Transformation and Change Programme Update
Perth and Kinross Council · 7 May 2025
Back to Perth and Kinross Council — 7 May 2025 and its agenda
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Full Council Date of Meeting: 7 May 2025 Report Title: Transformation & Change Programme Update Report Number: 25/113 Report Author: Charlene Guild, Strategic Lead – Projects & Programmes (interim) Organisational Lead: Thomas Glen, Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this Report is to provide full Council with an update on progress of the Transformation & Change Programme – Phase Two. This covers the six-month period from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025. 1.2 In addition, the report includes a full progress update and summary of each individual project/programme of work within the phase two portfolio. 1.3 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendation 3. Background/Context 4. Phase Two - Highlights 5. Programme Management Office Update 6. Conclusion 7. Appendix 1 - Transformation & Change Programme - Phase 2 Project Summary Updates 2. Recommendation It is recommended that the Council note: 2.1 Progress made on the Transformation & Change Programme phase two since the last update report to Finance & Resources Committee on 18 September 2024.
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3. Background/Context 3.1 Our full Transformation & Change Programme was agreed back in 2022, and we are now into phase two of progress. A full evaluation of Phase one projects was presented to the Finance & Resources Committee on 18 September 2024. 3.2 Supporting the delivery of the Councils vision of “a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality,” all of our projects and workstreams are aligned with the Corporate Plan strategic priorities and key objectives with defined project outcomes, objectives, and critical success factors. 3.3 The Transformation & Change programme is an ambitious area of work which aims to positively impact our communities, our teams, and how they deliver. This is set in the context of changing demands and resourcing levels which require a flexible, innovative, and agile approach. With our continued focus on public service, a focus on those in greatest need, and the support of our teams, partners, and communities, we will continue to ensure that the people of Perth and Kinross are at the heart of all that we do, and we evolve to face the challenges ahead. 4. Phase Two - highlights 4.1 There have been a number of achievements across the Transformation and Change programme since September 2024. To ensure that Members are fully updated on each specific programme or project of work, a full summary breakdown with details of individual progress and achievements is contained within Appendix 1. However, it must be noted that as well as the agreed formal Transformation & Change programme work, Perth & Kinross Council are committed to ongoing transformational work across the wide range of services we deliver on a daily basis. These improvements are not being reported as part of the Transformation & Change programme. 4.2 This year, special recognition must be given, in relation to transformation and change activity, to the largest infrastructure project to ever be delivered by PKC, the new Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR). Officially opened by John Swinney, First Minister, Grant Laing, Council Leader and Eilidh Doyle, Athletics Champion on 31 March 2025. Known as Destiny Bridge, the CTLR has taken many years of planning, development, consultation, a total investment of around £150 million and of course, hard work to come to fruition. Community engagement was key with many public consultations, community benefits, information sessions and local job opportunities. In addition, this project will unlock economic potential in the area by opening up further areas for development, attracting inward investment, improving local transport and traffic flow while reducing traffic and pollution into Perth City Centre and enhancing pedestrian and cycle safety.
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4.3 Over the past six months, the phase two programme has reported the following achievements: Leadership Phase Two savings of £742k already identified for 25/26 with a target of £1.6m over 3 years from 24/25 (308k delivered). Strategic Commissioning & Procurement savings of £350k in 25/26 with a target of £1.5m over 3 years from 24/25 (£400k delivered). Secured Fairer Futures funding to expand the Fairer Communities for all programme into 25/26 and beyond based on past successes. Zero Waste and Operations programme have held a wide engagement exercise with pupils and teachers around the Schools Recycling improvement project resulting in a renewed drive in this area with pupils taking forward climate cafes, creating posters, and promoting benefits of recycling throughout campuses and schools. Development of the Career Long Professional Learning Pathways (CLPL) through our Additional Support Needs programme and improvement of support and guidance for 16+ transitions. Launch of the Copilot Pathfinder Programme to integrate Microsoft Copilot and enhance productivity. Options appraisal for a future ALEO model underway with a partnership working group in place and report to full Council with options and recommendations in September 2025. 5 Programme Management Office Update 5.1 Our Programme Management Office approach is now fully operational with clear governance, support, and monitoring structures in place. Regular reporting mechanisms such as monthly Transformation Board and scheduled in depth project workshops, are now in place for Executive Leads, project teams and PMO officers to discuss, agree action and progress. This allows momentum to continue, accountability to be taken and evidence of improvement and impact readily available. The PMO continues to promote the four areas of transformation work within the organisation: Transformation – changing the way that we work which will be significantly different from current ways of working e.g., a marked change in the form, nature, and appearance of the services we deliver, how and where we deliver them. Service Improvements –improved ways of working led by teams and services to deliver better outcomes for communities, improved efficiency, and productivity. Re-structure and consolidation – changing the way services and teams are configured to deliver better outcomes and service priorities.
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Budget efficiencies - budget and service reductions which maximise available funding and focus on agreed priority areas. 5.2 Phase one of the programme used a combination of these approaches to make savings, shift expenditure to cover emerging new priorities and help deliver a balanced budget. We reported on this at Finance & Resources Committee on 18 September 2024 and the paper can be found here. We are continuing this success into phase two and have brought together areas of corporate and operational work where there are particular similarities, overlap or synergy into multi-faceted transformation programmes – like Fairer Communities for All which includes our community engagement and multi- disciplinary locality working projects. 5.3 We have also continued to remain flexible and working agilely on programmes, allowing us to adapt to changes in local and national policy and legislation where required. We are also working alongside our other Local Authority colleagues on a regional basis to consider areas of transformation that are ripe for a regional approach or where shared services could prove to be more efficient and effective. In addition, our PMO have also been involved in the national transformation and change programme being led by the Improvement Service and SOLACE to consider areas such as procurement, digital and governance. Ensuring we are aligned to all of these areas has the potential to impact on the speed of progress internally, however, we are taking all steps to avoid this where possible. 5.4 Work is also underway to review and update the original Transformation & Change Strategy approved at full Council in June 2022. This is being progressed to ensure that our Strategy remains relevant and aligned line with the Corporate Plan key priorities. Once all amendments are finalised and consultation has taken place, a final draft will be presented to Finance & Resources Committee in September 2025 for comment and approval. 5.5 Engagement & Consultation We have committed to working with our communities and partners through our Corporate Plan key priorities and individual project delivery. Project teams have been carrying out extensive engagement activity through service design events, workshops and focus groups as well as other methods such as online questionnaires and surveys, virtual meetings, and research. Some of this activity has been reported through the phase two summary updates found in Appendix 1. The PMO will continue to provide support and facilitation for project teams who need it in terms of engagement methods, facilitation skills and tools to collate data in a participatory way. A revised Communication & Engagement Plan is due to be presented to Transformation Board in late April 2025 for approval.
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5.6 We have also introduced a series of regular briefings on Transformation & Change programmes for Elected Members from October 2024 to date. Briefings to date have covered a deep dive of specific areas of the programme such as Whole Family Wellbeing, Additional Support Needs and Smarter Working as well as an overview of the Programme Management Office approach and portfolio of projects. 5.7 Leadership Review Phase Two - Cultural Change Our Leadership Review Phase two has a number of different workstreams to meet our objectives which have been built around our values and behaviours, leadership competencies and five foundations of leadership: 1. Lead and maintain strong organisational culture and organisational behaviours 2. Lead delivery of the Councils vision and priorities through evidence of high service performance and improvement 3. Lead the Council’s commitment to meaningful and impactful engagement 4. Lead the Council’s management of its people, resources, organisational risk, and reputation 5. Lead the Council’s organisational transformation and associated programme of change and service design 5.8 This has included a continuation of the Leadership Development Programme for the SLT with outcomes focused on being an effective leader, leading change and developing and evolving our mindsets as leaders. The person- centred programme held masterclasses, coaching, hackathon events (large scale workshops to encourage innovation and collaboration on complex challenges), action learning sets and lunchtime learning session which focussed on being a digital leader, strategic management, executive coaching, self-directed learning, being time rich and building resilience skills. 5.9 As we progress through phase two, turning theory into practice and focussing on cascading this learning throughout the organisation is a key focus. Using areas for improvement from our last staff survey in 2024, action plans have been created for each service area using the PowerBI dashboard and all Managers have access to this to ensure they are implementing a targeted and consistent approach. 5.10 In addition to the Cultural Change programme, the Leadership Phase Two programme will also deliver savings, as highlighted in section 4.2 in relation to service redesign, workforce planning and transformation and change. 5.11 Risk Ensuring we have a clear and overarching understanding of risks in relation to our Transformation & Change programme has been a priority over the past 12 months.
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To ensure all the necessary information was available, we have worked with an external consultant to develop a Transformation & Change risk profile and accompanying registers for a number of individual projects. All of this data is stored within the PK Performs system, linked to our corporate performance data and allowing for easy access and reporting through the PowerBI dashboard. 5.12 There is regular reporting on new, emerging or changing risks to the programme at each Transformation Board. As a result, areas of action, monitoring and mitigation are discussed and agreed accordingly. In addition, through Transformation & Change has been included within the Corporate Strategic Risk Register to highlight the high profile and reputational risk of this area of work. 5.13 Current risks in this area include workforce capacity, particularly resources to undertake key transformation & change work, financial investment, and commitment to implement real transformation and change initiatives and competing priorities at an organisational level. 5.14 Best Value Audit The theme of our Best Value audit in 2025 is Transformation: How councils are redesigning their services to deliver services more efficiently. This process started in early April and will cover a review of relevant information, additional case studies of successful transformation projects and meetings with relevant people from the Council. Areas of particular interest include our organisational plans for transformation, programme management, community and partner involvement and impact of transformation projects. We are in the fortunate position to be able to provide a comprehensive evidence portfolio and demonstrate where our previous transformation work has impacted positively across our areas of service delivery. The findings of the audit and final report should be presented to full Council in September 2025. 5.15 Partnership Working The Transformation and Change programme continues to seek new innovative ways of working internally and externally with partners and colleagues to ensure we meet the aims and objectives of our Strategy. Over the past six months, we have introduced service design workshops across individual projects which included partner involvement in developing processes and services in future. In addition, many projects involve external partners with interdependencies across workstreams. For example, the ALEO Review project has a steering group with membership across all ALEO’s and PKC to ensure partners are closely aligned, informed at every step, and have accountability for the progress of the project.
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5.16 HSCP Transformation & Change Programme We have continued to work and meet regularly with our HSCP colleagues on Transformation & Change activity to ensure we are maximising opportunities for collaboration and joint working. For example, the Care at Home redesign; Discharge Without Delay improvement work and the creating Integrated Health & Social Care Locality Teams intersect with PKC. The HSCP mirrors the PMO approach and is re-examining its Transformation Programme to align with the IJB Strategic Plan to 2027 and drivers in relation to population change, needs, demand and cost pressures. See below the approved programme which covers both health, social care and integrated services. 5.17 We are working together to embed a service design approach across the programmes and sharing training opportunities where appropriate. The HSCP reports on its Transformation Programme to the Integrated Joint Board’s Audit & Performance Committee to monitor progress and receive strategic direction.
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6 Conclusion 6.1 The Transformation & Change programme has made good progress over the last six months with the Programme Management Office proving to be instrumental in focussing, co-ordinating and providing regular monitoring across all areas of the programme. This has led to improved consistency of approach, clear support structures in place and more accountability in terms of monitoring and reporting. Projects are meeting key milestones and timescales, already realising some early benefits which are highlighted within this report. 6.2 As well as reporting on overarching progress through formal Committee reporting structures, we will continue to regularly engage with our Elected Members informally through briefings across specific project areas, achievements, and challenges. 6.3 Before our next formal report, the main areas of focus for the Programme Management Office will be ensuring the best value report reflects our commitment and hard work in this area, ensuring that all the upcoming Options Appraisal exercises are concluded and recommendations presented, reviewing and updating our governance framework (Strategies and Action Planning). 7. Impact Assessment Value The Impact and Value Assessment (IVA) undertaken in relation to this report is available here. 8. Appendices 7.1 Transformation & Change Programme - Phase 2 Project Summary Updates