Agenda and minutes

All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter

1. Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or
2. Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

NOTES:

• Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest
• As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)

Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.

There were none.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting as a correct record of the meeting.

The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Mr Leslie Hamilton.

4a        Members’ Questions

            The deadline for Members’ questions is 12pm four working days before the meeting (29 November 2016).

4b        Public Questions

            The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (28 November 2016).

a                 Members' Questions  [Item 4a]

There were none.

b                Public Questions  [Item 4b]

There were none.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Adrian Stockbridge, Orbis Programme Manager, Surrey County Council

Ann Charlton, Director of Legal, Democratic and Cultural Services

David Kuenssberg, Executive Director Finance and Resourcing, Brighton & Hove City Council

Kevin Foster, Chief Operating Officer, East Sussex County Council

John Stebbings, Chief Property Officer, Surrey County Council

Marie Greenan, Orbis Programme Coordinator, East Sussex County Council

Sheila Little, Integrated Director of Finance

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.       Members agreed to consider an additional item at this meeting to review and approve the Orbis Joint Committee Forward Plan. Consequently, a copy of the Forward Plan was tabled at the meeting for consideration by Members. The Committee was advised that officers were currently reviewing the format of the Forward Plan with a view to improving how it is structured.

2.       It was agreed that the Service Update from Finance would be considered at the Joint Committee meeting scheduled to take place on 3 April 2016 as it was felt that the January meeting would be too early to provide Members with an update on the progress of integrating Finance teams.

3.       Members asked whether existing legislation governing local authority committees permitted meetings to take place via videoconference. It was agreed that officers would review the legislation to determine whether or not this was possible.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

1.            The service update from Finance to be considered at the Orbis Joint Committee meeting scheduled for 3 April 2017.

2.            officers to review whether existing legislation permits local authority committee meetings to take place via videoconference.

To seek approval from the Orbis Joint Committee to proceed with Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) joining the Orbis Partnership on behalf of Surrey County Council and for the Orbis Joint Committee to recommend East Sussex County Council Cabinet approve BHCC joining the Partnership.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Adrian Stockbridge, Orbis Programme Manager, Surrey County Council

Ann Charlton, Director of Legal, Democratic and Cultural Services, Surrey County Council

David Kuenssberg, Executive Director Finance and Resourcing, Brighton & Hove City Council

Kevin Foster, Chief Operating Officer, East Sussex County Council

John Stebbings, Chief Property Officer, Surrey County Council

Marie Greenan, Orbis Programme Coordinator, East Sussex County Council

Sheila Little, Integrated Director of Finance

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.            Officers introduced the report and advised Members that the recommendations the Joint Committee was being asked to consider reflected the fact that the decision on admitting Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) to the Orbis Partnership was required to go through separate decision-making processes at East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and Surrey County Council (SCC).

2.            Members were informed that integrating BHCC into the partnership would present some challenges which would need to be mitigated as integration progressed. Addressing the concerns of existing staff members and those joining Orbis from BHCC in relation to the integration process was identified as a significant potential challenge. Officers further highlighted that integration would need to take place in tandem with the delivery of the Business Plan in accordance with agreed timescales. Uncertainties relating to the financial position of all three partner authorities also continued to present a risk to Orbis as there was the potential for one of the partner authorities to need to drive additional budget savings through the shared service. The Committee was advised, however, that the inclusion of BHCC presented some real opportunities including the addition of 600 extra staff to Orbis as well as the chance to broaden its scope through the inclusion of a unitary authority to the Partnership.

3.            The Committee discussed an event on public sector shared service centres that had been hosted by the Local Government Association (LGA) and which was attended by officers. The event had enabled delegates to share learning and best practice around integrating the delivery of local authority business functions. Members asked how the Orbis Partnership’s operating model compared to that of other shared service partnerships. Officers stated that alongside Orbis there were just two other public sector shared service partnerships at the event and that these employed divergent operating models. Orbis has sought to blend these two approaches in order to develop the most effective shared service model and Orbis is the only one of the three partnerships that will fully integrate services. Officers highlighted that although Orbis was the newest of the three partnerships it was more advanced in tackling some of the key challenges related to integrating local authority service delivery particularly around people management and organisational development.

4.            Further information was requested on what impact the introduction of BHCC into the partnership would have on members of staff and people management processes. Officers advised that some staff would inevitably find the process of integration challenging and so it is important that, where possible, members of staff are engaged in the integration process  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

The next meeting of the Orbis Joint Committee will be held on 20 January 2017.

The Committee noted that its next meeting would be held on 20 January 2017.