Your Questions Answered
Joint Working Proposals
Why is this change being proposed?Q – Why have two different councils under these proposals?
A - Both councils have a track record of excellent service delivery and strong sense of identity amongst their communities, with a record of effective collaboration. Whilst each Council has separate Governance Units, the management and delivery will be contained.
The Scottish Government has made no secret of the fact that reorganisation of the public sector is likely after the next elections in May. This proposal will generate savings and make us more financially viable for the future.
Q – Surely you could reduce costs further by only having one Council?
A – The majority of the costs will be within the joint service delivery agency and it was agreed at the beginning of this process in May 2006 that the identity and governance of each Council was non-negotiable.
Q – Both Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils are high performers. How can we maintain this with fewer staff?
A - This proposal isn’t about cutting frontline services; it’s about reducing the number of management posts. When we are benchmarked against other larger Councils they don’t carry the same management costs, and appear to have fewer managers in relation to total staff numbers.
Q – What stage are you at with the proposal?
A – We are currently at the feasibility stage. An interim report will be submitted to the Council meetings in November 2006. Subject to Council approval, more detailed work will continue into early 2007.
Project TimescaleQ- When might this happen?
A – The intention is to complete the feasibility study early in 2007. Depending on the outcome, both Councils will then determine the timescale for implementation of any changes.
Employment and HR issuesQ – Will you be looking at the structure of services?
A – Depending on the decision taken by each Council in November, the next phase of work will look at the structure of services in the new model.
Q – Will there be a recruitment freeze?
A – There is no recruitment freeze as a result of this project. However each Council is notifying the other of vacant posts graded PO3 and above, to explore opportunities for collaborative working.
Q – If the joint service delivery agency becomes a reality what will happen to staff if their post is duplicated?
A – Frontline staff are unlikely to be affected. Staff who have managerial responsibilities, including service managers, Heads of Service, Directors and Chief Executives, will all be affected. We anticipate this amounts to 60 posts. There would be a recruitment process to fill these posts, if the proposal is agreed.
It is important to be clear that any compulsory redundancies would be kept to the absolute minimum. Of the 60 jobs, a number (around 10) remain unfilled at the moment.
No assumptions have been made about losing staff below manager grade. For the vast majority of staff, no change is anticipated. The proposal is about reducing management costs. If we go with these changes we are less likely to have something imposed on us in the next 2- 3 years that we haven’t had a chance to shape.
Q – How will the current job evaluation process be integrated into this process?
A – The HR managers in each Council have been meeting for several months to discuss this and ensure parity between equivalent posts.
Q – Would staff have to change location?
A – Under the proposed model, the vast majority of frontline staff would be delivering the same service, from the same location. Headquarters staff and specialist or support staff may be relocated but the proportions of staff in each Council area are expected to stay approximately the same.
Q – Is this change process going to make the very people you are trying to keep uncertain about their future and you will see them leave?
A – One of the differences in recent years has been the recruitment and retention of staff. Whilst we recognise the importance of limiting the uncertainty, this proposal is an exciting and innovative approach to public sector reform, which has the potential to provide opportunities for the development of managers and staff.
Delivery of ServicesQ – The way services are delivered by each Council is very different. How would the model work where one Council provides a service in-house and the other out-sources it?
A – In many cases the specification of service will be the same or similar, but how it is delivered may be different e.g. Home Care or Housing Services.
Each Council would determine its own policies and this could mean services may be delivered to a different specification in each area.
Q – How practical is it for one set of officers to be offering advice to two different political organisations, especially on competing projects? For example what if each Council wanted to bid to be the home of a new development?
A – Under the proposals, there would be a governance unit in each Council to advise & support on these activities.
Both Councils will be able to benefit from each other’s good practice. Part of joining up is about getting best practice at the best price and sharing best practice with each other.
Q – Where would the HQ be?
A – There would be an HQ in Stirling and Alloa for the governance units. The vast majority of frontline staff would be delivering the same service, from the same location. Headquarters staff and specialist or support staff may be relocated but the proportions of staff in each Council area would stay approximately the same.
Costs and SavingsQ – A target saving of £4.5 million has been reported. How would you achieve this?
A – The target saving is only based on reducing duplication at managerial level (Chief Executive, Director, Head of Service, Service Manager). Further savings may be achieved by streaming processes, reducing the number of buildings we run and in areas such as procurement, software licences and the administrative burdens.
Q – Why is it important to make these savings?
A - The financial settlement each Council receives from the Government will become increasingly tight in the years ahead. We believe this approach would be the best means of protecting and improving front line services, rather than cutting back on service delivery and increasing Council Tax.
Q - Are there planned staff cost savings beyond the management cost savings?
A - Even without this project, efficiency savings will continue to be sought. Both Councils will have to streamline service delivery in order to achieve the government's efficiency targets. The impact is lessened by working together to secure these efficiencies. Under the proposal, additional savings may be sought in areas such as process improvements. At all times compulsory redundancies will be kept to an absolute minimum.
Q – If you save £4.5 million in the first year is there a danger that the Scottish Government will just reduce the amount it gives to you anyway?
A – This has already been discussed with the Scottish Government. The funding each Council receives is based on a formula that won’t be changing.
Shared Services ProjectQ – Has the Shared Services initiative been factored into the cost benefit analysis of Joint Working with Clackmannanshire?
A - The Shared Services initiative is a joint project between Clackmannanshire, Perth and Kinross, Falkirk and East Dumbartonshire Councils to explore the possibility of joint delivery on services including the administrative and transactional processes within finance, procurement, human resources and payroll.
Although separate projects, appropriate linkages are being made.