Agenda item

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced her report, reminding Members that, following a peer review at Cotswold District Council, an external company was brought in to review the services provided by Publica to the partnership of Cotswold, West Oxfordshire, Cheltenham Borough, and Forest of Dean councils.  The assessment of information can be found at Appendix 2 of the report, but the key recommendation was that the majority of services should be returned to councils – although these do not include the services provided to CBC.

She said it will, however, mean significant changes and have a large-scale impact on the existing company and the remaining services that Publica delivers to CBC – if it continues to exist as a Teckal company with fewer services, this will result in a reduced turnover which will, in turn, limit the extent to which it can trade commercially, making it less cost-effective.  CBC’s strategic finance and HR services are no longer provided by Publica, but while it continues to provide ICT services, the proposed changes will increase the risk that these services may be impacted and result in prolonged instability.

To mitigate the risk, she said that it was recommended that officers undertake a review of Publica services, and bring forward decisions where needed to ensure that the risks are mitigated.  The potential options are listed in the report, and include remaining with Publica, bringing everything back in house, investigating an alternative Teckal company to maintain the economies of scale, moving services to a council-shared service arrangement across Gloucestershire, or outsourcing to an external provider.  Whatever the decision, we need to be aware of potential risks in the future which will need to be addressed as times move on.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets remembered the inception of Publica, and said there had been many crises over the years since.  He said the report was an interesting read and agreed that it was important to be aware of the risks.

The Leader concluded that it was important to note that as times move on, the council needs to evolve with the changing circumstances, to continue to deliver the best possible services to residents.

RESOLVED THAT: 

1. the report by Human Engine in Appendix 2 is noted. It is also noted that the recommendations within the report do not immediately impact the current services provided by Publica to CBC within the scope of the proposed changes;
   
   
2. the Chief Executive and Corporate Director (Monitoring Officer) will undertake appropriate due diligence and risk mitigation on the proposed changes to Publica to support the Leader as shareholder to take the necessary shareholder decisions in partnership with Cotswold District Council, Forest of Dean District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council in implementing the recommendations of the report.

3.    in recognition of the fact that the Human Engine report (Appendix 2) proposes significant changes to Publica and the services it provides to predominantly Cotswold District Council (CDC), Forest of Dean District Council (FoDDC) and West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC), to mitigate risks and ensure that service provision is improved and maintained,  responsibility is delegated to the Chief Executive and the Director for Finance, Assets and Regeneration to undertake appropriate service reviews of the remaining Publica services provided to CBC with a view to making recommendations to the Leader and Cabinet where necessary on the future delivery of those services.