Agenda item

To consider an update on the Council’s 21^st Century Council change programme.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 13 to 62, which provided an update on the 21^st Century Council (21 CC) change programme.

Charles Margetts (Deputy Executive Member for Finance, HR and Corporate Resources), Graham Ebers (Deputy Chief Executive) Sally Watkins (Assistant Director, Digital and Design) and Jude Whyte (Assistant Director, Customer and Localities) attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

The report reminded Members of the projected benefits of the 21CC model, viz:

·           Improved availability of, and access to, Council services through digital channels;

·           Swifter resolution of issues and queries;

·           Ability for residents to track the progress of their issue as it is resolved by the Council;

·           Greater focus on problem-solving and customer responsiveness

·           A leaner, more efficient Council costing significantly less to run.

Appended to the report were three key documents:

·           21CC Update Report to the Executive on 21 February;

·           WBC/Ignite 21CC: Future Operating Model Blueprint – August 2016;

·           Overview and Scrutiny - Key Lines of Enquiry agreed by the Chairman.

The February 2019 Executive Update Report stated that Phase 1 of the programme (Support Services) was completed in the Spring of 2017 whilst Phase 2 (Environment, Housing, Income and Assessments and Customer Services) was now in the final stages of implementation. The Update Report gave details of the key customer benefits being delivered as part of Phase 2.

The report also stated that the 21CC methodology would then be applied to Adult and Children’s Services as part of a wider Continuous Improvement Programme over the next three years.

In the ensuing discussions Member raised the following points and questions:

Members noted that some of the supporting documents included jargon which would not help residents to understand the 21CC organisational model.

It was confirmed that future reports would be checked to ensure the use of plain English and avoid byzantine phraseology wherever possible.

Members asked for clarification on the 21CC financial impact table, set out on Agenda page 22.

Graham Ebers explained that the table should have made it clearer that there had been an underachievement of savings totalling £1m linked to Adult/Children’s Services. These service areas would be assessed as part of a Council-wide Continuous Improvement Programme. This would involve the application of 21CC principles to those service areas. Graham agreed that Adult and Children’s services were different to other services, for example in relation to the complexity and sensitivity of case work and the interface with key partners. The delay in addressing Adult and Children’s Services also reflected the earlier instability in those service areas and the short term priority to tackle increasing levels of demand and financial pressures.

Sally Watkins outlined the process for applying 21CC principles to service areas. This involved the development of a baseline through analysis of current service delivery followed by detailed analysis of systems, processes and best practice elsewhere in the country. Frontline staff would then be involved in workshops aimed at identifying potential new/streamlined ways of working. The aim was to redesign processes to make them more efficient and effective.

Members referred to the Member Working Group established to provide oversight to the 21CC programme. The working group had not met since the summer of 2018 and there was concern that Members had lost touch with the programme.

Graham Ebers reported that key personnel changes in the 21CC team had resulted in a gap in meetings of the working group. The programme was also transitioning into the Council-wide Continuous Improvement Programme. Charles Margetts agreed that Member oversight was important and should be refreshed as part of the new programme.

As a result of the 21CC programme, how would residents experience improved customer service?

Sally Watkins referred to the move from traditional transactional services based on paper forms to the improved online offering which allowed residents to carry out transactions 24/7 and made the Council more efficient. Examples included Council Tax online, planning comments on line and improved reporting of issues such as fly tipping, potholes and damaged trees. The outcome from the new arrangements included greater convenience for residents and more streamlined systems for WBC which enabled significant savings to be delivered.

Jude Whyte outlined the synergies delivered in the new Localities service by bringing teams together, developing community hubs within libraries and providing more efficient and effective call handling.

How was the 21CC programme helping Members to carry out their roles more effectively?

Sally Watkins referred to the development of the Members’ Intranet which aimed to provide access to key information in one location. The strengthened Communication and Engagement team would manage the Member Intranet site which would be rolled out in May/June 2019. Sally agreed to review the provision of training and support for Members in relation to key 21CC initiatives such as the new Highways systems.

The original 21CC Business Case (September 2016) referred to the reduction of between 120 and 150 full time equivalent posts in order to deliver the savings targets in the programme. How many posts had been deleted so far and what were the implications of further post reductions in Adult and Children’s Services?

It was confirmed that the first two phases of 21CC had resulted in a reduction of 57 fte posts. In relation to the challenges facing Adult and Children’s Services it was unlikely that the Continuous Improvement Programme would identify significant fte reductions in theses service areas. However, it was felt that the application of the 21CC methodology to the services would generate savings through more streamlined systems and processes.

The use of improved IT systems should generate improved performance data which could be used by managers and Members to identify issues and support continuous improvement. How was the 21CC programme supporting improved performance management? How did the Council measure customer satisfaction?

It was confirmed that work was ongoing to establish updated key performance indicators (linked to the new Council Plan). As the new/improved IT systems were capable of generating a significant amount of data, it was important to have a clear focus on the key areas to be monitored and reported.

In relation to customer satisfaction, Jude Whyte explained that the Council currently collected a lot of quantitative data. The aim was to start collecting more qualitative data which would give a better view of resident satisfaction with Council services and customer interactions.

In relation to software functionality, Mike Haines gave an example relating to problems experienced by residents seeking to renew their Brown Bin collection. How did the Council test/vet the online systems to prevent problems for residents?

Sally Watkins explained the process for identifying user journeys and identifying how the systems would deal with “worst case” scenarios. Sally agreed to look at the specific issues relating to the Brown Bin service.

In relation to the Equality Act 2010, how had the Council complied with its statutory duties?

Jude Whyte explained how residents could continue to interact with the Council in a variety of ways, including telephone and personal visits. The Council had also worked with specific groups to ensure that the 21CC programme reflected the needs of all the Borough’s residents.

In relation to the Key Lines of Enquiry set out in the Agenda, could Officers provide written answers to each of the questions included?

Graham Ebers confirmed that written answers had been drafted for each of the Key Lines of Enquiry and this information could be circulated to the Committee.

RESOLVED That:

1)     Charles Margetts, Graham Ebers, Sally Watkins and Jude Whyte be thanked for attending the meeting to answer Member questions on the 21CC and Continuous Improvement Programmes;

2)     Officers provide written responses to the Key Lines of Enquiry, set out at Annex C to the report, for circulation to the Committee;

3)     Officers/Members responsible for the Council’s 21CC and Continuous Improvement Progamme be requested to reconvene the Member oversight working group;

4)     the Committee receive a further update on the 21CC and Continuous Improvement Programmes in 2019/20.