Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive

Andrew North, the Chief Executive, introduced his report.  The report explained how Cheltenham Borough Council had evolved over the last few years to become a major commissioner of services, resulting in a smaller amount of staff who were directly employed by the council and a smaller budget to support those remaining directly providing services. This together with the climate of current financial austerity had made it appropriate to consider the potential for reducing the amount of senior management in order to reduce costs. He explained that the process had started with a consideration of the type of organisation that the council aspired to be in terms of its vision and organisational culture. He also highlighted the main features of the "Cheltenham Futures" programme that had been set up to manage these changes going forward. He now sought approval from Council to formally consult on the proposed changes to the structure of senior management and authority for the Borough Solicitor to make technical changes to the Constitution to facilitate implementation of the new structure.

In responding to questions from members, the Chief Executive made the following responses:

• He reminded members that some years ago he had been involved in exploring the possibility of a shared Chief Executive with Tewkesbury Borough Council. He confirmed that active consideration was being given to sharing the Chief Executive post across the four councils involved in the GO partnership as they increasingly worked more closely together.  A proposal was currently being put together to apply for government funding to progress the transition still further.
• He reassured members that the one-off payments referred to in section 2.3 of the report related to contractual entitlements only and followed the council’s redundancy pay policy; though this was more generous than the statutory minimum redundancy payment, it had not been enhanced in any way. 
• Asked whether he was sure that the council could effectively monitor and influence the performance of providers in commissioning arrangements, he responded that the council had already learned from mistakes made. They had certainly learnt from the experiences with Ubico during the period of heavy snow and the importance of clarifying the decision-making process.
• He confirmed that scenario planning was very important. With increasing reliance on particular providers such as GO and Ubico it was important to plan for the risk of service failure and have the necessary backup arrangements in place.
• He agreed that it was very important to support staff through the process. Staff were already living with the implications of a three year pay freeze and this years limit of 1% plus the loss of benefits such as free staff car parking. He was very pleased to note that throughout a period of radical change, staff had maintained a high morale and commitment to their work and he attributed this to the high quality of staff and management being open with them about the need for change. A section on the intranet was now dedicated to the Cheltenham Futures Programme and suggestions and comments from staff were encouraged. He was nervous about future next steps from central government and how these might affect the workforce but he was confident that staff morale continued to be as high as it possibly could be in the circumstances.

In the debate that followed, members paid further tribute to staff who were prepared to go the extra mile and the savings that had already been achieved with very few cuts to front-line services. It was important that the council should look for further opportunities to make savings but they must be confident that the council can continue to function effectively with any reductions in management and staff that it makes.

The Cabinet Member Finance considered it was appropriate in the current financial climate for the senior management team to take part of the strain in making budget savings and he reassured members that the payments proposed were no more than the contractual minimum. 

Upon a vote it was RESOLVED that:

1. The content of the Cheltenham Futures programme, as set out in appendix 2 of the agenda be noted.
2. The proposed Senior Staff structure and redundancies as set out in section 2 of this report be approved so that these proposals can be taken forward for consultation.
3. The Appointments and Remuneration Committee be instructed to:
   1. approve any terms necessary to implement any redundancies within the financial parameters set out in this report
   2. approve the formal job descriptions of the Deputy Chief Executive, Director of Corporate Resources and the Director of Environmental and Regulatory Services
   3. decide and oversees any process for confirming staff in the revised roles
4. The Chief Executive take forward any necessary changes to the structure proposals arising from the formal consultation that do not affect the substantive or financial parameters of this report.
5. The Borough Solicitor be authorised to amend the Council Constitution as set out in section 3.3 of the report. 
   
   

Voting: CARRIED with 1 abstention.