to: organisational improvement and development · s keating – infrastructure & operational...

To: Organisational Improvement and Development

Policy Committee

Councillors:

J Kerr-Brown (Chair), G Friend (Deputy), J Davidson, L Dirir, A Hill, A King, S Krizanac and P Walker Organisational Improvement and Development Policy Committee

Date: Tuesday, 25 September 2018

Time: 18:30

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Sankey Street, Warrington, WA1 1UH

Contact – Adam Kellock, Democratic Services Officer, Tel: 01925 442144,

Email:[email protected]

Note – In line with The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 this meeting may be recorded.

A guide to recording meetings has been produced by the Council and can be found at

https://www.warrington.gov.uk/info/201104/council_committees_and_meetings/1003/access_to_council_me

etings

AGENDA

Part 1

Items during the consideration of which the meeting is expected to be open to members of the public (including the press) subject to any statutory right of exclusion. 1 Apologies

To record any apologies received.

2 Code of Conduct - Declarations of Interest

Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests)

Regulation 2012

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any

disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest which they have

in any item of business on the agenda no later than when the

item is reached.

Professor Steven Broomhead Chief Executive

Town Hall Sankey Street

Warrington WA1 1UH

1

3 Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of 20 June 2018 as a correct

record.

3 - 6

Part 2

Nil.

4 Records Management & Document Retention

Report of the Assistant Director – Customer & Business

Transformation.

7 - 20

5 Apprenticeship Levy 2017/18 - Progress Report & Graduate Scheme


Transformation.

21 - 24

6 Warrington 20:20


Transformation.

25 - 36

7 Procurement Strategy

Report of the Head of Finance.

37 - 64

8 Work Programme 2018/19

Report of the Organisational Improvement and Development Policy

Committee.

65 - 68

2

ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT & DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMMITTEE 20 June 2018

Present: Councillors J Kerr-Brown (Chair), G Friend (Deputy), J Davidson, L Dirir, A King, S Krizanac.

Also Present I Blundell – Information Security & Compliance Analysist S Gallear – Information Governance Manager G Hopkins – Assistant Director – Customer and Business Transformation A Juggins – Deputy Head of Business Intelligence S Keating – Infrastructure & Operational Services Manager OID 1 Apologies for Absence Apologies were received from Councillor A Dirir. OID 2 Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest made. OID 3 Minutes The minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2018 were agreed and signed as a correct record. OID 4 General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) The Information Governance Manager provided an update on GDPR, the implications for the Council and the work that has been undertaken to ensure that the Council is compliant with the new requirements. A session had been held for elected members regarding GDPR and a further session had been organised with members encouraged to attend to ensure that they were fully aware of their individual requirements. The previous data protection regulations were set in 1998 and a considerable amount had changed both culturally and technologically in that time meaning that updated regulations were required to create a consistent approach across the UK and EU. The main changes included the increase in digital work and the regulations had been future proofed with the aim that they would remain relevant for the next 20 years. It was confirmed that the UK data protection regulations have taken into account all of the requirements from GDPR, including enforcement so there would be no impact or change in this following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Item 3

3

A key aspect of the regulations was increased rights for individuals such as the right to be forgotten and to object to information being processed. For the Council the right to be forgotten would be taken on an individual basis as there might be a legal right to retain information such as Council Tax data. Where the Council is legally entitled to retain such information it was considered crucial for the privacy policies to be updated to ensure this was done in a clear and transparent way. Under GDPR data breaches should be reported within 72 hours which was a much shorter timescale compared to previous regulations and it was considered important for breaches to be reported in a timely manner. All Councillors were registered as data controller individually and the costs for individuals had increased from £30 to £60 and from £500 to £2900 for the organisation. It was not considered that there was any additional benefit from this increased fee but all organisations would be obliged to pay this. There was a well-developed set of responsibilities within the Council with a corporate risk owner and deputy as well as regular Information Governance Group Meetings which fed into business continuity and governance groups to provide a level of assurance that there is full responsibility within the authority. Over 300 officers have attended briefings on GDPR along with the briefings for Councillors with written information available and circulated to Parish Councils and schools. In response to a query it was confirmed that information was available to all staff via the intranet on GDPR as well as all staff being required to carry out mandatory training on the subject. The data protection module was being reviewed currently to ensure that it was more specific to the Council and GDPR. The E-learning platform had been considered a success with staff and would be considered as an option for members. The Audit and Corporate Governance Committee would consider the GDPR action plan as parts of its continuous monitoring role. OID 5 ICT Security Update The committee received an update on the Councils current and future approach to ICT Security which set out how the planned to deal with key threats such as a major cyber incident. The threat of a major cyber incident was set out in risk number 15 of the Strategic Risk Register. Independent inspections had been carried out which stated that the Council had a good forward looking approach to ICT security with the latest inspection putting the Council min the top 5% of Local Authorities.

4

It was noted that the Council was careful with the amount of information it made public with regards to ICT security in order to further defend the Council from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks experienced by the Council had been managed to be sustained to date with minimal business impact. The source of the attacks is often unknown but have occasionally being 3rd parties testing vulnerabilities. The key risk is that a large scale attack could have a knock on impact on the whole system so it was considered vital to keep addressing ongoing issues and managing new and existing threats. A major incident plan is in place and would be carried out in the event of such an attack. Training on information security is mandatory and to date three quarters of all staff have carried out the training through the e-learning platform. Members raised queries with regards to passwords and it was confirmed that procedures had been changed recently with the focus now on creating more robust passwords rather than enforcing regular password changes. It was requested that a session or briefing note on cyber security for members be considered. OID 6 Warrington 20:20 Service Redesign Working Group The committee had previously considered an initial report on the Warrington 20:20 service redesign programme. Members were invited to be involved at an early stage with the contact centre review with potential sessions for a working group to take place in September/October to provide feedback on the proposals. Members on the working group – Cllr Kerr-Brown, Cllr Davidson, Cllr Friend and Cllr King. Membership of the working group would be opened up to the Building Stronger Communities Policy Committee to enable further input into the process. OID 7 Work Programme – 2018/19 The committee received and noted the Work Programme for the 2018/19 municipal year.

Chairman ………………………………………

Date ……………………………………..

5

Records Management and

Document Retention

Presentation to the

Organisational Improvement & Development Policy Committee

25 September 2018

Pauline Carr: Corporate Records Project Manager

Item 4

7

Why are we here today?

• Brief the Committee about progress with the Records Management Project since September 2017.

• Highlight the project’s achievements so far, challenges faced and priorities going forward.

• Seek your input to shape the project’s focus and priorities

8

Records Management - business context

Information is a key Council asset that must be protected

• Wide ranging remit – all formats, locations and full lifecycle

• Council has legal compliance requirements for secure storage, retention /disposal, and release of information

• Increased focus on requirements for retention and deletion due to General Data Protection Regulation (2018)

• Substantial fines for non-compliance - increased under GDPR

• Good practice supports efficient & accountable decision-making, service delivery & efficient use of resources (staff & space)

• Supports Organisational Improvement initiatives – new Council Office, agile working, Warrington 20:20

9

Improvement priorities - framework

• Priorities for the 2 year project were set in March 2017 following an organisational self-assessment - using a National Archives best-practice tool to model current and target risk profiles.

• Identified tasks for the project and additional recommended actions for other areas e.g. ICT, Warrington 20:20

• Priorities reviewed and new ones added as they arise throughout the project

10

Key Priorities – project (2017-18)

• Records Management policy & procedures – key principles and practical guidance for staff

• Information Audit – knowing what we have

• Records retention schedule – underpins appropriate record storage and paperwork reviews

• Onsite paper storage review

to support move to New Council Office, Inc. digital transformation

to validate environmental suitability of current storage areas

• Offsite paper storage review – eliminate disposal backlog

• Corporate approach & contract for offsite paper storage

• Business engagement & training

11

Key Priorities – other areas

• Deletion of electronic records – expired records in existing systems, & deletion capability in newly commissioned systems

• Legal admissibility of scanned documents – review Council’s adherence to UK standard in scanning processes & technology

• Review of contract wording – ensure new contracts cover record management responsibilities for third parties

• Ongoing review of historic Data Sharing Agreements - ensure they cover record management responsibilities for partners

• Digital preservation strategy - keeping closed records useable as technology changes

12

Progress so far

Records Management policy

Approved by SMT - developed based on National Archives guidance & research into other councils: key principles, roles & responsibilities

Rolled out to all staff October 2017

New procedures & guidance

All necessary procedures in WINNIE - offsite storage, disposal, archiving (Cheshire Record Office), keeping paper safe offsite, guidelines on paper storage

Business engagement & training

Help material on WINNIE and will continue to be expanded

Business engagement has ramped up in many areas with launch of RM Policy & work programme to develop retention schedules

Engaged with all impacted services for offsite paper storage

Draft e-learning package produced in My-Learn: needs to

be finalised and launched – want to make it mandatory

13

Progress so farOffsite paper storage contract

Complete review of storage contract due March 2018 – overtaken by sale of old provider to Iron Mountain in December 2017.

Large migration project : has overtaken some other areas of work plan.

9600 boxes physically moved from old provider to new

Reconciliation completed to ensure all boxes transferred securely

All information owners engaged – improved ownership

Data mapping to enable loading of old spreadsheet inventories to new online system

Comprehensive data cleansing of old inventories to aid future retrieval

Work done so Legal Services can track file as well as box retrievals (more secure)

Agreement on revised and centralised invoicing structure for new system

User Testing, Training and go-live of new system due by 1 November 2018

Central Procurement are due to present a report to Corporate DMT with contract proposals which indicate a potential £10k annual saving

New system will be more secure and user-friendly, with MI to help track spend and flag boxes due for destruction 14

Progress so far

Information audit

No resource to do this formally, but is being actioned informally by various services

Retention schedule

Large amount of initial research completed

Taking longer than anticipated – now aligned to GDPR work programme

Approach agreed / work underway with a number of Council services

Review onsite storage

Early progress: will need detailed plan - primary focus for 2019

Early work indicates some environmental issues e.g. in Town Hall safes

Disposal backlog - offsite paper

Disposals now “on hold” during Iron Mountain transition – planned catch up before end 2018 (300 boxes), HOWEVER,

Service capacity issues to review boxes that are poorly labelled or no expiry date 15

Issues with overdue document disposal

Poor historic filing practices including

• poor labelling of boxes contents

• missing document review/destruction dates

• filing of different document types together which have different retention requirements

have resulted in further investigation required for:

• boxes with overdue destruction date

• boxes with blank destruction date, of which the majority belong to the 3 largest service users of offsite storage

Largest users all have capacity issues in completing review.

Legal Services are now planning a project – need a “pilot” to determine resource/time implications

16

Progress – other areasDeletion of electronic records

• Capability being looked at as part of GDPR work programme – also requires ICT and business resource to support.

• Some issues with systems that are not configured to delete data

• Practical application dependant on completion of retention schedule

Legal admissibility of scanned documents

• Not currently resourced - needs to be planned in before wholesale digital transformation to support office move

Review of contract wording

• In progress with Central Procurement

Review of historic Data Sharing Agreements

• Ongoing part of Information Governance work plan

Digital preservation strategy

• Needs further review / adoption by ICT as part of long term strategy17

Next steps

• Current project fixed term post expires November 2018 – need to identify future needs and agree resourcing

• Complete implementation of Iron Mountain online system for offsite storage management

• Continue / increase engagement with all services to complete retention schedule and support on- and offsite document reviews

• Plan/resource outstanding work items e.g. review of scanning standards

• Continue / increase engagement with other corporate initiatives e.g. Council Office move, Warrington 20:20

• Work with HR to finalise and launch e-learning

• Revisit organisational self-assessment

18

Key Risks / ChallengesRisk Response Rating Change

Failure to engage senior management support

• RM Policy ratified by DMT/SMT• Regular SIRO briefings• OID Policy Committee updates

Low

Failure to engage with all related corporate initiatives

• Stakeholder analysis carried out• Regular communications

Low

Legal admissibility issues for scanned documents

• Currently low – key documents are paper or scanned via robust processes

• May increase as digitisation increases• Need to move to UK standard adherence

Low/Medium

Lack of digital preservation for closed records

• Long term ICT strategy consideration• Issue grows as digitisation increases

Low/Medium

Lack of organisational appetite for good practice

• Risk reduced in past 12 months due to increased awareness of GDPR

Medium

Project resource capacity • Prioritise activities within available resource

High

Services’ resource capacity to support project

• Increased communications activity – tie in to GDPR requirements & office move

• Some reviews may require business case

High

19

Feedback / Questions ?

20

WARRINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – 27 September 2018

Report of: Gareth Hopkins, Assistant Director, Customer & Business

Transformation Report Author: Gareth Hopkins, Assistant Director, Customer & Business

Transformation

Contact Details: Email Address: gareth.hopkins @warrington.gov.uk

Telephone: 01925 443932

Key Decision No. N/A

Ward Members:

All

TITLE OF REPORT: Apprenticeship Levy 2017/18 – Progress Report / Graduate Scheme 1. Purpose

1.1 To provide the Organisational Improvement and Development policy

committee with an update on activity during the first year of the Apprenticeship Levy.

2. Introduction and Background

2.1 From April 2017 employers with an annual pay bill of over £3M were in scope for the Apprenticeship Levy at 0.5% collected by HMRC through the PAYE monthly return. The levy is then returned to the council’s digital Apprenticeship account which is managed by HR on behalf of the Authority and LA maintained schools.

2.2 There were some delays by the Education and Skills Funding Agency in

setting up the digital accounts with initial funding going into the digital account from 22/5/17.

3. Apprenticeship Starts

3.1 The Council has approx. £43,000 entering our digital account each month. This is made up of a 0.5% levy from the monthly pay bill plus a 10% Government top up. Any unspent funds will be recovered after 24 months on a month by month basis.

Item 5

21

3.2 Apprenticeship starts 2017/18

Directorate 17/18 Apprenticeship Starts

ERGE 3

F&WB 16

Schools 10

Corp Services 15

Total 44

3.3 The total spend from the Levy for 2017/18 was around £100,000 across the

organisation. The Authority recruits apprentices on an ad hoc basis so there will always be new starts throughout the year. In terms of existing staff beginning an apprenticeship, again these are normally on a roll on, roll off basis rather than a structured academic year approach. This makes planning and forecasting unpredictable.

3.4 We have committed an additional £78,000 of spend for development of the IT

and Digital Transformation team, which has begun during 2017/18. 3.5 The apprenticeship standards attracting the highest funding bands are the

degree apprenticeships with a cost of between £18,000 and £27,000 per person. We had one degree apprenticeship start a Chartered Surveyor degree with John Moores University in 2017/18.

3.6 With effect from July 2018 we now have the option to fund apprenticeships in

another organisation. We are able to transfer up to 10% of our Levy funds monthly in order to encourage them to take on apprentices, increase the skills base in our supply chain, sector or local area. Funds could be made available for example to Social Care partners or local SMEs to develop their existing staff or encourage them to employ young apprentices, and this will be considered prior to the end of this year.

4. Procurement 41 We have contracted with a number of Apprenticeship Providers under our

procurement arrangements and will continue to work with them for the duration of their contracts. Arrangements are underway to evaluate the quality of the provision being delivered by these Providers monitored by HR.

4.2 We are also working collaboratively with the AGMA group accessing their

Dynamic Purchasing System to run mini competitions for individual occupational lots. We have recently awarded contracts to providers for the provision of our Digital and IT apprenticeships, Business Admin, Team Leading and Customer Service Apprenticeships, and have also tendered for a number of other opportunities.

5. Frameworks and Standards

22

5.1 Under the Apprenticeship Reforms, the Government have introduced new Apprenticeship Standards. These are employer led and have been developed by groups of industry specific trailblazers and sector leaders. It is anticipated that as a new standard is developed and approved for delivery it will replace any previous framework.

5.2 Under the new arrangements there are 15 apprenticeship routes and 15

funding bands. All frameworks and new standards will be allocated a route and a funding band, for instance a HR Consultant/Partner – Level 5 comes under the Business & Administration apprenticeship route and has a maximum funding cap of £9,000.

5.3 As the new standards are role specific, it is easier for managers to identify an

apprenticeship that would benefit an individual’s development. It can also be used for succession planning, identifying gaps in expertise and using the Levy to develop current staff. Links to all standards and frameworks relating specifically to Directorates have been added to the Council’s 2018/19 Training Prospectus and are used by managers during their “Time to Talk” conversations with staff. All generic apprenticeships have also been added.

5.4 There is the added challenge for managers as within all new standards there

is a requirement that the apprentices undertakes 20% off the job training. There are guidance notes on what can be considered “off the job” and which have been provided to managers.

6. Communications 6.1 HR have liaised with all Head Teachers and school Business Managers in

Warrington informing them of the impact the Levy will have on their school budget and how they can access the funding. They have been notified of the “Use it or Lose it” principle if they don’t access the Levy.

6.2 A number of schools have already taken advantage of the levy and individual

meetings have taken place with the schools with a presentation also given at the Head teacher briefing earlier in the spring.

6.3 HR also attend both the Children’s and Adults Training Panel meetings to

outline the opportunities within specific service areas and give regular updates as new standards are approved.

6.4 We also intend using the Levy to fund an Aspiring Leadership Programme.

With the recent approval of the Chartered Management degree and Senior Leader Master’s degree standards, we will be looking at pitching these opportunities to our Middle and Senior Managers.

7. Graduate Programme 7.1 Since 2015, Warrington has been involved in a joint Graduate programme with

Cheshire West and Chester Council supported through the LGA National

23

Graduate Development Programme with graduates attending Warwick University to undertake their Level 7 Leadership and Management.

7.2 Departments bid for a centrally funded 6 month graduate placement meeting

criteria in the form of outcomes and deliverables, this has given the graduates a breadth of experience and knowledge of both Authorities.

7.3 The scheme has proven effective with Warrington retaining 3 out of the 9

shared graduates into substantive management and project management roles, on top of the positive outcomes from individual placements.

7.4 In addition to budgeting for salaries we also paid the NGDP a management

fee for their support role in the programme. With the introduction of Levy, we are now keen to use Levy funding to support any future graduate development.

7.5 As there is now the option for Management qualifications to be funded

through the apprenticeship route, the council will be considering the options relating to school leavers, existing workforce and future leaders and will develop programmes to suit the needs of the organisation.

8. Recommendations 8.1 For the Policy Committee to consider the impact the first year of the Levy has

had on the Authority and its future plans.

24

Warrington 20:20

First Workstream - HR changes – an overview

OI&D Policy Committee

Item 6

25

HR work stream

• Progress update for HR work stream

• What’s changing?

• Timescales for roll out

• What’s next for the Programme and the Working Group’s role?

26

Overall progress - HR

Updated plan • Also currently working in Contact Centre, Revenues and Benefits and Registrars • Next is Regulatory Services and Planning • F&W work streams will commence after these

27

Scope of the changes in HR

• Contract changes

• Approvals for redundancies and early retirements

• Recruitment

• Starters, leavers, movers to new posts in the organisation

• HR Case management solution

• Employee Services (structural rather than technical)

• Disclosure and Barring Service Checks

• Training (book, pay, reconcile)

28

Changes – a summary • Process changes – slicker, easier and more efficient for HR colleagues, service

managers, approvers and external customers (including candidates). Removal of manual intervention and re-keying where possible (other than pushing data into SAP).

• Single data sources for core information – data will be pulled from a single, authoritative source (in this case, SAP). This reduces data errors (and longer term enables two way integration if we want to do it).

• Permission changes - tighter controls around who can do what to align to constitution/scheme of delegation and relevant licensing.

• Improved audit trails – digital approvals recorded and reportable, along with workflow and tasks.

29

So far: Foundations and first work stream • Procured a fit for purpose technical solution.

• Created a new team to deliver – and new ways of working, including setting up the tools and processes necessary to run in house development.

• Built development and test environments.

• We have built and have the following ready to deploy: • Single sign on • SAP Integrations • Active Directory integration • Outlook Integrations • Sostenuto (Help Desk) Integration

• Designed, built and tested digital HR services – User Acceptance Testing underway– the roll out plan is phased.

• Agreed and signed off architecture principles, terms of reference, lessons learned approach, risk and issues approach, benefits management approach, design approach, business readiness framework and matrix.

30

Contract Changes

• Honoraria

• Acting up

• Allowances/ex gratia payments

• Re-grade

• Service redesign and re-structure

• Change to job title / hours/working pattern

31

Contract Changes – what does it look like?

32

Contract Changes – what does it look like?

33

Recruitment – what’s changing?

• Online, automated process, including candidate application.

• No more manual application forms for the majority of roles nor chasing within HR – the system will do this (reduced resource requirement in HR as a result).

• Improved audit trail – who’s approved what, where things are up to.

• No need to save locally – central record of approvals and changes, ultimately working towards central ‘job library’ (over time).

• One way of working across the whole Council – consistent process.

• Input permissions (requests to recruit) to be restricted to SAP LPU licensees (budget holders +) – exceptions to be identified by services before go live - we will need Board support).

• Successful candidate details pull through automatically to the new starter process.

34

Recruitment – candidate application

35

Starters, Leavers & Movers – what’s changing? • No more Excel spreadsheets required to be completed by Managers.

• Automatically populates starters with recruitment information (unless the starter isn’t generated through recruitment), it can be started separately.

• Integration with ICT 2200 – a single process, no need to log separate calls / forms for HR, ICT hardware and ICT software.

• Improved audit trail – who’s approved what, where things are up to.

• No need to save locally – central record of approvals and changes.

• One way of working across the whole Council – consistent process.

• New starter badges moved to ICT and pre-upload their images.

• Enables tighter controls and reduces overall administration effort.

36

Procurement Strategy

2018-2020

Item 7

37

Procurement Strategy 2018- 2020

Foreword

Warrington is a thriving economy in the North West of England. Warrington Borough

Council is an important driver in shaping this economy. The Council spends around £200

million a year on goods, services and works, this contributes significantly to the economic,

social and environmental wellbeing of the local area and to the wider region. The Council

is making major investment in Warrington town centre and other large scale capital

schemes, these require significant procurement resource to ensure delivery is timely and

within costs.

Over the past years the Council has been successful in making efficiency savings and will

continue to strive to do this in future years, however, this is becoming increasingly difficult

without impacting on delivery. We will continue to ensure that our procurement activities

deliver value for money to the people of Warrington. In the last 4 years the Council has

had to make savings of £61million, a further £31million of savings is required by 2022.

The result of the referendum in 2016 will continue to have an impact on all aspects of

procurement in the future, uncertainty means that some areas of council spend are

experiencing pressures and reluctance from some suppliers to enter into long term

contracts. Fluctuations in the value of the pound have put pressures on budgets where raw

materials or processed goods are imported. Future impacts of the referendum result will

be addressed as we move forward with the council adapting to change.

The development of Warrington Town centre and other key strategic capital projects

requires considerable procurement input to delivering value for money and complying

with legislation as well as demonstrating transparency, fairness and equality.

The Warrington 2020 transformation project will enable the centralisation of some

procurement functions and provide improved commissioning and procurement

information.

A revision of Contract Procedure Regulations will be produced to ensure that the Council is

compliant with legislation and has processes in place which make best use of resources

and developing technologies.

38

Introduction

The purpose of this strategy is to communicate clearly to all employees, partners, suppliers and stakeholders the Council’s vision for how procurement and commissioning of goods, works and services will be carried out, and to articulate the procedural framework within which all procurement will take place. Public sector procurement is heavily regulated – the Public Sector Contract Regulations 2015 contains legislative changes and mean that Council officers must ensure they are aware of best practice and the constraints within which they can operate. The Council’s third-party suppliers and service providers also need help to navigate their way through the complexities of the procurement process. Transparency is a key Government objective with a wide range of legislative measures including the right to challenge, equalities, freedom of information, sustainability and carbon reduction issues to consider. The Council is committed to ensuring that its procurement activity is transparent and undertaken in a way that is open and fair Whilst commissioning and procurement can be seen as separate activities they are inter-related functions that at a very basic level start with the identification of a need through stakeholder and customer consultation that is then taken through the process of sourcing the best delivery option based on the intended outcomes. Efficient commissioning and procurement across the Council requires good communication, a consistent approach between Council services, and in some cases a collaborative approach with other organisations to maximise best value, deliver quality and ensure value for money. The local community and citizens are becoming more empowered to identify and specify what services are needed. The reduction in Council resources has and will necessitate change putting the local community and citizens at the centre of what we do and changing the way in which we work to adopt best practice and increased synergies, ensuring a consistent approach to commissioning and procurement is in place. In conducting all procurement activity the Council must be open, transparent and equal and

that the council cannot favour one section of an economy more than any other, additionally

any procurement activity must be proportionate in its depth to the financial or other risk

involved.

Development of the Warrington 2020 transformation project

39

Current Position

(requires updating with 2016/17 information and comparison with SME and local spend

from previous years)

In 2015/16 the Council spent £187.7m on goods works and services, dealing with 3106

suppliers. Almost 90% of the suppliers were Small or Medium Size enterprises and these

accounted for 51.75% of expenditure. This is in excess of the Government’s target of

Councils achieving 33% of spend with SME’s by 2020.

29% of the Council’s procurement spend was with organisations with a registered head

office in Warrington, however 64% of spend was with organisations which had a presence

within the town, (an office, outlet, base or a significant presence of employees).

17.3% of spend was with the not for profit sector. Only 0.04% of spend was with

organisations outside the UK.

Pie chart spend by category (to be completed)

The Chart below shows the proportion of procurement spend by each of the

Council’s Directorates

40

National Context

Procurement and commissioning remain high on the national agenda. The Local Government Association’s National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2018 sets out a vision for local government procurement and encourages all Councils in England to engage with delivery of outcomes in three key areas Showing leadership Behaving commercially Achieving community benefits The LGA has developed a toolkit to enable Council’s to assess the extent to which they are meeting the National Strategy, The Council will use the toolkit to review it’s acheivements. The Local Government Association has launched a procurement pledge to highlight the sector’s commitment to greater collaboration with business, SMEs and the voluntary sector, to help drive improvements and efficiencies in how Councils procure goods and services. The pledge seeks to use procurement to help deliver value for money, drive local social and economic growth and regeneration, and provide inclusive services through a diverse supplier base. Regional Context There is recognition that a key opportunity for achieving best value for money is to take advantage of collaborative working. However, it is also important to acknowledge that collaborative working does mean some compromise. Where collaboration is used there is potential that local suppliers may not be benefit. In addition the ability to ensure that specific local requirements are thoroughly catered for can become diluted. In order to take these compromises into account the Council only considers working collaboratively where there is significant benefit and where the access to a local supply chain is limited. Warrington Borough Council is an Associate Member of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA). The Council makes a financial contribution annually towards the funding of the AGMA Procurement Hub and benefits from a range of collaborative tendering opportunities along with sharing best practice, networking and document exchange. The Council is also an associate member of the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO), this is a primary northern regional purchasing and buying Organisation. The Council is an Associate Member of YPO which provides access to compliant competitively priced frameworks and catalogues bringing opportunities to make best use of existing expertise and resources as an alternative to undertaking our own procurement process.

Additionally the Council carries out joint commissioning and procurement activity with the

other Councils in Cheshire to develop the local market and deliver best value. The Council

41

also works closely with the Clinical Commissioning Group to deliver health and social care

services. The council will continue to work with other public sector partners locally to ensure

joined up services and best value are delivered to the people of Warrington.

The National Procurement Strategy emphasises that procurement should be aligned to the

objectives of the Council. The Procurement Strategy focusses on how the council will meet

the Council Strategy and how commissioning and procurement activity can contribute

towards the overall objectives

Commissioning & Procurement Framework Balancing the competing priorities and objectives will always be a challenge. The ‘Procurement Triangle’ below sets out three key objectives for consideration in every procurement project undertaken. Whilst these key objectives do not always align the challenge for all officers involved in the commissioning and procurement process is to achieve a proportionate position which allows successful outcomes taking into account risk and deliverability. 1 : The Procurement Triangle

At the heart of this strategy is a framework for Council officers and Elected Members to follow. The framework is based on a whole-life cycle model and ensures that value for money, social, economic and environmental benefits are factored into decision making. Over the course of the strategy we will seek to enhance and enable a real emphasis to be made on supporting the local economy through our practice and process, within the confines of legislation.

42

The framework comprises three key stages and is underpinned by a requirement to continuously listen and engage with key stakeholders throughout the process. Gateways also form part of the process allowing decision makers to authorise the initiation of Commissioning and Procurement projects, the outline plan and the decision to award contracts. COMMISSIONING & PROCUREMENT C

HALLENGES Figure 2: Whole life-cycle Commissioning & Procurement Framework We are committed to enhancing and enabling the local economy wherever possible. We will continue to monitor the level of Council 3rd party spend placed with local suppliers in an effort to maximise spend within the confines of legislation and local market conditions.

Delivering Value for Money We will seek to deliver value for money to the local taxpayer by maximising best value on every pound spent on commissioning and procurement. We will be commercially aware, provide clarity on our expectations to our supply chain, continuously review and ensure our procedures are efficient, and seek to achieve maximum benefits from our systems. We will encourage use of external benchmarking where we currently deliver frontline services in-house to evidence value for money is being achieved. Commissioning and procurement are key to the Council delivering the efficiency savings required.

43

The Council has to prioritise efficient use of finance this will mean that commissioning and procurement decisions focus on efficient use of finance. Objectives & Outcomes to deliver Value for Money We will base procurement decisions on whole life cycle principles and avoid awarding contracts where price alone is the sole consideration. We will constantly review procurement systems, practice and procedures to ensure our processes are efficient and cost effective. We will incentivise our suppliers to help us to reduce demand wherever possible. We will develop self-monitoring contract management regimes for suppliers to report performance against KPIs on a regular and proportionate basis. We will monitor cashable and non-cashable savings derived from all procurement activity Performance Measures. We will benchmark and monitor the cost of procurement function as a % of 3rd party spend We will benchmark and monitor the value of annual savings delivered on behalf of Council services from tendering and contracting We will ensure that our commissioning and tendering is outcomes focussed and processes and monitoring is proportionate and focussed to ensure that the intended results are delivered at the minimum costs to the parties.

44

Fulfilling the Council’s Strategy through procurement

This section details how the Council will use commissioning and Procurement to implement its Strategy goals.

Vision “We will work together with our residents, businesses and partners to make Warrington a place where everyone can thrive”

What we will do How we will do this Measuring our success

The Council will continue to work with local partners including the Clinical Commissioning Group, other local authorities, Golden Gates Housing, other Housing Associations and other public sector organisations to reduce the complexity of procurement and coordinate activity

We will work with AGMA to ensure a co-ordinated approach for commonly used large scale procurements to deliver best value through economies of scale

The number of collaboratively commissioned and/or procured opportunities with various partner organisations will increase. We will develop commissioning processes to identify collaborative opportunities. We will develop joint reporting and monitoring arrangements to reduce complexity and ensure partners

We will collaborate with neighbouring authorities, including, but not limited to those in Cheshire to carry out joint procurement activity where appropriate. We will also continue to collaborate and share best practice with our neighbouring authorities

We will use frameworks where appropriate, where they reduce the time for a procurement activity and deliver value, we will also develop our own frameworks for use by other bodies

We will work with Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England to

45

achieve positive health outcomes for our citizens.

All procurements will consider the potential for collaboration at the planning stage.

We will consult with our citizens as appropriate to ensure the procurement delivers services that meet needs in a timely and appropriate and proportionate manner.

Opportunities for the Most Vulnerable


We will ensure that procurement is person centred and focussed on achieving outcomes for users as well as providing value for money

We will ensure that specifications focus on outcomes for residents and in particular the most needy in our society and deliver relevant levels of provision

Inclusion of clauses within tenders and contracts for delivering employment and/or work experience/training opportunities for underrepresented groups, where appropriate. We will carry out a review of contract management and monitoring within the council to further develop proportionate and focussed monitoring. We will extend the use of Social Value consultation to cover supplies and works, not

We will encourage the supply chain to deliver employment opportunities for people with physical or learning disabilities, veterans, young people and ex-offenders with training opportunities to develop skills.

We will ensure that commissioning and contract monitoring is strengthened,

46

proportionate and focussed on outcomes to deliver strategic insight into procurement decisions

just services. We will training all staff involved in procurement contracting and commissioning around modern slavery and human trafficking. We will include in tenders and contracts (where appropriate) measures for ensuring the living wage is met. We will require that all suppliers complete a declaration of payment of taxes and are compliant with modern slavery legislation.

We will ensure that where appropriate service users are included in the development and assessment of tenders

We will ensure our supply chain is free from modern slavery and trafficking

We will ensure that our suppliers are of high ethical standards, paying appropriate tax and paying staff the Living Wage

47

Grow a Strong Economy for all


We will ensure that local businesses and third sector organisations are able to benefit from the Council’s business.

Our procurement processes will be proportionate to the size/value of the procurement to allow access by SME’s and third sector organisations to bid.

We will monitor and review tenders to assess the number of bids from SME’s and third sector organisations. We will provide training to local businesses, SME’s and third sector organisations on commissioning and contract arrangements. The use of Dynamic Purchasing Systems will increase to ensure that small local businesses can bid for work.

We will streamline procurement processes to make them more accessible, quicker and less onerous

We will provide training to SMEs and third sector organisations to enable them to compete for work

We will have in place Social value policies to be used in procurements to ensure that our commissioning and procurement delivers wider benefits to the local economy

Where appropriate, procurements will be lotted to allow bids from SMEs and Third Sector organisations unless there is an economic or social reason why this cannot be done

All procurements below the OJEU are advertised to allow maximum opportunity to participate. In opportunities that are

48

advertised to only a number of suppliers, at least 40% of these must be local suppliers, where an appropriate market exists.

We will publish information that will allow businesses to be aware of upcoming opportunities

We will engage with the local Chamber of Commerce and other local forums to build relationships to promote working with the Council and to allow them to highlight any barriers to business

We will use Dynamic Purchasing Systems for common frequently used, goods, services and works to allow opportunity to local businesses and SMEs

Build strong, active and resilient communities

49


We will ensure that the Council’s contract opportunities provide community benefits

We will provide training to SMEs and third sector organisations to enable them to compete for work

We will provide training to local businesses, SME’s and third sector organisations on commissioning and contract arrangements. We will publish information in advance of procurement activity to ensure that businesses are aware of upcoming opportunities. We will ensure that measures for Social Value are included in all tender processes. We will consider the duration of all contracts with the third sector with a view to increasing the length as appropriate to provide certainty and to develop contract management collaboratively.

We will publish information that will allow bidders to be aware of procurement opportunities before they are competed

Contracts will contain conditions to promote local sub-contracting, training opportunities and other benefits for the local community

We will have in place robust processes for Social value consultation

We will monitor the delivery of contracts to sub-contracting levels to ensure opportunities deliver wider benefits

50

Create a Place to be proud of


We will ensure contracts provide wider economic and environmental good of Warrington

Where appropriate environmental considerations will be included in contracts assessed in tender processes.

We will develop environmental considerations to be included in contracts and monitor the outcomes. We will assess sourcing of goods and ensure that our standards are addressed throughout the supply chain. Whole life costing will be developed to look at emmissions and disposal is considered, where appropriate.

We will acknowledge that some of the Council’s spend has a global reach and ensure that fairtrade, ethical and sustainable sourcing is included in procurement.

We will ensure that procurements consider the environmental impact including emissions and disposal

We will utilise whole life costing processes to ensure that all costs are captured in tendering processes including environmental costs, operating costs and disposal costs

51

Developing Procurement within the Council


We will ensure category management is in place to provide specialist knowledge that supports commissioning decisions and develop category management strategies to deliver value for money for those categories

We will review our internal procurement arrangements to fulfil the requirements of this strategy and the wider council strategy. We will review contract management and contract monitoring arrangements to ensure performance is measured and inform future commissioning. All contracts will have exit strategies and have contingency plans in place We will continue to provide comprehensive data to the residents of Warrington to enable them to see how we spend their money.

We will ensure that contract monitoring is developed that is focussed on the desired outcomes and provide accurate and appropriate information, not only to ensure contracts fulfil their objectives but will lead future commissioning intentions and ensure that there is no potential for fraud

We will develop exit strategies for all contracts and include these in the terms and conditions

We will publish data that allows the residents and businesses to analyse the council’s procurement

52

Delivering Social Value

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 came into force on 31st January 2013. It is a legal obligation for local authorities and other public bodies to consider the social good that could come from the procurement of services before they embark upon it.

The aim of the Act is not to alter the commissioning and procurement processes, but to ensure that as part of these processes, councils give consideration to the wider impact of the service’s delivery..

This allows local authorities to provide an opportunity to deliver a cohesive yet flexible and innovative approach to generating social value through public procurement.

The statutory requirements of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 only apply to public service contracts above EU threshold. However, in order to incorporate the good practice associated with social value into mainstream commissioning and procurement practice, it is the intended that the Council embed social

The Social Value Act is limited in its scope to commissioners considering if social value can be applied in any commissioning activity and if they consider it may be beneficial to undertake consultation with stakeholders regarding what social value measured may apply.

In 2015 the Cabinet Office published Lord Young’s review of the Social Value Act, it was recommended that the Act should be extended to cover the commissioning of works and goods, not just services.

Defining Social Value

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 does not define what is meant by ‘social value’. Therefore, this report recommends the adoption of the definition of social value as set out by the Sustainable Procurement Taskforce.

Social Value is defined as:

A process whereby organisations meet their needs for good, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.

Public Contract Regulations 2015 Regulation 67 of the PCRs 2015 define the criteria which can be used in the assessment of tenders as below where MEAT ( Most Economically Advantageous Tender ) evaluation is used . (2) That tender shall be identified on the basis of the price or cost, using a cost-effectiveness approach, such as life-cycle costing in accordance with regulation 68, and may include the best price-quality ratio, which shall be assessed on the basis of criteria, such as qualitative,

53

environmental and/or social aspects, linked to the subject-matter of the public contract in question. This imposes that the conditions for award must be related to the subject matter of the contract being considered.

Proposed Approach to Social Value in Commissioning and Procurement

Below outlines a proposed approach to social value in the commissioning, procurement and contract management of and project to achieve maximum social value impact with lowest cost

Two approaches can be used in applying social value to any procurement, these can be identified as below with each stage of the cycle

Where the social values can be detailed and aligned to the council’s strategy themes

Where it is not possible to define the social value outcomes clearly

Commissioning Stage

Social Value Act consultation may be undertaken

Commissioners should identify the social value outcomes to be achieved aligned to the Council’s strategy themes. These should be built into the specification.

Social Value Act consultation may be undertaken

Where it is not possible to identify defined social value outcomes the broad themes to be addressed should be identified by commissioners

Procurement The identified social value outcomes can be included in tender assessment and given appropriate weightings. These outcomes need to be measurable.

As the outcomes have been identified it is then possible to score the submission transparently and fairly

The proposals put forward by the bidder will be integrated into the final contract

The broad themes to be addressed can be included in the tender assessment, however these will not be scored, they will then be built into the final contract

These may be more vague indications of the social value to be delivered and broader in their approach than in the first model

The proposals put forward by the bidder will be integrated into the final contract

Contract Management

The outcome identified in the tender will be monitored as part of the ongoing management of the

The outcome identified in the tender will be monitored as part of the ongoing management of the

54

contract contract

Objectives in delivering Social Value Warrington Borough Council is committed to, and expects that our providers and suppliers be committed to:

Supporting the local economy including SME’s and voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector

Delivering at doorstep level wherever appropriate including the local supply chain

Including measurable voluntary clauses in contracts to demonstrate both Social Value and value for money

Supporting the business and voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) sectors through transparent and proportionate procurement processes and contracts

Ensuring robust contract management is in place to monitor and measure social value outcomes in partnership with our providers and suppliers

Paying our suppliers promptly through the Council’s Early Payment Scheme

Taking full account of EU procurement law and our Contract Regulations we must ensure that the Social Value “offer” that comes from a bidder must be either be:

A voluntary offer where the bidder offers something that we can put in a voluntary clause but where this offer has not influenced the evaluation criteria that was published

Where we build Social Value into evaluation criteria and it is weighted and the bidder can receive a percentage of marks on their Social Value submission

Social Value will not override the council and other public sector partners continuously seeking value for money but it will enhance the “offer” by providing tangible and measurable outcomes.

Achievements in 2017/18

55

The Council has made great strides in ensuing compliance with the Modern Slaver Act 2015 and was

one of the first Local authorities to be compliant with the requirement to have a Modern Slavery

Statement. It continues to ensure that its supply chain is free from Slavery and human trafficking.

Training has been delivered to back office staff to ensure they are aware of potential Modenr Slavery

and how to report any concerns

The Central Procurement Team has been strengthened with the appointment of a Contract

Management and Contract Monitoring Officer in May 2018 tasked with providing guidance and

development of contract management across the Council.

The Council has developed two new Dynamic Purchasing Systems DPSs within the year, these allow

for the provision of commonly used services and ensure that opportunities are accessible to SMEs

and local business. Plans are in place to develop two further DPSs in the near future.

Training has been provided to third sector organisations on bidding for contracts and how to access

opportunities.

The Central Procurement Team has developed online tender processes to reduce the complexity of

tenders and make them more accessible to SME’s, local businesses and third sector organisations.

56

Glossary

57

Building Social Value Criteria into Commissioning and Tender Assessments

Item 7

59

Building Social Value Criteria into Commissioning and Tender Assessments

Below is a guide to social value criteria which can be used in commissioning and procurement within the Council, linking back to the Council’s

Strategy themes.

The Social Value Act 2012 places on councils an obligation to consult on how social value can be achieved in the provision of services above the

relevant OJEU threshold prior to any tender taking place. The Act does not define social value or stipulate who should be consulted. Central

Government has recommended that consultation should take place for goods works and services regardless of value.

Warrington Borough Council recognises the importance of addressing Social Value in commissioning and procuring goods, works and services

to ensure that the Council’s strategy themes are addressed in use of Council resources. This document aims to provide an easy guide to

building in Social value at commissioning and procurement stages. It contains a range of questions that can be used in tenders, this is not

comprehensive, but is intended to be used as an aide memoir. It allows the assessment of tenders to take place in a manner that focusses on

deliverables that can then be included in the final contract and which can be assessed.

Column 1 identifies the Council’s strategy Area

Column 2 identifies the criteria for commissioners to use at the Social Value Consultation stage

Column 3 comprises of specific questions that can be used in the tender or quote assessment, commissioners can select questions that are

relevant to the nature of the tender and will be responsible for giving these questions weightings in the tender. Questions can be combined

within the commissioning area as necessary and can also be added to.

60

Column 4 identifies the nature of the procurement for which the question is suitable G= Goods, W= works, S = Services

Column 5 identifies whether the question is specific to a particular Directorate’s needs or whether there are Council requirements for their

inclusion. It should be noted that where the question is marked as compulsory it should be used in all relevant tenders and quotes.

1. Council Strategy Area

2. Commissioning Area 3. Tender Question 4. Type of procurement suitable

5. Directorate Specific

Opportunities for the most vulnerable

Employment and Training opportunities for disadvantaged groups

How will you deliver opportunities for employment and training of people with disabilities including, learning difficulties and mental health conditions in the provision of this contract?

G/W/S

How will you deliver opportunities for employment and training of ex-offenders in the provision of this contract?

G/W/S

How will you deliver opportunities for employment and training of ex-service personnel in the provision of this contract?

W/S

How will you deliver employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed in the provision of this contract

W/S

How will you deliver opportunities for employment and training of homeless people or people at risk of homelessness in the provision of this contract?

W/S

Ethical Care Warrington Borough Council is a signatory to Unison’s Ethical Care Charter, please detail how you will meet the requirements of this charter in the provision of this contract

S F&W only

Training opportunities for young people Please describe any work place schemes for schools and colleges which may aid recruitment in your service area?

W/S

Grow a strong economy for all

Paying the Living Wage Warrington Borough Council; is committed to the Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage Employer Scheme, this also includes a commitment for contractors to pay their staff the local living wage, please describe your compliance with this requirement.

W/S Compulsory Question

61

Supporting the Local Economy How will you use the local supply chain in the delivery of the contract

G/W/S

Please detail how you will offer any sub-contracting opportunities to local business

G/W/S

What other local investment does your organisation contribute to?

W/S

Supporting small Business Please describe your approach to prompt payment of your suppliers

G/W/S

Training and Employment of young People/ Developing Skills in the

How will you develop employment and training opportunities for young people to ensure a skilled workforce for the future

W/S

How will you provide apprenticeship opportunities in the delivery of this contract

W/S

Build strong, active and resilient communities

Providing a healthy workforce and population

How will you ensure Workforce Wellbeing is delivered through the provision of this contract

G/W/S Compulsory Question

Describe how you will improve the health and wellbeing of local residents including employees in the provision of the contract?

W/S

Describe how, in the provision of the contract, you will tackle health inequalities?

W/S

Provision of volunteering and education Can you deliver outreach to schools within Warrington in the provision of this contract?

W/S

Please detail your approach to supporting volunteering opportunities and community engagement for your staff

W/S

Developing the third sector and encouraging volunteering

Please detail how you will, in the provision of this contract, support local charities and make best use of Warrington’s third sector organisations?

G/W/S

Could your organisation in providing this contract support volunteering opportunities to support core services and provide relevant work experience?

W/S

Developing diversity How do you consider equality and diversity in the provision and operation of this contract, including a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve?

W/S

Safeguarding How will you ensure the safeguarding and welfare of vulnerable adults, young people and children in providing this contract?

S

62

Create a place to be proud of

Minimising Environmental impact Please describe how you will provide the contract in a manner which addresses social responsibility?

G/W/S

Please describe your approach to recycling and minimising waste in the provision of this contract, including use of recycled materials

G/W/S

Please describe your approach to minimising emissions in the provision of this contract

G/W/S

Please detail your approach to the use of low and zero emission vehicles and plant in the provision of this contract.

G/W/S

Please detail your approach to low emissions in the provision of any materials or goods supplied in the provision of this contract.

G/W

Fair Employment Warrington Borough Council is a signatory to the Unite Construction Charter, please detail how you will comply with the Council’s requirements for contractors detailed in the Charter in the provision of this contract.

W/S

Ethical Sourcing Please describe your approach to ethical sourcing, do you use environmental standards

G/W/S

Please describe your approach to using Fair Trade (or other similarly ethical sourcing standards) in the provision of this contract

G/W/S

Community Engagement How will you approach community engagement which involves local residents of Warrington?

G/W/S

How will you support Warrington’s local culture and heritage? G/W/S

63

Organisational Improvement and Development Policy Committee Draft Work Programme 2018-19

This section contains the draft work programme 2018-2019 for approval by the Policy Committee. It contains items that have been brought forward from the 2017/2018 work programme and new topics for inclusion in the 2018/19 work programme. The purpose of the topic and what the committee is being asked to do have been included in the work programme.

Work Programme Topic

Purpose of the item

What is the Committee being asked to do?

Link to National Policy & Local Context

Lead Officer

Date of Meeting

Theme – Corporate

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

To scrutinise the implementation of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). In addition this item will look at outcomes and issues arising from the implementation and national GDPR developments

To forward the committee’s findings to the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee

GDPR is a new framework for data protection laws which starts on 25 May 2018. GDPR includes enhanced individual rights and increased penalties for non-compliance

Amanda Juggins, Business Intelligence Manager

20 June 2018 &

5 February 2019

ICT Security To look at the council’s current and future approach to ICT security. This topic will also include cyber security implications for councillors

Submit recommendations to Executive Board

The Government has published a report setting out proposals to improve national cyber security following a major attack on the NHS in 2017.

Heather Berry, Head of ICT and Print Service

20 June 2018

Document retention and records management

To scrutinise progress on the project to change how the council retains and records information from paper to digital.

To forward the committee’s findings to the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee forward

Links to the digital vision for local government and digital innovation in the public sector

Amanda Juggins, Business Intelligence Manager

25 Sept 2018

Item 8

65

Procurement Strategy To scrutinise the delivery of the procurement strategy. This topic will also include examples of contracts where the living wage has been included.

Submit findings to Executive Board or Portfolio Holder, Personnel and Communications

The Public Services (Social Value) Act came into force in 2013. It requires people who commission public services to think about how they can also secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits

Claire Harris, Head of Finance

25 Sept 2018

Strategic Equalities Group To review progress on the delivery of the groups priorities

To submit the findings of the committee to Executive Board

The Strategic Equalities Group has been reformed, the first meeting is scheduled for July 2018. The purpose of the group is to ensure compliance with the

Equality Act 2010.

Gareth Hopkins, Customer & Business Transformation Assistant Director

5 February 2019

Theme – Customer

Warrington 20:20 To scrutinise progress on the development of digital customer services and look at progress on the review of internal services. .

To forward the committee’s findings to Executive Board

Links to public service reform which aims to fundamentally change how services are received by customers. Also links to a digital vision and innovation for local government

Gareth Hopkins, Customer & Business Transformation Assistant Director Kate Lindley, Head of Transformation

25 Sept 2018

Warrington 20:20 – Service Design Working Group

The working group will test and provide input into the design of customer facing services as part of the Warrington 20:20 programme

That the views of the working group be incorporated into the new customer facing services

Links to public service reform which aims to fundamentally change how services are received by customers.


Sept 2018 onwards

Theme – Workforce

New Office To review progress on the To submit Council initiative to build Iain Dykes, 20

66

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-value-act-information-and-resources/social-value-act-information-and-resources

Accommodation development of the new council building including the design of the ground floor. This topic will also review progress on the development of workforce agile working.

recommendations to Executive Board on the design of the ground floor

new office accommodation. Agile working is an initiative to enable employees to work unrestrained from a physical office base

Project Manager November 2018

Living Wage Review the implementation of the Living Wage policy throughout the Council and consider future working with businesses in the Borough.


Links to the national living wage and rising living costs due to housing shortages, high rents, low wage growth and welfare and tax reforms


20 November

2018

Apprenticeship Levy To scrutinise the Council’s approach to the apprenticeship levy and identify future areas for development


From April 2017 the council is required to pay a monthly Apprenticeship Levy and will be able to access funding for training. The funding can also be used to develop the existing workforce by undertaking frameworks and new standards.

Gareth Hopkins, Customer & Business Transformation Assistant Director

25 Sept 2018

Workplace Wellbeing Charter

To scrutinise the delivery of the actions contained within the Workplace Wellbeing Charter. This topic will also include a review of staff sickness levels


The Council achieved the Workplace Wellbeing Charter in 2016. It is due to be reaccredited at the end of 2018

Julie Holt, Head of Human Resources & Organisational Development

20 November

2018

67

to: organisational improvement and development · s keating – infrastructure & operational...

Documents