Local Government

Reform

- Overview of The NI Experience -

Daniel McSorley

Chief Executive, Omagh DC

Interim Chief Executive, Strabane DC

Agenda

Background - the journey so far…

Vision for Local Government Reform

Reform Timetable & Implementation Arrangements

Legislation – LG (Boundaries) Order & LG

Reorganisation Bill

Transfer of Functions

Proposals for Councillor Severance

Unresolved Issues

Improvement, Collaboration & Efficiency (ICE)

Conclusions

The Journey So Far….

Ministerial announcement – March 2008

PwC Economic Appraisal – October 2009

Local Government response to the 11 Council, Business Services Organisation (BSO) model based upon projected savings of £438m over 25 years

Local Government Proposals – ICE Programme

NI Executive Position re Local Government Reform – 14 June 2010 – timetable not achievable

NI Executive Programme for Government 2011-15 – new Councils to be introduced by 2015 with elections to Shadow Councils in 2014

Vision for LG Reform

“… a strong dynamic local government creating communities that are vibrant, healthy, prosperous, safe, sustainable and have the needs of all citizens at their core.”

Arlene Foster, Minister for the Environment

Central to this vision is the provision of high quality, efficient services that respond to the needs of people and continuously improve over time.

Reform Timetable March-May

2012

Local and Regional Implementation Structures

established

June 2012 Local Government (Boundaries) Order approved by

Assembly

Autumn 2012 Recommendations to Executive on Transferring

Functions package

November 2012 LG (Reorganisation Bill) introduced into Assembly –

estimate to complete process by mid 2013

December 2012 Pilot programmes start in new council districts

Early 2013 Introduction of Statutory Transition Committees

June 2014 Shadow Councils elected

April 2015 New Councils assume full responsibilities and functions

are transferred

Implementation Arrangements

Political

Reference

Group

Local

implementation:

– VTCs, then

STCs (2013),

then Shadow

Council (2014)

New Councils LG (Boundaries) Order – June 2012

Reduction from 26 to 11 Councils

Transfer of Functions

Final package being reviewed

2008 package included:

Planning (DoE)

Regeneration (DSD)

Local economic development and tourism (DETI/DARD)

Public realm functions of roads (DRD)

Local sports facilities (DCAL)

Rural development (DARD)

New statutory duty of Community Planning

General Power of Competence

LG Reorganisation Bill

Executive agreement to final policy content

(July 2012)

Introduce to Assembly (Nov 2012)

Key Proposals

New governance arrangements for councils

Alternative decision making structures

Sharing of power and responsibility

Checks and Balances

Transparency

LG Reorganisation Bill

Key Proposals (cont’d)..

An ethical standards regime, including a

mandatory Code of Conduct

An updated service delivery & performance

improvement regime

Community Planning powers

General power of competence

Partnership Panel

Councillor Severance &

Remuneration

Ministerial Statement to Assembly – July 2012

Proposals for a Councillor Severance Scheme

Recognition for long-standing representatives

Underpinned by a series of core principles

Intention to establish an Independent Panel to

conduct a review of councillors’ remuneration

New system and allowances to be introduced for

new councils in 2015

Key Unresolved Issues

Funding

NI Executive position that reform costs to be met

by local government

Transferring functions to be rates neutral at the

point of transfer

Rates convergence

Governance – respective roles/remit of

Statutory Transition Committees and Shadow

Councils

Local Government ICE

Programme

Builds on collaborative successes

Originated as a result of BSO proposal

Now a local government led change and transformation programme

Voluntary, flexible

Not focussed on numbers or boundaries

Business driven approach –

What is the best delivery model?

Does the business case stack up? (both financial and non-financial considerations)

ICE – Service Review &

Improvement Process (SRI)

Used initially for design of new Animal Welfare Service

ICE Customer Facing Services Workstream working with Environmental Health

Will be important for service redesign in new councils and integration of transferring functions

Political Priorities

Council Corporate Visioning Process

Where are we now?Define what ICE will look like at the local level

Strategically align with council’s overall priorities & ambitions

Create shared understanding with key stakeholders

Outputs to include:Corporate Plan & Objectives

Performance Measurements

4 yr Improvement & Efficiency Plan

Annual Efficiency Statements

ICE Regional

Governance Framework

Collaboration Options for-

HR, Procurement, asset

management, IS, Environmental

Health etc

Incorporating regional & sub-

regional solutions

ICE Programme Outline

Outline Framework for Service Review & Improvement

Stage 1

Getting Organised

Stage 2

Current Position

Stage 3

Assess Performance

Stage 4

IdentifyAlternatives

Stage 5

Preferred Option

Alternative Delivery Models

Internal Shared External

Audit Performance

• Continually

Evaluate, Review &

Manage

Performance

• Understand Service Levels,

Activities, Volumes & Costs

• Group together discrete &

comparable ‘Blocks’ of Service

• Def ine Vision for specif ied Service

• Conf irm requirement for Service & if

services Mandatory / Discretionary

• Performance Measures & Targets

• Assess Performance Vs Target

• Research Good Practices

• Benchmark Performance Vs

Leading Practice for Cost &

Service (both Public & Private)

• Against def ined scope of work

identify options for In- House with

Improvements Vs

• Collaboration / Shared Service

(Identify Partners -feeding into ICE

Governance arrangements) Vs

• Procured Services - Outsource or

In-House Bids. Identify capability of

potential Providers in the market.

• Single model / combination of

Service Delivery Models

• Evaluate Alternative Models to deliver

def ined service level requirement

• Agree Preferred Delivery Option

• Develop Implementation Plan to

Improve Internally, Partner or Select

Public or Private Service Provider

Stage 6DeliverService

• Execute Implementation Plan for

delivery of Service

Stage 7Review

ICE

Phase

Assess

Design

Operate

Review

CORPORATE

VISIONING2-3

months to

complete

SERVICE

REVIEWS1-2

months to

complete

followed by

annual

review

Annual

Benchmarking

Data

ICE Self-Assessment ToolDraft ICE Excellence Model (self-assessment)

Element Starting out Developing House in Order Effective collaborator Excellence of Place

Leadership (Political &Organisational)

•No evidence of a vision, mission and set of values

•No evidence of corporate governance•No evidence of external engagement

•No evidence of leadership involvement to motivate

and support staff

•No evidence of a leadership development programme

•Limited evidence of a vision, mission and set of values

•Limited evidence of elected member involvement in the development of the vision, mission and set of values

•Limited evidence of external engagement/ consultation

•Limited evidence of corporate governance

•Limited evidence of leadership involvement to motivate and

support staff•Limited evidence of a leadership development programme

•Evidence of a vision, mission and set of values that are

predominantly inward/council focused•Evidence that the mission, vision and set of values are

documented in the Corporate Plan

•Evidence of member involvement in the development of the

vision, mission and set of values

•Evidence of a structured approach to corporate governance •Evidence that leaders engage and consult with key

stakeholders

•Evidence of leadership involvement to motivate and support

staff

•Evidence of a structured leadership development programme that is regularly reviewed and updated

As previous plus:

•Evidence that the council’s mission, vision and set of values incorporate a community planning/partnership focus

•Evidence that leaders actively engage and consult with

citizens, partners and other stakeholders on a regular basis

•Evidence that the council coordinates its consultation

activities across services and has a range of ways to engage and consult with key stakeholders

•Evidence that members and senior officers take ownership,

ensuring that the mission, vision and values of the council are

cascaded down the organisation and translate into

meaningful actions, plans and effective outcomes

As previous plus:

•Evidence that the council’s mission, vision and set of values have a place-based focus

•Evidence that leaders actively engage and consult with other

sectors

•Evidence that the council reviews the cost effectiveness of its

consultation and can demonstrate where the results of consultation have been used for place-based service planning

and delivery.

Strategy •No evidence of corporate planning

•No evidence of corporate performance management

• Limited evidence of corporate planning

• Limited evidence of corporate performance management •Limited evidence that plans are developed, reviewed and

regularly updated

•Limited evidence of positive outcomes which are linked to

citizen needs and expectations

•Evidence that a structured approach to corporate planning is

in place with corporate plans linked to all service plans,budgets and resource plans

•Evidence of a structured approach to performance

management aligned to the council’s corporate planning

cycle

•Evidence that plans are developed, reviewed and regularly updated

•Evidence of positive outcomes linked to citizen needs and

expectations

As previous plus:

•Evidence of community based planning based on citizen needs and expectations

•Evidence of improvement, collaboration and efficiency

•Evidence of effective deployment of community based plans

and a high success of implementation

•Evidence of effective community based performance management with measurement of results, benchmarking

and publication

•Evidence of positive community based outcomes linked to

citizen and community needs and expectations

As previous plus:

•Evidence of a place-based planning approach clearly based on citizen needs and expectations

•Evidence that the council has a strong focus on

improvement, collaboration and efficiency

•Evidence of effective deployment of place-based plans and a

high success of implementation•Evidence of effective place-based performance management

with measurement of results, benchmarking and publication

•Evidence of positive place-based outcomes linked to citizen

and community needs and expectations

People

(Members &

Officers)

•No evidence of alignment of structures to needs nor

regular review•No evidence of documented skills/capacity or talent

management strategy

•No evidence of documented staff /member policies

•Evidence of low engagement, motivation and

satisfaction; no engagement in improvement initiatives•No evidence of structured performance management

approach

•Some evidence that structures are reviewed on an ad hoc

basis with limited alignment to needs•Evidence of limited skills/capacity and talent management

strategy with efforts primarily reactive/ad hoc

•Evidence of limited HR policies

•Evidence of varying engagement, motivation and satisfaction

across the organisation; limited engagement in improvement initiatives

•Evidence of limited performance management approach

•Evidence that structures are aligned to council needs with

regular review•Evidence of council wide skills/capacity and talent

management strategy aligned to internal rather than

citizen/place needs

•Evidence of documented HR policies

•Evidence of medium levels of engagement, motivation and satisfaction; some engagement in improvement initiatives on

an ad hoc basis

•Evidence of structured performance management approach

in place linked to corporate planning

As previous plus:

•Evidence that structures aligned to collaborative efforts•Evidence of effective skill/capacity development and talent

management aligned to collaborative efforts

•Evidence of high engagement, motivation and satisfaction

levels; majority are engaged improvement initiatives

•Evidence of effective, documented performance management approach in operation including measurement

of collaborative efforts

As previous plus:

•Evidence that structures clearly aligned to identified place needs

•Evidence of effective skill/capacity development across

organisations linked to place needs

•Evidence of HR policies consistent across partner

organisation where possible•Evidence of effective, documented performance

management approach in operation across place-based

stakeholders

Ways of working

(Processes)

•No evidence of documented processes •Limited evidence of documentation of processes and no

evidence of structured regular review in place

•Evidence that most processes are documented, aligned to

council needs and reviewed though a focus on internal processes only

•Limited evidence of documented, connected processes with

partners

As previous plus:

•Evidence that processes are documented and aligned to council and collaborative service needs with regular review

•Evidence of significant documented process connections

with council partners

As previous plus:

•Evidence that process are documented, reviewed and clearly aligned to citizen needs and corporate objectives (may have

external standards e.g. ISO)

•Evidence of documented process connections across council

and with external place-based partners

Resources •No evidence of effective financial management/cost

effectiveness•Evidence of high cost of procurement

•No evidence of effective resource management (asset,

ICT, information etc) or resource sharing

•Evidence of poor audit results

•Limited evidence of financial management/cost effectiveness

•Evidence of medium/high cost of procurement, with no/little collaborative procurement

•Limited evidence of ad hoc resource management (asset, ICT,

information etc) or resource sharing

•Evidence of audit results showing significant room for

improvement

•Evidence of structured financial management/cost

management within council linked to corporate planning•Evidence of medium cost of procurement, with limited

collaborative procurement

•Evidence of effective resource management (asset, ICT,

information etc) or resource sharing

•Evidence of good audit results

As previous plus:

•Evidence of reducing cost of procurement, including through collaborative procurement

•Evidence of sharing of resources (asset, ICT, information etc)

across councils

•Evidence of strong audit results

As previous plus:

•Evidence of effective place-based financial management•Evidence of low cost of procurement, including collaborative

and place-based procurement

•Evidence of sharing of resources (asset, ICT, information etc)

across partners including place-based

•Evidence of excellence audit results

Collaboration and

Partnership

•No evidence of collaboration outside of statutory

requirements

•Evidence of limited, ad hoc collaboration with other councils

•Evidence of limited consultative collaboration with statutory, voluntary & community sector partners

•Evidence of voluntary collaborative approaches (including

pilot projects) with other councils / partners in the delivery of customer facing or back office services

As previous plus:

•Evidence of collaboration within the new governance structures in several customer facing and/or back office

services (e.g. ICT, legal, procurement, refuse collection)

•Evidence of council’s ability to identify related improvements

and efficiencies

As previous plus:

•Evidence of collaboration with councils / stakeholders in the provision of all or majority of services on offer within the new

governance framework.

•Evidence of council’s ability to pass related efficiencies onto

the ratepayer

Place Shaping •No evidence of customer engagement

•No evidence of measuring customer satisfaction•No community plan

•Services delivered centrally: minimal local variance

throughout the council area

•No integration of customer needs / aspirations with

the corporate plan

•Local data gathering limited to use of citizen / community

satisfaction surveys •Limited evidence of integration of customer needs /

aspirations with the corporate plan

•No community plan

•Evidence of wider application of citizen engagement

techniques including citizen & place surveys / focus groups•Evidence of integration of customer needs / aspirations in

corporate planning and service delivery

•Evidence of community plan initiation and stakeholder

engagement

As previous plus:

•Community planning partnership in place and/or introduction of thematic partnerships

•Evidence of voluntary engagement with other service

providers

•Evidence of council’s adoption of local area working

approaches, including neighbourhood managed areas (without budget)

•Evidence of limited community involvement in council

service delivery

As previous plus:

•Neighbourhood managed areas allocated devolved budgets •Evidence of localised neighbourhood area plans linked to

community plan

•Evidence of extensive community involvement in service

planning and delivery

•Evidence of extensive engagement with other service providers (possibly on a statutory basis)

Tim

elin

e

Service level review

Citizen Needs, Aspirations & Behaviours

ICE Support

Guidance

Conclusion

Local Government Reform (RPA) Programme re-

established

Key issues yet to be resolved, including funding

All 26 councils have signed up to ICE Programme

Good progress being made – but a longer term

programme of transformational change well beyond

RPA project

Important to ensure that this work is aligned to RPA

and that impetus and progress achieved not lost due

to RPA commitments