Agenda item

Cabinet:

(a)        NOTED the success of the current interim arrangements to share the Head of Finance and other housing finance staff and AGREED to make these permanent to support the development of the shared service.

(b)        SUPPORTED further work to develop the finance shared service, as outlined in the report, noting that the final structure of the service will be determined after the implementation of the replacement financial management system.

(c)        NOTED that a further report, including a business case, will be brought back to Cabinet in due course.

Cabinet considered a report which provided an update on plans to create a shared finance service between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council. 

Councillor Simon Edwards, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Staffing, presented the report and said that the shared service proposal had taken a slightly different focus to what was originally anticipated, explaining that it would be essential to implement the new Financial Management System in the first instance.  It was noted that Huntingdonshire District Council would consider sharing certain aspects of the service once the system was implemented.

Councillor Edwards reflected on posts that were already being shared between the City and District Council which had been put in place on a temporary basis using Service Level Agreements.  He reported that the proposal was to now make these shared posts permanent ahead of developing the business case for the shared service, which would be submitted to Cabinet at the appropriate time following implementation of the new Financial Management System. 

Councillor Peter Topping, Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Customer Services, asked whether any analysis had been done between the different Councils to understand their strengths and weaknesses in order that there was a baseline.  Councillor Edwards reminded Cabinet that there was still a lot to do in embedding the new Financial Management System and developing the business case.  He referred to the report submitted to Cabinet on 9 July 2015 which set out a number of risks and weaknesses associated with the proposal to share these services across the three Councils.

In answer to a question regarding the original proposals for staffing and savings as part of the shared service, Councillor Edwards referred Cabinet to paragraph 7 of the report which set out current staffing levels.  He said that it was too early to suggest if staffing levels would increase or decrease as a result of the shared service, but confirmed that he would expect a general saving from overall costs of at least 10% to 15% as a result of entering into a shared service.  This would be in addition to an improved way of working, as the principal objective.

Councillor Bridget Smith, Leader of the Opposition, asked whether this Council should be concerned by the perceived lack of commitment from Huntingdonshire District Council and whether it was worth including that authority if it was only interested in certain aspects of the shared service.  Councillor Smith also supported making posts permanent but thought this should have been a decision that featured in the business case.

Councillor Simon Edwards responded by saying that the comments in relation to Huntingdonshire District Council were unfair and that this Council was working very well with the authority as part of other shared services.  Huntingdonshire District Council was in the process of introducing its own new Financial Management System, which was the same as the system proposed as part of the shared service, with a lot of work necessary to get that put in place.  He did not wish to criticise the Council for being cautious at this stage and it was noted that Huntingdonshire District Council was part of the Financial Management Service project going forward.  Councillor Edwards explained that the current system was extremely bureaucratic and the necessary infrastructure was not in place to enable the efficiency removal of the current system.  He also clarified that the temporary posts were only contracted until the end of February 2016, so a decision was required at this meeting as to whether or not they should be made permanent.

Cabinet:

(a)        NOTED the success of the current interim arrangements to share the Head of Finance and other housing finance staff and AGREED to make these permanent to support the development of the shared service.

(b)        SUPPORTED further work to develop the finance shared service, as outlined in the report, noting that the final structure of the service will be determined after the implementation of the replacement financial management system.

(c)        NOTED that a further report, including a business case, will be brought back to Cabinet in due course.