Issue - meetings

Report by the Chief Operating Officer.

43.1     The Chief Operating Officer introduced the report, which is in response to the Committee’s request for an update on the progress in implementing the agreed management actions following the initial audit opinion of partial assurance. The audit took place fairly early on after the new Orbis budget management arrangements had been put in place, and there will be a follow up audit in 2019/20 (probably in quarter 1).

43.2     It was acknowledged that further work was required to reflect the complexity of the Orbis integrated budget management. Work carried out to date has included:

• the development of a new intranet site for Orbis budget management information;
• increased support for budget managers;
• a number of workshops have been delivered for staff; and
• the development of a budget dashboard (appendix A, of appendix 1 of the report) which  will be reported to Orbis Joint Committee.

43.3     The Committee noted that there will be different financial reporting systems in place for each of the Orbis Partners, and asked if Officers are confident that the information can be matched with other Partners’ reporting/monitoring. The Chief Operating Officer responded that the integrated budget management for Orbis is concerned mainly with operating costs (such as staff costs) and there are no issues with matching information. Each Partner has its own core financial accounting system, and ESCC has upgraded the SAP platform so that it is on the same software level as Surrey County Council to facilitate further efficiencies.

43.4     The Chief Finance Officer outlined that Orbis has an integrated team which prepares financial accounts across the three Partners. There is a shared Treasury Management function, and all partners have the same External Audit arrangements. So there is an increasing degree of integration amongst the Partners.

43.5     The Committee discussed the example of the data dashboard which outlines Orbis performance for Orbis people. It noted that based on the length of service of leavers, ESCC seems to have a more stable staffing structure. The Committee asked if the higher turnover of staff elsewhere in the Partnership has an impact on ESCC’s performance.

43.6     The Chief Operating Officer responded that the levels of staff turnover are not causing concerns, and are within normal parameters for the three Partners. Staff turnover can provide an opportunity to change practices and introduce new skills into teams, but if too many skilled and experienced staff leave there can be a risk to service delivery. Staff turnover is not regarded as a problem at present, and is not having an impact on performance.

43.7     The Committee RESOLVED to note the management actions that have been taken in response to the Orbis Integrated Budget Management audit.