a Shared Services Project to create a Super Council, we attracted quite a lot of media attention last week. Mainly because we are already doing it!

I was interviewed on BBC Hereford and Worcester and asked whether it is a successful thing to do, and secondly for any advice I could offer.

I could answer the first part of the question quite easily!

I spent the last couple of days analysing the impacts of the Comprehensive Spending Review which, on the face of it, does not seem to be as bad as some of the rumours we had heard. And with our Shared Services and Transformation programme we are ahead of the game.

But as they say, the devil is in the detail and we will not know the detail for a few weeks yet. But in the last few days I think we have proved not only that Shared Services and Transformation is worth doing but that it is a way local authorities can look to make root and branch savings rather than salami slicing cuts to services.

Secondly, my advice. That would be to listen to those who have done it before. We worked with Councils who were embarking on Shared Services at the same time as us, and those who had started earlier than us. I believe we are now subsequently ahead of the game but it is all about learning from each other and I will be offering that advice to the London Councils as they start the journey which we are already a long way down.

Indeed last week I visited Leicestershire with Head of Worcestershire Regulatory Services Steve Jorden to speak to Leicestershire Authorities about shared services and in particular Regulatory Services. They were very keen to learn from our experiences and Steve and I both hope that it has helped them to move forward.

This week as always is busy and for me started last night (Sunday) by getting involved in Diwali celebrations in the Spadesbourne Suite at Bromsgrove District Council. As always a very good event and I am pleased to say well attended.

The next two days are dedicated solely to the budget and further work on putting together a package of options for Members to consider at both Councils.

On Thursday I am attending a meeting of Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands where I am on the board. Again the major item on the agenda will be the Comprehensive Spending Review. We will also consider Sector Led Improvement which the Coalition Government are very keen on, particularly with the abolition of the Audit Commission.

I end my week with a meeting with Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid. Although my time seems well planned, I need to add that anything can happen and my diary is often shifted around and last minute appointments squeezed in!

And I can end this blog with the good news that I did manage to get to the gym four times! Hope I can get there as often this week!

The Spending Review and other latest news

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:14:19 GMT

The Spending Review and other latest news

The long awaited Comprehensive Spending Review announcement has been made by the Chancellor and sees a reduction in local authority Revenue Support Grant of 7.1% per year for four years. This means Bromsgrove must make savings of 1.4m pounds by 2015, and Redditch 1.8m pounds.

It will be a few weeks before we begin to know the local impact on Redditch and Bromsgrove.

Through this blog I have previously set out what I would like to see from Government to help us through these turbulent times, including three year clarity of funding so we can make long term plans, and empowerment to collect and distribute the business rates to meet local needs and stimulate the economy.

I have also said that I would like to see extra funding for local authorities who have already embarked on creative ways of working with partners to minimise the impact of cuts on services for customers. The Spending Review emphasised making savings by reform, which is what we have already been doing.

The Shared Services between Bromsgrove and Redditch, plus Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) and the North Worcestershire Economic Development Partnership have put Redditch and Bromsgrove in a stronger position than most to ride through this wave of cuts, because we started on this tough journey three years ago.

I am aware that we still have a long way to go. We are not complacent. Last week our Corporate Management Team had a session on business planning and budgets necessary to further our proposals for next year. This day is important every year, but even more so this year with the reductions in central government funding that we now know are going to hit us!

But as we wait for the results, day to day business must go on.

Last week I had an interview with the Audit Commission as part of the re-inspection of the Benefits Service. We had an inspection about 18 months ago which revealed at that time it was a poor service with uncertain prospects for improvement. I was particularly keen for this re-inspection as I believe the service and the Council are in a far better position than 18 months ago.

We received the initial feedback on Friday and it revealed the service has improved. Unfortunately we will not get the official rating until November and while the most important thing for me is that the service we provide to the customer is of high quality, I am keen to get a good rating from the Audit Commission to reflect the hard work that staff have put in over the last 18 months to improve the service.

I also recently chaired the Shared Services and WRS Project Boards to ensure that ongoing implementation of the projects is progressing in accordance with plans. I am glad to report that both are.

So with that in mind I am delighted this week to have visited Leicestershire with Head of Regulatory Services Steve Jorden to share our experiences of this innovative regulatory services project with Councils there.

Before that the week started with a meeting about the county-wide "Being Different Together" project in which Bromsgrove has played a particularly influential part in ensuring we can provide a high quality of service for all our diverse communities. Indeed Bromsgrove District Council was among the first districts in Worcestershire to receive the Equalities Framework Standard Level 3 last year.

This evening there is Redditch Executive Committee which will consider a number of important items including the Council Plan that will seek to set out the Council Priorities for next year. This will then need to be ratified by full Council.

On Friday I will be meeting Redditch MP Karen Lumley and also the Worcestershire Chief Executives Panel.

So, with all this coupled with the Spending Review announcement it really has been a busy couple of weeks, with the only truly negative project update to report back on is the amount of times I have managed to get to the gym.

I hope through this public blog that I can embarrass myself to make an effort to go more often and not get sidetracked by work, quite difficult when there is so much to do. But I am hoping to report favourably on this project in my next update!

Media coverage, sharing the sharing experience and the staff that make it work.

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:42:23 GMT

Media coverage, sharing the sharing experience and the staff that make it work.

I have just returned from two weeks holiday and was delighted to see this blog feature in the newly launched Elected Magazine.

As the article said, via this blog I promised to "keep readers up to date with the project and the continuing work to improve and protect services for the benefit of everyone". To that end I decided one of my first tasks on returning to work was to write this latest instalment for expectant readers!

I would like to thank Elected for their coverage. It is a reminder of how far both Councils have come, Bromsgrove particularly which received particularly bad press for past poor performance. That is why I take such delight in seeing both Councils mentioned in local and national publications in such a positive light. It is recognition that we are leading the way on developing creative and innovative ways of working together so the anticipated significant reductions in central government funding for local authorities will not cut so deep.

Steve Jorden, the Head of the shared Worcestershire Regulatory Services, and I will be visiting authorities in Leicestershire in October to share with them the work on developing and then implementing the business case for shared Regulatory Services. Ours takes in Environmental Health, Licensing and Trading Standards. This will also provide an opportunity to share the work we are doing across Bromsgrove and Redditch and once again proving we are ahead of the game!

Finally I would like to update on the Shared Services project itself. As I have mentioned previously the timetable for teams to go through the shared services and business transformation processes has started. While I am proud of how we are progressing with the project as a whole, having gone through the "going for my own job" process myself I understand the unsettling times that staff are experiencing. Internally we have launched a Moving Forward Together project, which sees managers across both Councils working together to set out how they will manage these difficult times themselves and for their teams, and how they will let senior managers know what support they will need from them.

From the start of the process I have always been upfront and honest with staff and have stressed that no change is not an option because we must evolve to survive as local authorities. Now that our staff can see how other authorities across the country are having to embark on the same journey they have been on for the past two years, I hope it is all making more sense to them too.

Although saying it will not make the journey any easier for staff, losing jobs is not the end goal of Shared Services. It is inevitable that some posts will be removed as spending is reduced and it is important to keep on reminding staff that we have come so far because of their hard work.

Want to save public money and cut fewer services? Innovate.

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:12:19 GMT

Want to save public money and cut fewer services? Innovate.

As the financial pressures on the public sector increase, local authorities in our region and indeed nationally are being forced to look at or adopt a Shared Chief Executive or Shared Services model.

I was delighted to be invited to appear on the BBC Spending Review: The Midlands Today Debate last week, to represent sharing services as an alternative to cuts.

Along with Leaders from Sandwell and Birmingham Councils, regional MPs and representatives of the third and private sectors, the debate looked at the impact the pending spending review would have on the West Midlands region. This followed the launch of Experian research commissioned by the BBC that gave an idea how resilient each area of the country is to the wider effect of cuts.

With so many representatives on the panel I was pleased to have the chance to share the work we have done through Shared Services to reduce the impact of the pending cuts on our customers and the services they expect to receive from us.

Of course a lot will depend on whether the reduction in central government funding to local authorities is 25% or up to 40%.

To help us and all our local government colleagues move forward, the plea I would make to the Government with regards to funding of local government is threefold:

First, to provide clarity of funding for three years so that we can plan the programme, rather than having to make short term decisions which we later regret. Hopefully this will also help avoid compulsory redundancies which would obviously not be good for the economy, particularly in the West Midlands which is so heavily reliant on public sector employment, and is costly.

Secondly, to provide one off funding for authorities that are being innovative, in order to offset upfront or setup costs.

And finally, the third plea I would make to the Government is to request the return of business rates to our control.

Currently in Bromsgrove and Redditch we collect approximately 55 million pounds in business rates, but only receive 10 million back to fund local services. Returning rates to local control would also give us the ability to set business rates and thus act to stimulate the local economy and reduce unemployment in our area, which could then potentially lessen any impact of cuts in local government services.

As I said on the BBC programme last week, although compared to the financial demands on Birmingham and Sandwell our savings seem like small potatoes, our Shared Services project will save one million pounds next year and every year from those services already implemented. We have also shared some services across Worcestershire both to make efficiencies and also to improve the services to the customer.

We will always continue to look for the most cost effective way to provide services. I believe this will lessen, but not completely remove, the need for the two councils to make very difficult decisions that will affect front line services to the customer.

So, in a landscape that looks gloomy our approach is to think of the financial pressures, that are being felt nationally, as an opportunity for innovative and creative thinking.

And the best way that the West Midlands is going to deal with expected levels of cuts is to look at different ways of working. Together. The forward thinking approach of Bromsgrove and Redditch has definitely put us on the map as authorities which are already successfully doing this, and we are in a strong position to build on this and work with other sectors to save money and services for our customers.

Shared Services and the Midlands Today Debate

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:16:42 GMT

Shared Services and the Midlands Today Debate

This month sees an important step in the three-and-a-half year old Shared Services project, as the timetable for Shared Services and Business Transformation begins.

Senior managers will be working on their plans on how to restructure their teams to ensure better and more effective working across both Councils.

Already some teams have gone through this process, and when the Audit Commission studied that work it reported that good progress was being made between the two Councils.

Of course, the Audit Commission has since been earmarked for closure as part of the national spending review but make no mistake, it was a tough overseer and made some useful recommendations that we addressed.

The moves we have already made on Shared Services are now starting to be replicated nationally as the country moves through this recession and more budget pressures are put on the public sector. Councils are being advised to go down the Joint Chief Executive and Shared Services route.

The work that has been done here has put services in Bromsgrove and Redditch ahead of the game, and we are now sharing our best practice and experiences with other Councils.

In fact, I have been asked to share my experience of the role of Joint Chief Executive as part of an upcoming televised debate on BBC1 focused on how the West Midlands is responding to the financial challenges we face nationally.

Spending Review: The Midlands Today Debate is being aired on BBC1 in the West Midlands at 10.35pm on Thursday September 9.

I hope this will prove to be an opportunity to demonstrate the creative and innovative ways in which Redditch Borough and Bromsgrove District, and indeed Worcestershire as a county, have already responded and are working together to ensure the anticipated cuts do not have a too big an impact on the services to our customers.

I will be joining MPs, Council leaders and community representatives from across the Midlands and of course the host Nick Owen, on the show.

I will let you know how I felt it went on the next blog post!

Making difficult decisions decisively

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:48:22 GMT

At the head of the projects to deliver these Shared Services is Chief Executive Kevin Dicks, who will be sharing his experiences monthly via this weblog. Over to Kevin:

Hello and welcome to my Shared Services blog.

Each month I will be keeping readers up to date with the project and the continuing work to improve and protect services for the benefit of everyone.

The first almost two years has been incredible, we have learned a huge amount. Making sea changes to just one long-established local authority is an enormous task, let alone two as was the case with Redditch and Bromsgrove. And WETT services take in eight separate organisations!

Redditch and Bromsgrove show that services can be effectively shared, given the right conditions and effective management. It is a hard and often thankless task, but with public finances expected to go on shrinking for several years our original shared services mantra, no change is not an option, is absolutely accurate. Having made difficult decisions decisively, Worcestershire authorities are now well ahead of the curve across the public sector.

A number of experienced journalists, public sector staff and elected members have supported these sharing projects from the start, but I perceive that it is only quite recently, probably since the effect of the banking crisis and recession on public finances became clear, that the wider majority has seen that in the end, sharing local services will mean better and more cost-effective services for residents.

Over the next months I will be looking at what we have done so far, and where we are aiming to be.