Agenda item

(To receive a report by Andrew McLean, Assistant Director – Corporate Transformation, Programmes and Performance and Clare Rowley, Head of Transformation, which provides the Board with an update on the Transformation Programme)

The Head of Transformation presented a report to the Board which provided an update on the Transformation Programme.  The report provided a high-level project overview and included details around benefits and savings that had either been delivered or were planned.  The governance arrangements for the programme were re-iterated in order to provide assurance that each project had its own project board and project leads.  Appendix A of the report provided further details in relation to each individual project within the Transformation Programme including current status and progress against each milestone.  It was noted that none of the projects or programmes were ‘red’ or ‘red/amber’ status. 

It was highlighted that two projects were listed as an ‘amber’ status which were the Business World Redesign and Smarter Working, however successful delivery of these projects was still feasible.  In relation to the Business World Redesign project, this was listed as amber due to the complexity of the project, but it still remained on track to ‘go live’ on 1 April 2023.  A further update would be provided to the Board in June.  In terms of the Smarter Working project, a focused update would be brought to the Board at its September 2023 meeting.

Areas to note that were listed as ‘green’ included the Corporate Support Optimisation which had delivered savings of £1.8m but there had been a challenge in the change to the way support functions were delivered, but it continued to be on track for full implementation by March 2024.

During discussion of the report, the following points were raised:

Educational Travel

·       It was confirmed that this was also known as Home to School Transport.

·       Clarification was sought in relation to the budget for educational transport as well as the average daily cost, and the Board was advised that this was around £46 million per year.  In terms of a daily cost, this equated to the Council spending approximately £235,000 per day on school transport.  This figure included travel for children and young people to mainstream schools, as well as more bespoke transport options for children with special educational needs, which may include passenger assistance for those with more complex needs.

·       Work on alternative travel solutions was under way which included personal transport budgets, reviewing the eligibility process, and greater use of business intelligence data.

·       The green/amber status of this project was particularly in relation to the financial elements.

·       It was queried to what extent the costs varied year on year, and the Board was advised that the biggest variation was in relation to transport to special schools.  The numbers of children on buses travelling to mainstream schools did not fluctuate significantly.  Budgets were able to be set fairly accurately in the January/February as GP data was used for pupil place planning which enabled very effective planning to take place.

·       The implementation of the new IT system was bringing together data from different locations which enabled better planning to take place.

Children in Care

·       It was confirmed that the County Council did operate a number of children’s homes within the County, and Robin House was the first of an additional three children’s homes that were to be owned and operated by the County Council.  These additional homes were being provided in response to the increase in children that were being placed out of county in order to meet their needs.  In-house services were much more cost effective and enabled the child to remain closer to their family. 

·       It was queried whether the opening of these additional homes would mean that children that had been placed out of county would now be brought back.  The Board was advised that there were between 80-90 children currently placed out of county (the exact number would be confirmed outside of the meeting).  Monthly meetings took place where these placements would be discussed and whether it would be appropriate to bring any of the children back into county.

·       In terms of the link to the Corporate Plan, it was queried how happiness was assessed, and it was explained that the ‘Signs of Safety’ framework had been adopted.

Devolution

·       The Chief Executive confirmed that Lincolnshire had been invited to enter into discussions with government regarding a devolution deal, and it was noted that a meeting would take place after the elections in May 2023.

·       Members were reminded that it was only upper tier authorities which were able to negotiate with government, however there was an expectation that there would be engagement with district councils.  It was noted that currently, the 10 council leaders of Greater Lincolnshire had all signed up to the deal.  It was acknowledged that there were still some governance issues that needed to be resolved. 

·       The Board was also advised that benefits of a devolution deal would not just be limited to additional funding, it was also likely that there would be greater powers.  However, one of the main benefits was that those areas with a devolution deal would be prioritised by government.

·       It was confirmed that there was a requirement for a consultation, however what form this should take was not particularly well defined.  There were consultations taking place in other areas which would be monitored closely.  If there was a decision to go ahead with a deal, the results of any consultation would be taken into account.

People Strategy Implementation

·       This was currently listed with ‘green’ status and was on track for successful delivery as scheduled.

Business World Re-design

·       This was still due to ‘go live’ on 1 April 2023 as scheduled.

·       In relation to testing, it was reported that extensive parallel pay roll testing had been carried out over the past 18 months. During this testing it was found that there had been £468 across the entire schools payroll which did not reconcile, following which testing was agreed to be stopped as all identified discrepancies were found to be down to user error and not system error.

·       There had been significant testing around how absences and pensions data was managed, which had been successful.  An additional run on flexible payments had also been carried out.

·       The final data migration was due to be completed.  It was expected there would be minimal issues.

·       It was expected that all employees would be paid correctly in April.  There may be a time lag before staff would be able to start inputting again, which would only affect payments such as expenses or overtime.  All salary data had been entered.  The main issues had arisen around complex absences.

Corporate Support Services Contract Implementation

·       It was noted that this project was scheduled to take two years due to the challenges around the Serco contract.  This was a significant piece of work and would aim to provide a more consistent resource for the rest of the organisation.  It was noted that there was still work to be developed and further details could be included in a future update.

Corporate Support Optimisation

·       This project would be looking at the end to end processes including aiming to reduce duplication and identifying where manual processes could be optimised.

Smarter Working

·       This was currently listed as ‘amber’ status.  The Smarter Working policy was consistently reviewed in terms of services.  A review of the property estate would be taking place, with a particular focus on the Lincoln Campus.

·       In relation to work-life balance, it was queried whether any benefits of this could be seen within the organisation and if any data was captured on the wider life effects of this policy.  It was noted that staff surveys were conducted during the year, and the vast majority of the workforce were positive about the initiative.  However, it was agreed that it would be a good idea to include more qualitative measures and was something that could be included in future surveys.

·       It was noted that the deadline of 2026/27 was based on the savings profile and the expected savings being realised from the closure of buildings.  The business case for the future use of the Lincoln campus was currently being worked through.

·       Officers advised that the work around the localities was a little more complicated, as the frontline staff working in the localities worked in a more flexible way.

RESOLVED

1.    That assurance be given to the progress and outcomes of the Transformation Programme.

2.    That a further update be received in September 2023, including a focused overview of Smarter Working.