Agenda Document Pack - Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum - 04/02/2025
South Lanarkshire Council · 4 February 2025
Back to Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum — 4 February 2025 and its agenda
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Council Offices, Almada Street Hamilton, ML3 0AA Monday, 27 January 2025 Dear Councillor Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum The Members listed below are requested to attend a meeting of the above Forum to be held as follows:- Date: Tuesday, 04 February 2025 Time: 14:00 Venue: Hybrid - Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton, ML3 0AA The business to be considered at the meeting is listed overleaf. Yours sincerely Paul Manning Chief Executive Members Joe Fagan (Chair), Gerry Convery (Depute Chair), John Anderson, Maureen Chalmers, Maureen Devlin, Richard Lockhart, Katy Loudon, Davie McLachlan, Kirsten Robb, John Ross Substitutes Andrea Cowan, Gladys Ferguson-Miller, Martin Hose, Eileen Logan, Margaret B Walker 1
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BUSINESS 1 Declaration of Interests 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum held on 19 November 2024 submitted for approval as a correct record. (Copy attached) 3 - 8 Item(s) for Consideration 3 Audit Scotland Report Delivering for the future – why leadership matters Report dated 5 December 2024 by the Chief Executive. (Copy attached) 9 - 14 4 Accounts Commission New Approach to the Audit of Best Value – City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire and Scottish Borders Report dated 7 January 2025 by the Chief Executive. (Copy attached) 15 - 20 5 Transformational Reviews - Update Report dated 7 January 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 21 - 30 6 Transformational Reviews – Forward Reporting Programme Report dated 10 January 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 31 - 34 Urgent Business 7 Urgent Business Any other items of business which the Chair decides are urgent. For further information, please contact:- Clerk Name: Tracy Slater Clerk Telephone: 07385 370 089 Clerk Email: tracy.slater@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 2
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PERFORMANCE AND REVIEW SCRUTINY FORUM Minutes of meeting held via Confero and in Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton on 19 November 2024 Chair: Councillor Joe Fagan Councillors Present: Councillor John Anderson, Councillor Gerry Convery (Depute), Councillor Andrea Cowan (substitute for Councillor Maureen Chalmers), Councillor Maureen Devlin, Councillor Richard Lockhart, Councillor Katy Loudon, Councillor Davie McLachlan, Councillor Kirsten Robb, Councillor John Ross Councillor’s Apology: Councillor Maureen Chalmers Attending: Chief Executive’s Service P Manning, Chief Executive; T Little, Head of Communications and Strategy; L Marshall, Finance Adviser; N Reid, Improvement and Community Planning Manager Community and Enterprise Resources A Brown, Head of Enterprise and Sustainable Development; C Park, Head of Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services Finance and Corporate Resources J Taylor, Executive Director; C Fergusson, Head of Finance (Transactions); M Milne, Head of Personnel Services; A Norris, Administration Assistant; L O’Hagan, Head of Finance (Strategy); T Slater, Administration Adviser Housing and Technical Resources H Philips, Performance Co-ordinator Social Work Resources L Purdie, Head of Children and Justice Services 1 Declaration of Interests No interests were declared. Councillor Anderson made a transparency statement in relation to item 7 of the agenda – Review of Routes to Work South, as he was a member of the Routes to Work South Board. 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum held on 27 August 2024 were submitted for approval as a correct record. The Forum decided: that the minutes be approved as a correct record. 3 Council Plan Connect 2022 to 2027: Quarter 2 Progress Report 2024/2025 A report dated 31 October 2024 by the Chief Executive was submitted on the progress of ‘Connect’, the Council Plan 2022 to 2027, at the Quarter 2 Stage of 2024/2025. 2 3
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‘Connect’ detailed the Council’s vision, values, priorities and outcomes to be delivered in the 5- year period of the Plan. Of the 61 key strategic measures nominated for reporting against the Plan:- 1 project has been completed 43 had met their timescale or target as per expectations 8 had minor slippage against timescale or minor shortfall against target 3 had major slippage against timescale or major shortfall against target 6 had information which was not available or included for ‘information only’, to set performance information in context A summary of the key achievements against each of the 6 ‘Connect’ Outcomes was contained in the report and the ‘Connect’ Performance Report for Quarter 2, 2024/2025, covering the period to the end of September 2024, was attached as Appendix 1 to the report. To aid scrutiny, a further analysis had been introduced, to follow-up the measures from the previous year’s Quarter 4 report that had been assigned as ‘report later’. There were no report later measures in the Quarter 4 2023/2024 report, therefore, no further action was required. The Forum decided: (1) that the Connect Quarter 2 Progress Report 2024/2025, summarised in the report and detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be noted; and (2) that the summary of the Council’s key achievements against the 6 ‘Connect’ Outcomes be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 27 August 2024 (Paragraph 3)] 4 Resource Plans - Red and Amber Results at Quarter 2, 2024/2025 A report dated 31 October 2024 by the Chief Executive was submitted on performance measures where results at Quarter 2, 2024/2025 had been recorded as either ‘red’ (there had been major slippage against timescale or major shortfall against target) or ‘amber’ (there had been minor slippage against timescale or minor shortfall against target). Across all Resources, 15 out of 256 measures relating to Council priorities had a status of ‘amber’ and 8 had a status of ‘red’. The remaining 233 measures (91%) had a status of ‘blue’ (project completed), ‘green’ (the timescale or target had been met in line with expectations) or ‘report later’ (the information was not yet available to allow officers to say whether the target had been reached or not but would be reported when available). For 2024/2025, there had been a slight decrease in the number of ‘red’ and ‘amber’ measures reported in comparison to the previous year. This was due, in part, to a continuing and comprehensive review of measures and targets which had resulted in greater clarity when assigning measures with the appropriate status. An explanation on progress to date, the circumstances which had determined the ‘red’ or ‘amber’ status, including unforeseen changes in timescales, circumstances, or work being underway but not yet complete, and progress updates providing revised timescales for completion, where relevant, as well as management actions, were provided in Appendix 1 to the report. The Forum decided: that the report be noted. 4
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5 Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) 2022/2023 Results and Action Plan - Update A report dated 24 October 2024 by the Chief Executive was submitted on the updated Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) results for 2022/2023. The LGBF compared spend/cost, performance and customer satisfaction results over several years and between similar councils. It comprised a number of performance indicators across a range of services. An initial report on the 2022/2023 LGBF results was submitted to the Forum on 19 March 2024. Updated information was provided on the 2022/2023 LGBF results in Appendix 1 to the report. Across the 102 indicators in the 2022/2023 suite, the Council’s performance improved against 53 (52%) indicators, remained the same against 4 (4%) indicators, and declined for 36 (35%) indicators. There were 9 (9%) indicators for which the results or trend information was not yet available for 2022/2023, including the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) satisfaction data and educational attendance/exclusions. In terms of South Lanarkshire’s figures relative to national results, performance was better than the Scottish average for 51 (50%) indicators and was worse than the average for 40 (39%) indicators. 2 (2%) indicators were in line with national results and there were 9 (9%) indicators for which the 2022/2023 results were not yet available. The updated 2022/2023 LGBF results for the Council would be uploaded onto the performance pages on the Council’s website. In addition, South Lanarkshire’s LGBF Dashboard would be updated for the results released since March 2024 as well as the explanatory narratives provided by Resources. The Forum decided: (1) that the updated LGBF results, narrative and actions for 2022/2023 be noted; (2) that it be noted that the updated LGBF results and explanatory narratives would be published on the performance pages of the Council’s website; and (3) that it be noted that South Lanarkshire’s LGBF Dashboard would be updated. [Reference: Minutes of 19 March 2024 (Paragraph 4)] 6 Transformational Reviews – Cross-Cutting – Update A report dated 16 October 2024 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted providing an update on the cross-cutting reviews that were part of the Transformational Change Programme for 2025/2026. At its meeting on 26 June 2024, the Council’s Executive Committee noted the Transformational Change Programme that was required to drive continuous improvement and efficiencies, and link into the Budget Strategy over the next 3 years. A report was submitted to the Forum on 27 August 2024, providing information on the first tranche of reviews. This report provided an update on those reviews and included information on proposed savings for the 2025/2025 Budget Strategy, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, which had been presented to members for consideration as part of the budget setting process. Terms of Reference had been prepared for the Digital Transformation review and Customer Engagement review, which were closely aligned, and attached as appendices 2 and 3 to the report respectively. 5
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There were 2 final cross-cutting reviews yet to commence on In-house and Procured Services, and Depot Rationalisation. The Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) responded to members’ questions in relation to:- overtime savings, advising that those were expected to be permanent the current use of Artificial Intelligence by the Council and the considerations that would be required for any future use, which would be part of the Digital Transformation review the proposed change to the provision of insurance for parent councils and support that would be provided by the Council. This would be treated as a question relating to the budget process and, thereafter, circulated to all members The Forum decided: that the report be noted. [Reference: Minutes of the Executive Committee of 26 June 2024 (Paragraph 9) and Minutes of 27 August 2024 (Paragraph 6)] 7 Review of Routes to Work South A report dated 23 October 2024 by the Executive Director (Community and Enterprise Resources) was submitted on the review of Routes to Work South (RTWS). RTWS was a South Lanarkshire based company limited by guarantee and a registered charity that delivered a range of employability programmes on behalf of South Lanarkshire Council. RTWS was established in 2001 and operated as an Arms-Length External Organisation (ALEO) of the Council, delivering services through Teckal arrangements which were negotiated on an annual basis. A review of employability services took place in 2022/2023 and resulted in the transfer of the Employability Service to Community and Enterprise Resources. This had reduced duplication, achieved savings and ensured the Service was flexible and responsive to a changing funding climate. However, elements of duplication remained between the Council and RTWS and it was considered that a wider review would provide opportunities to further reduce duplication and achieve best value. The Terms of Reference for the review of RTWS were attached as Appendix 1 to the report. The Head of Enterprise and Sustainable Development responded to a member’s questions in relation to the purpose and potential outcome of the review. The Forum decided: that the report and Terms of Reference of the review of Routes to Work South, attached as Appendix 1, be noted. 8 Agile Working Guidance A report dated 15 October 2024 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on the proposal to review agile working arrangements across the Council. The Covid-19 pandemic was instrumental in changing how the Council delivered its services and, since 2020, there had been a significant shift to digital and a gradual and planned reintroduction of service delivery which, over the last 4 years, had resulted in a range of flexible and agile working arrangements in place across the Council. The move to more flexible working arrangements had also resulted in a change in employee working patterns. Therefore, as the current arrangements had been in place for 3 years, it was considered appropriate to review the agile working arrangements in place across the Council. 6
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A Terms of Reference for the work to develop guidance for agile working was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. To support the review, benchmarking would take place to gather information on the arrangements in place in other local authorities and a survey undertaken to ascertain an accurate position on current arrangements in place across the Council. The Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) responded to a member’s question in relation to the review taking into consideration potential impacts on employees. The Forum decided: that the report and Terms of Reference in relation to the review of agile working arrangements, attached at Appendix 1, be noted. 9 Corporate Standards A report dated 15 October 2024 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on the Council’s Corporate Standards and proposals to review and update the Standards and supporting documentation. The current Corporate Standards were published in 2012 and were designed to be the minimum standards expected to ensure a base level of consistency across the Council. Since 2012, there had been changes in how the Council operated and delivered its services. In addition, there had been the normal turnover of employees since the pandemic in 2020, where employees had commenced employment during a time of change. This had led to some inconsistencies in practice. A Terms of Reference for the review of Corporate Standards, which would be undertaken in 2 stages, was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. The Forum decided: that the review process and Terms of Reference in relation to corporate standards, attached at Appendix 1, be noted. 10 Urgent Business There were no items of urgent business. 7
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 4 February 2025 Report by: Chief Executive Subject: Audit Scotland Report: Delivering for the future – why leadership matters 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- • provide the Forum with a summary of the Audit Scotland report ‘Delivering for the future – why leadership matters’ published in July 2024 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Forum is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the key findings within the report be noted. 3. Background 3.1. In July 2024, Audit Scotland published the above report on behalf of the Accounts Commission. The audit of Best Value is now integrated into the annual financial audit. As part of this, auditors are asked to report on a specific thematic issue chosen each year by the Accounts Commission, recognising the risks and challenges councils face. The theme was ‘Leadership of the development of new strategic priorities’. 3.2. This report highlights some of the common points identified by auditors in their management letters, with the aim of assisting councils as they review and develop their priorities further. It also sets out a summary of the Commission’s expectations for Best Value in this area, along with improvement areas frequently identified by auditors. 4. Findings 4.1. The Accounts Commission identified the following findings from their analysis: • The leadership in all councils have established a clear vision supported by revised priorities informed by the views of citizens and communities. All councils have an agreed plan aimed at tackling poverty and inequalities, and all councils reflect sustainability of the environment in their strategic priorities. All councils have shown that the views of citizens and communities have been reflected in setting the priorities in some form, and most chose to communicate the updated vision through their website. 3 9
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• Most councils have set out what they want to achieve in their priority areas, but improvements are needed in performance monitoring and reporting. Auditors highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including the clarity of outcome measures and targets, arrangements for monitoring and scrutinising progress, and the accessibility and timeliness of performance reporting on council websites. • Councils need to do more to ensure budget decisions and financial strategies are aligned to priorities. Making the best use of public resources is at the heart of delivering Best Value and a key leadership responsibility. This means that councils need a clear plan of how they will use their resources and assets to support the delivery of their local priorities. As financial pressures continue this is going to become even more important. Some auditors highlighted that councils have plans in place to drive transformation and change: this is an area auditors will look more closely at in 2025. • Members and officers are working collaboratively, but maintaining and strengthening these relationships, and ensuring strong governance and scrutiny is key to ensuring tough decisions are made effectively. Auditors recognised the steps many councils took to support newly elected members and to provide ongoing training and development. But they also highlighted the need for members to take personal responsibility for their development, making use of the opportunities provided by councils for training so that they have the skills required for effective scrutiny, decision-making and collaboration. Auditors highlighted concerns with recruitment and turnover challenges in key leadership and financial posts, encouraging councils to ensure capacity risks are managed after leadership restructures. • Community empowerment is a local priority for most councils. Auditors noted examples of communities designing and co-producing services, including examples of participatory budgeting to involve communities in local spending decisions. While achieving the target of subjecting one per cent of net revenue budgets to participatory budgeting remains aspirational for many, councils have demonstrated engagement with citizens and communities in the budget setting process but there is scope to strengthen this engagement. 4.2. In conclusion, the report states: “Overall, auditors have concluded that councils have set a clear vision and priorities following the local government elections but ensuring they have the detailed plans to support delivery, effective collaborative working relationships to enable tough decisions and clear performance reporting to support effective scrutiny is key to ensuring the sector can respond to the challenges ahead” 5. Common Improvement Actions Identified by Auditors 5.1. The report identified the following actions:- Improvement Action South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) Position Clarifying the outcome measures and targets for council priorities. The Council Plan Connect and the annual Resource Plans set out the measures and targets for the Council priorities Improving arrangements for monitoring and reporting on progress against corporate priorities to elected members to support effective scrutiny. Progress against priorities and outcomes in Connect /Resource Plans are monitored quarterly and reported to elected members every 6 months: at Quarters 2 and 4. These reports are also available to the public on the Council’s website. 10
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Making performance reporting on council priorities on the website more accessible to the public and ensuring it is updated regularly. Information is easily and readily accessible to the public on the performance pages on the Council’s website and is updated annually at the very least. These pages are signposted to the public through social media posts. Ensuring that workforce, assets, digital, capital and service plans are aligned to corporate priorities. The revised Workforce Strategy is aligned to the Council Plan and links to key strategies, specifically Digital. The IT Service Plan is aligned with Resource demands for digital and technology which underpin corporate priorities. The IT Asset Management Plan is aligned to Connect and is updated annually. The proposed Estates Strategy which will inform and guide future decisions on assets will be aligned to the Council Plan Connect. The Capital Programme is aligned to the Council Plan Connect and Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) / Sustainability Impact Assessments were used for the most recent capital proposals. Integrated Impact Assessments (IIAs) will be used moving forward. Encouraging and supporting communities to engage including exploring reasons for low levels of engagement with opportunities offered and ensuring engagement is meaningful. The Council and Community Planning Partnership (CPP) have developed 9 Neighbourhood Plans in our areas that feature highly on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). We continue to deliver on these plans by working with residents in Stakeholder Groups and by investing in place based participatory budgeting (PB) to support community participation and activism around plan priorities. PB applications and voter numbers are increasing year on year. The difference this is making is highlighted in individual area annual reports against the plans. We are also developing a locality level of representation via Community Partnerships. These partnerships are community-led and their chairs have a place on the CPP Board, providing quarterly reports to each Board meeting for discussion of their priorities and local issues with other Board members. In Autumn 2023, SLC undertook an engagement exercise on local democracy and participation. Our engagement targeted residents who tend not to participate and they made up 56% of respondents. The results were submitted to the Scottish Government as our response to its Local Democracy Review. The findings of this consultation were also shared with the CPP Board and highlighted a lack of understanding of how local government works, how it 11
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is accountable to the public, a lack of time to participate, a need for us to improve the information we provide to inform local participation, as well as a desire to participate digitally and through voting exercises such as PB. We will work through the CPP to conclude and evaluate our current Participation and Engagement Strategy that built neighbourhood planning, Community Partnerships and PB. This strategy comes to an end in 2025 and had delivered its planned activities. We will thereafter co-create a new strategy with our local engagement structures from the previous strategy that seeks to develop and strengthen their skills and capacity to lead local democratic participation. This new strategy will implement the findings of our ‘Let’s talk Local Democracy’ consultation to bring in wider forms or deliberation and participation for those who do not wish to or are unable to participate in local participation structures. Ensuring equality impact assessments are completed at an early stage to inform policy and strategy development and that equality impact assessment are published The Executive Committee agreed on 7 August to move to an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) process, something the IJB has also now agreed, on 24 September. An update on this went to Executive Committee (agenda item 10) on 2 October with the proposed form of IIA. The roll out of the IIA process has already begun, with training having been arranged for staff and a briefing note issued to the Extended Management Team for cascading. The training will be clear that IIAs need completed at an early stage and they will be published going forward. There will also be Lead IIA Officers for Resources and a Peer Review Panel for more notable IIAs, to help support the completion of IIAs in a consistent manner with suitable quality. Building on existing net zero plans to include further detail on specific project costs and budgets ensuring they are sustainable, and including more information on council’s websites about what they are doing to address climate change and the progress made The Council acknowledges the serious and immediate threat of climate change and is committed to accelerating the pace of action in response to the climate emergency and in Scotland’s transition to a net-zero and climate resilient society and economy. The Climate Change and Sustainability Committee meets regularly (five times per year) to ensure progress is made and reported. The Council is developing proposals for a 10-year Estate Strategy to inform and guide future land/property decisions on the investment, rationalisation, co-location, and disposal of assets. The aim is to direct investment into a reduced, higher quality and energy efficient core estate, which will 12
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facilitate the transition to net zero. The cost of achieving the Net Zero targets is significant and there is no additional funding being made available for this at this point in time. Showing how budget decisions are aligned to priorities and setting out long term financial plans, again, aligned with priorities The Council’s medium term revenue budget plan is presented to elected members for approval and is aligned to the councils priority spend areas and council priorities including schools, roads and social care. The Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) approach recently adopted by the council ensures all relevant legal duties are considered when the Council is taking major policy or strategic decisions. IIA has been used for the most recent budgets proposals. Reviewing the affordability of proposed capital plans and their revenue implications The affordability of capital projects is considered as part of the capital programme in any given year. The revenue consequences of capital projects are included within the revenue budget strategy. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. There are no direct employee implications. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. There are no direct financial implications. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 9. Other Implications 9.1. Considering the detail of the report and identifying actions as appropriate contribute towards effective risk management. 10. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 10.1 This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy at this time, and therefore no impact assessment is required. 10.2. There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Chief Executive 5 December 2024 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes • Ambitious, self-aware and improving 13
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Previous References • None List of Background Papers • Audit Scotland Report ‘Delivering for the future – why leadership matters’ Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Tom Little, Head of Communications and Strategy Ext: 4904 (Tel: 01698 454904) E-mail: Tom.Little@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 14
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 4 February 2025 Report by: Chief Executive Subject: Accounts Commission New Approach to the Audit of Best Value – City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire and Scottish Borders 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] advise the forum of key messages and recommendations from recent reports published under the Accounts Commission’s new approach to auditing Best Value [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Forum is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [] (1) that the key messages and recommendations within the report be noted. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. Towards the end of 2023, the Accounts Commission introduced a new approach to the Audit of Best Value to replace the Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR) regime which had run from 2018 to 2023. 3.2. The approach consists of brief Controller of Audit (COA) reports accompanied by and reflecting on published annual audit reports. These Controller of Audit reports are considered by the Commission in public and reported publicly. 3.3. The COA reports are intended to offer a BV-focused reflection on the council’s annual audit report. In line with the previous practice of bringing BVAR findings to the forum to highlight good practice and place our own activities in context, the findings from the recent COA reports are summarised below. 4. City of Edinburgh Council (published 24 October 2024) 4.1. The Commission is pleased to see the progress made since our Best Value Assurance Report in 2020, in particular the actions completed on performance reporting and medium-term financial planning. However, given the council’s ambitious strategic priorities and financial challenges, work must be concluded as soon as possible on the actions to embed community engagement in service improvement and delivery, and to implement the Edinburgh Partnership’s new governance arrangements and progress reporting. 4 15
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Given the fine balance of political power, collaborative political leadership will be essential to take difficult decisions on how to transform services to make them financially sustainable. The Commission would urge the council not to lose sight of community priorities and the impacts of savings options on service delivery as it goes through its political decision-making processes. The Commission acknowledges the ambitious plans in place to end poverty and become a net zero city by 2030. However, based on progress to date, there is still much to do in relation to the targets set. Specific project costs must be established urgently to better inform decision-making about priorities. Given its priorities and the scale of the financial challenge, the council must accelerate its transformation and change programme. This will require a review of how services are delivered in the future, the detailed delivery plans required to achieve the necessary savings, and an understanding of how these plans will deliver on the council’s priorities and performance outcomes. The council has a good track record of delivering savings in recent years, but not all of these have been recurring, and options for further savings of this nature are now limited. Engaging staff, partners, and communities in shaping transformation and change will be vital, along with clear and transparent communications about what is and isn’t possible. The Commission looks forward to seeing how the council builds on its current budget engagement work and how it embeds community engagement across service redesign. Going forward, the council should provide the opportunity for a range of voices to be heard, not just those who have engaged previously, and the intelligence from communities should be clearly laid out in the options presented to elected members to inform decision-making. The Commission notes that the council plans to significantly increase levels of borrowing to realise its ambitious capital plan. We do not underestimate the major infrastructure challenges facing Edinburgh, in particular around housing and the school estate, but such levels of borrowing bring risks that could impact future financial sustainability. The council will need to manage this carefully to ensure that its levels of borrowing are affordable and that service impacts are minimised. Unlike some other councils, Edinburgh has opportunities on the horizon to raise additional income, for example the introduction of a visitor levy. The Commission will watch with interest as work to maximise these opportunities progresses but would warn the council against using the benefits of potential future income to defer difficult decisions in the short term. The council has an exciting opportunity to use its new people strategy, revised workforce plan, and new HR/payroll system to ensure that it has the right people with the right skills (including digital) for future models of service delivery. This will be especially important in key areas where service performance has deteriorated, such as housing and waste, and in areas like health and social care where workforce capacity and demand-led pressures are negatively impacting service users. The Commission looks forward to seeing evidence of the impact of these new plans and systems, including across its Integration Joint Board, and how they are being used to drive improvements to services and working practices. 4.2. The Commission puts forward the following action points for City of Edinburgh:- The council should consider improving its budget papers by providing more specific savings proposals, the impact of budget reductions on services, and how these are to be achieved. 16
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The fine balance of political power at the council means that members will need to work constructively together to reach agreement on options for reform. The council should ensure it has a robust measurement and reporting framework to evaluate progress of the new people strategy and workforce plan. It should report on specific key performance measures and assess the impact of its actions, including identifying timescales and assigning service leads. The council should undertake a corporate review of digital skills in its workforce to identify gaps and areas for improvement. This should include seeking feedback from staff on its digital provision to innovate and improve service delivery. The council should continue to build on its existing net zero plans to include further detail on specific project costs and budgets. This should include outturn information, and details of any additional funding required. This would provide better information for decision-making about prioritising projects which make the most impact and therefore maximising the contribution to achieving its 2030 Climate Strategy goals. 5. Clackmannanshire Council (published 27 September 2024) 5.1. The Commission commends the progress made by the council since previous Best Value reports in 2018 and 2019, in particular in relation to priority setting, performance management and scrutiny, budget development, community engagement and empowerment, equalities and climate change. Like many councils, Clackmannanshire Council continues to face significant financial pressures and while it has delivered previously identified savings, there has been a reliance on one-off budget flexibilities and reserves to balance its budget. The council needs to take urgent action to set out how it intends to achieve financial sustainability. The Commission strongly encourages the council to develop a robust Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) by the end of financial year 2024/25. The MTFS should link clearly to transformation plans and projects, workforce and digital strategies, the council’s Capital Investment Programme, and show how current funding challenges with the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) will be addressed. The Commission welcomes the steps the council has taken to develop its transformation programme. Successful delivery of this programme is essential to achieve both a sustainable financial position and improve outcomes. As well as being clear on the resources required to be allocated to the transformation programme, clarity is also needed in relation to the benefits it expects to be realised, and by when. Given the particular combination of challenges facing the council – including capacity, recruitment, resilience within teams, leadership development and sickness absence – the Commission urges the consideration of all options within transformation plans and projects including partnering arrangements, digital delivery, collaboration and shared services to ensure the future sustainability of service delivery. The Commission recognises the ongoing positive working relationships between elected members and officers and across political parties, but would emphasise to members that this should not come at the cost of effective scrutiny and challenge. 17
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The Commission notes that the comparative performance of Clackmannanshire Council’s services has declined over time, and that capacity is impacting progress on improvement actions in some service areas. The council must be clearer on the action it is taking to tackle poor performance (including in its transformation programme and projects) and the impact it expects planned actions to have. The Commission welcomes the council’s approach to engaging the local community and is pleased to see that the council’s annual priorities align to the Community Planning Partnership’s local outcome improvement plan (LOIP), underpinned by a performance management framework. With plans, strategies and scrutiny arrangement now in place, the Commission will expect to see evidence of how outcomes are improving over the longer term as part of the council’s public performance reporting. 5.2. The Commission puts forward the following action points for Clackmannanshire:- The leadership (both political and officer) has been effective in setting clear priorities; it now needs to ensure it has the capacity and capability to deliver them. The council should urgently develop a medium-term financial strategy to set out how it intends to achieve financial sustainability. It is critical that the council develops detailed plans at pace, with robust benefits-realisation tools to demonstrate that it is achieving its intended outcomes. The council should review its capital budget setting and monitoring arrangements to ensure it sets realistic budgets with clear timelines and a clear linkage to council priorities. 6. Scottish Borders Council (published 28 November 2024) 6.1. The council’s commitment to continuous improvement is clear. Despite Covid, work has continued to respond to all recommendations made in previous Best Value reports. It has consistently laid out a clear vision and strategic priorities that respond to its geographic and demographic challenges. The Commission is impressed by the council’s strong approach to financial management and recognises its financial strategy risk register as an area of good practice that should be shared. There is a strong track record of delivering planned savings, a significant proportion of which are recurring. Going forward, recognising the financial challenges faced, the focus should be on making savings on a recurring basis. Following successful delivery of ‘Fit for 2024’, the council has set out a refreshed transformation programme, SBC Way, supported by a ‘self- replenishing’ change fund approach. The Commission will watch with interest as to whether the change fund approach delivers the required payback and recurring savings at the pace required. The Commission would urge the council to strengthen its reporting on its transformation programme milestones and expected benefits, as well as ensuring the community is engaged with its transformation agenda. The council demonstrates a willingness to work with other councils and organisations, both within and out with the Scottish Borders area. The Commission encourages it to continue with this approach to support not only the achievement of the outcomes set out in its Council Plan, but the realisation of the £18.1 million savings required by 2028/29. 18
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In relation to focusing on performance and improvement, the building blocks are in place, including timely and accessible public reporting. The council should strengthen the links between improvement activities and performance evidence, and the links between the Local Government Benchmarking Framework and its own priorities and performance indicators. Difficulties in relation to community engagement have been recognised. The Commission will take an interest in how the council is assessing the impact of its new Community Engagement Strategy, including evidence of effective leadership and how the strategy’s principles are being embedded across the organisation. In response to workforce challenges and risks, the council has undertaken a range of targeted, service-specific initiatives – including the offer of accommodation for those recruited into adult social care – and is able to now see positive impacts. Again, the Commission would encourage the council to share this good practice. It has also focused on assessing the impacts of post- Covid ‘agile working’ on productivity, which the Commission commends. The council should now focus on ensuring closer links between its workforce, financial and council plans, and develop performance metrics to continue to measure the impact of its actions. 6.2. The Commission puts forward the following action points for Scottish Borders:- The council should continue to ensure that future savings are made on a recurring basis to support financial sustainability. Reporting of transformation could be enhanced so that progress against defined measurable milestones and achievements from the SBC Way workstreams are more clearly reported to the community. Performance reporting can be enhanced by giving more detail and clearer linkages to actions being taken to address areas for improvement identified in the quarterly and annual performance reports. 7. Next steps and recommendations 7.1. Officers of the Council will continue to review the Controller of Audit reports as they are published to learn any lessons for the Council. Reports on any significant findings and key messages will be brought to the Forum for information. 8. Employee Implications 8.1. There are no direct employee implications. 9. Financial Implications 9.1. There are no direct financial implications. 10. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 10.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 11. Other Implications 11.1. Considering the detail of the report and identifying actions as appropriate contribute towards effective risk management. 19
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12. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 12.1 This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy at this time, and therefore no impact assessment is required. 12.2. There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Chief Executive 7 January 2025 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes • Ambitious, self-aware and improving Previous References • None List of Background Papers • None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Tom Little, Head of Communications and Strategy Ext: 4904 (Tel: 01698 454904) E-mail: Tom.Little@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 20
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 4 February 2025 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Transformational Reviews – Update 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- provide an update on the Transformational Reviews that are part of the Council’s Transformational Change Programme for the year 2025/2026 and beyond 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the update on the Transformational Reviews be noted. [1rec 3. Background 3.1. In June 2024, a report titled 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 Revenue Budget Strategy was presented to the Executive Committee. This report highlighted the need for Transformational Change to manage the significant Budget Gaps facing the Council over the next 3 years. The Transformational Change Programme drives continuous improvement as well as efficiencies and feeds into the Budget Strategy to deliver savings for 2025/2026 to 2027/2028. 3.2. An initial paper titled, Cross-Cutting Reviews – Update, was presented to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum on 27 August 2024 with an update on a series of Cross – Cutting reviews which were not focussed on one Resource, but on Council wide activities. A further update titled, Transformational Reviews – Cross- Cutting – Update, presented on 19 November 2024. That report included any savings proposed for the 2025/2026 Budget Strategy as a result of these Reviews. These are summarised in Table 1. Table 1: Cross-Cutting Savings 2025/2026 Saving Reference Saving Proposal Saving 2025/26 £m M&O01 Procurement 0.955 M&O02 Overtime 0.364 M&O03 Management Structures 1.000 COR01 Council Charges 0.375 Total 2.694 5 21
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3.3. This report will provide a further update on the Transformational Change Programme and will include Cross-Cutting Reviews and Resource specific Transformational Reviews, to identify savings in the year 2026/2027 and beyond (Section 4). 4. Transformational Change Programme – Transformational Reviews 4.1. Each review is taken in turn with a summary of their current status. 4.2. Charging: as reported previously, following the saving proposed for 2025/2026 of £0.375 million, the original Terms of Reference (ToR) objectives for the Charging Review have been achieved. The review remains ongoing and is now focused on: 1) Reviewing the outcomes of the budget consultation 2) ‘Normal’ inflationary charges for future year uplifts 3) Service led review of other Council charging policy 4) Accepted payment methods for charges (e.g. the removal of cheques) 4.3. Further updates will be provided to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum as the review progresses. 4.4. Procurement: This review focuses on procurement practices across the Council to ensure the maximum level of efficiencies and identify cashable budget savings. Following the saving proposed for 2025/2026, the review has identified further areas where the intention is to realise savings moving forward. These include: • Wallboard • Nitrile gloves • Benefits from using purchase cards 4.5. This review is ongoing, and any updates will be provided to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum as the review progresses. 4.6. Overtime: This review of overtime practices and spend will look to reduce expenditure and remove/reduce associated risks to employees. 4.7. Following the saving proposed for 2025/2026 of £0.364 million, this review is ongoing and will look to identify further savings opportunities for 2026/2027 and beyond. This includes a focus on looking to reduce the need for overtime though recruitment, and also consideration on out of hours service requirements. Any updates will be reported to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum as they become available. 4.8. Organisational and Management Structures: This is a Personnel led review to ensure correct balance between management and the staff they oversee. This review refers to the Organisational Structure Models which were agreed and implemented formally in 2009/2010 and considers how closely aligned the current structures are to the agreed preferred operating models (POM). The 2025/2026 savings pack contains a proposal to increase the spans of control for these services areas and generate savings totalling £1.000 million. 22
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4.9. This review is ongoing in order to identify further savings opportunities for 2026/2027 and beyond. Phase 2 of this exercise will look to identify further savings in both Grade 4 and above posts within structures that do not meet the POM requirements and in any layers/tiers that can be streamlined as per the POM. Work on Phase 2 has commenced and outcomes are expected by the summer. Implementation timeframes will be considered as part of the Review. Any updates will be reported to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum as they become available. 4.10. Loans Fund: The review considered two areas of Loans Fund Accounting with a view to realising benefits in relation to the payment of debt. As noted in the previous report, this review has now concluded and therefore there will be no further updates on this review. Decisions on loans fund review will be taken as part of the budget considerations for 2025/2026. A proposal to use the £6.600 million reduction in loan charges in 2025/2026 to reduce the Budget Gap in that year, was included in the recent paper to the Council’s Executive Committee. Further annual savings are also available, and the full details are included in the Executive Committee report (13 November 2024). 4.11. Fleet: This review sets out the Fleet principles that Services should consider as part of their ongoing workstreams in order to lower operational expenses and extend the lifespan of vehicles. A ToR detailing the scope and outcomes of this review was presented to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum on 27 August 2024. Work remains ongoing to consider the number of vehicles used by Resources and rightsizing the Council’s fleet. 4.12. Digital Transformation: A review of the use of technology will impact on all Reviews and will focus on how the Council and its customers interact. Three key areas are being considered: • Business Systems and Processes: projects and improvements to key corporate and line of business applications • Workforce Productivity: focus on enabling and empowering staff to maximise their effectiveness and digital literacy • Customer Engagement: clear and consistent Council-wide customer engagement 4.13. A ToR was presented in a previous report to this Forum and work remains ongoing meet the timescales for delivery. 4.14. Customer Engagement: This review is closely aligned with the Digital Transformation review and will see the development of a Council Customer Engagement Strategy to improve digital engagement, accessibility and create efficiencies. The review will identify opportunities for service improvement, cycle time reduction and cost saving through transformation of customer contact processes in the main customer facing Resources and will consider the introduction of new technologies and processes to deliver efficiency-led, customer services and engagement. 4.15. A ToR was presented in a previous report to this Forum and work remains ongoing meet the timescales for delivery. 23
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4.16. Property: As advised in the previous report, the Review to look at the Council’s use of property will be far reaching, covering all Resources and South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, and all areas of Service delivery. The condition, running costs, quality, performance, location, and use of Council assets will all be considered with the challenge being to consider the right portfolio of buildings, creating an affordable, efficient, fit-for-purpose and sustainable core estate that supports the move to net zero, improves service quality, is people centred and is service driven. The cost of achieving the Net Zero targets is significant and there is no additional funding being made available for this at this point in time. 4.17. All buildings will be reviewed for co-location opportunities with a view to being multifunctional, flexible, and adaptable to meet the combined needs of services and service users and promote joint working. This is likely to reduce the number of properties the Council has. Further information on this Review and its criteria is covered in another paper titled South Lanarkshire Council / South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture – Vision for Future Relationship which was presented to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum on 27 August 2024. 4.18. An update on this review will be presented to the Executive Committee in March 2025. 4.19. Depot Rationalisation: A review of the use and users of the depots has now commenced to consider optimal use of depots across Resources/Services. As part of a wider strategic initiative, the Council aims to rationalise the number of depots to achieve operational efficiencies, reduce annual revenue expenditure, and future-proof its operations in line with zero-carbon obligations for both buildings and vehicles. 4.20. Work will be ongoing throughout Winter 2024 – Spring 2025 and updates will be presented to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum as available. 4.21. Third Sector Review: This review will look at the relationship between the Council and the Third Sector, building on the recent motion to Council on the Keeping the Beat Alive initiative and the Fair Funding Charter. This will include consideration of the collaborative relationship between the Third Sector and the Council, building on current relationships to ensure a continued strong working partnership between the two. As part of this review, we will also look to update the internal processes and guidance for the provision of grants for the Third sector. 4.22. A ToR for this review will be presented to the 1 April 2025 meeting of the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum. 4.23. Factoring: This is a full review of the Factoring Service currently provided by Housing and Technical Resources to owners of former Council Housing Stock. This service is currently provided to 8480 owners within Rutherglen and Cambuslang, East Kilbride and Hamilton localities. 4.24. The review is in two phases. The first phase is an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the current factoring arrangements, and an appraisal of alternative service models taking into account potential changes in the legislative framework and considering the risks and benefits of each. APSE have been appointed as a consultant to assist with the review. 24
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4.25. A draft report including recommendations is expected from the external consultant in the first quarter of 2025, and the outcome will be presented to the Housing and Technical Resources Committee thereafter. 4.26. The second phase will incorporate consultation with stakeholders and service users on viable and sustainable options. 4.27. A ToR has been prepared for this review and is attached in Appendix 1 for information. This details the extent of the review and what it intends to achieve. It also includes timescales for delivery. 4.28. In-house and Procured Services: Consideration will be given to the costs of inhouse service provision compared to the cost of procuring these same services from external marketplace. This review has still to commence. 5. Employee Implications 5.1. There are no direct employee implications from this report. 6. Financial Implications 6.1. The financial implications are summarised within the report. 7. Other Implications 7.1. The main risk associated with the Council’s Revenue Budget is that there is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed budget management applied across the Resources. The risk is managed through four weekly Budget Monitoring Meetings at which any variance is analysed. In addition, the probable outturn exercise ensures early warning for corrective action to be taken where appropriate. 7.2. The main risk associated with the Council’s Capital Programme is that there is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed project management plans prepared and monitored for each project. The risk of an overspend is managed through four weekly Investment Management Meetings. 7.3. There are no implications for sustainability in terms of the information contained in this report. 8. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 8.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 8.2. There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in the report. Jackie Taylor Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 7 January 2025 25
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Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References Executive Committee, 26 June 2024 List of Background Papers 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 Revenue Budget Strategy Cross-Cutting Reviews – Update (Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum, August 2024) Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: Lorraine O'Hagan, Head of Finance (Strategy) Ext: 2601 (Tel: 01698 452601) lorraine.o'hagan@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 26
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APPENDIX 1 Transformational Review – Terms of Reference 1 Review Title Factoring Review 2 Identified Issues A full review of the Factoring Service currently provided by Housing and Technical Resources to owners of former Council Housing Stock. At present the service is provided to 8480 owners within Rutherglen and Cambuslang, East Kilbride and Hamilton localities. The Council is authorised to act as factor where; - Title deeds allow the Council to do so as long as it owns at least one flat within the block, or - The majority of owners in a block have appointed the Council to act as factor. The cost of the Service is recovered through the Factoring Charge raised quarterly to owners. 100% of the cost of administering the service should be recovered via the Management Fee and the recharge to HRA. External fee is charged quarterly in arrears. The costs of common repairs and maintenance is recharged according to the title deeds and HRA pick up the appropriate share for tenanted properties. Internal issues identified : - Owners often refuse to give consent for required repairs and investment, which not only prevents investment in those properties that remain in council ownership, it also means that blocks can fall into disrepair, living conditions and neighbourhoods deteriorate, property values fall and the eventual costs of repair are more significant. - Lack of owner consent can increase the risks that the council cannot meet its obligations in terms housing standards and net zero for its own stock. - When a complaint is received, invoices are put on hold whilst investigations are undertaken. Owners are increasingly challenging bills specifically to delay payment. - There has been a substantial increase in the levels of enquiries over the past 3 years. This is a self-funded service and there has been no corresponding increase in the number of staff to deal with enquires. This has resulted in Service Statement timescales of responses within 30 days, not being achieved. This in turn also reduces the resource available to proactively work with owners to obtain agreement to works. - The use of centralised financial and repairs ICT systems prevents billing on account in the way that private factoring companies would deliver the service, therefore the Council pay all invoices up front and then pursues payment from owners, which can result in bad debt and ultimately write offs. 27
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- The use of the in-house repairs service, results in competing demand for repairs resources and challenging prioritisation of repairs between tenant and owned properties. These issues are not unique to South Lanarkshire. A Scottish Parliament Working Group has been established to consider Tenement Maintenance and the Scottish Law Commission has recently commenced consultation on provisional proposals for the introduction of compulsory owner’s associations, responses to which are due by August, although legislative change is not anticipated in this parliamentary cycle. Identified Outcome(s) - Assessment of the current service model and improved management information. - Options appraisal in respect of potential future service delivery models. - Consultation with stakeholders and users on future service models. - Recommendation in terms of potential ICT solutions which could allow billing on account. - Recommendation in terms of repairs service provider. - Recommendation in terms of future Statement of Services and charges. - Implementation Plan. 3 Scope of Review and Outputs to Report The first phase of the review will examine the strength and weaknesses of the current factoring arrangements, appraise alternative service models, taking into account potential changes in the legislative framework and consider the risks and benefits of each. This phase will be carried out by an external consultant. The second phase will incorporate consultation with stakeholders and service users on viable and sustainable options as well as develop an implementation plan. Phase 1 1. Collation of Business Information, including: - Financial such as budget, charges and debt - Analysis of property location and type - Analysis of tenure 2. Appointment of external consultant to: - Review current service model, - Review legislation and benchmarking, - a ‘gap analysis’ to ensure that the council are meeting all their obligations in terms of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011, the Code of Conduct for Property Factors and the standards and outcomes of the Scottish Social Housing Charter. - Identify and risk assess alternative service models 28
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- Identify short term improvements to existing model. Phase 2 3. Assessment of options 4. Consultation with stakeholders and Service Users As part of this review there will be appropriate consultation with users of the factoring service, so that their views can be taken into account. This will be a 2 phase approach, initially with follow up surveys with those owners that previously participated in the customer survey and expressed an interest in being involved. The questions will be informed by the external consultant. The further phase of consultation will be at the point where an initial options appraisal has taken place and will be with a wider pool of consultees including internal departments, residents (owners and tenants) and elected members. An outcomes-based impact assessment will also be conducted as part of the review, to ensure the Council’s various legal duties are met, including in terms of equalities, the Fairer Scotland Duty and the Consumer Duty. 4 Resources affected: - Community and Enterprise Education Finance and Corporate Housing and Technical Social Work X X 5 Financial overview (£m) to be completed by finance where appropriate HTR Budget Category General Fund HRA Total HTR Factoring Factoring Factoring Annual Annual Annual Budget Budget Budget Employee costs 207 0 207 Property costs 0 0 0 Supplies and services 0 0 0 Transport charges 0 0 0 Admin costs 30 0 30 Payments to other Bodies 0 1,027 1,027 Payments to Contractors 0 0 0 Finance charges 0 0 0 Total expenditure 237 1,027 1,264 Fees and charges 0 (1,027) (1,027) Other income (237) 0 (237) Total income (237) (1,027) (1,264) Net expenditure 0 0 0 29
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6 Key aims of/outcomes from project Service/operational Improved business model for the Factoring Service Employee Redesigned service model and resources Other Increased involvement by Service Users 7 Key milestones 1. Collation of data on existing arrangements. June-July 2024 2. Appointment of external organisation to undertake phase 1 – September 2024 3. Analysis and assessment of Phase 1 outcomes – into Quarter 1 2025 4. Consultation – into Quarter 1 2025 5. Reporting of outcomes and development of Action Plan for implementation of changes – March 2025. 8 Monitoring and reporting arrangements - Final Report: March 2025. 9 CMT Sponsor / Lead Officer Sponsor: Executive Director (Housing and Technical Resources) Lead Officer: Head of Property Services 10 Project resourcing - Factoring Manager - Repairs Manager - Housing Manager - Housing Investment Team - Finance Team time required both in connection with provision of initial data and analysis of the implications of potential alternative service models. - Procurement Support for analysis of the implications of potential alternative service models. - Legal support required both in connection with provision of initial data and analysis of the implications of potential alternative service models. - ICT support to assess Factoring Software options and costs. 30
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Agenda Item Report Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 4 February 2025 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Transformational Reviews – Forward Reporting Programme 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- pose] provide a forward reporting programme to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum for the Council’s programme of Transformational Reviews [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- recs] (1) that the report and the outline forward programme for the meetings of the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum to 25 November 2025, attached as an Appendix to the report, be noted. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. As part of the ongoing Transformational Change Programme for the year 2025/2026, a standard agenda item has been prepared, detailing a list of items proposed for consideration at subsequent meetings of this Committee. The outline forward programme to 25 November 2025 is attached, for members’ information, as an Appendix to the report. 4. Employee Implications 4.1. There are no employee implications. 5. Financial Implications 5.1. There are no financial implications. 6. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 6.1. There are no Climate Change, Sustainability or Environmental implications in terms of the information contained within this report. 7. Other Implications 7.1. There are no risk implications in terms of the information contained within this report. 6 31
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8. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 8.1. The report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 8.2. There was no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Jackie Taylor Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 10 January 2025 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References None List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Jackie Taylor, Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 01698 454622 jackie.taylor@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 32
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APPENDIX 1 Transformation Review Programme – Forward Reporting Plan Meeting Date Item 01 April 2025 • Cross Cutting: • Charging • Procurement • Overtime • Organisational and Management Structures • Fleet • Digital Transformation • Customer Engagement • Property • Depot Rationalisation • In – house and Procured Services • Third Sector • Factoring Review • South Lanarkshire Council / South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture – Vision for Future Relationship 17 June 2025 • Cross Cutting • Charging • Procurement • Overtime • Organisational and Management Structures • Fleet • Digital Transformation • Customer Engagement • Property • Depot Rationalisation • In – house and Procured Services • Planning and Regulatory • Factoring • Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services – Roles and Responsibilities 33
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19 August 2025 • Cross Cutting • Charging • Procurement • Overtime • Organisational and Management Structures • Fleet • Digital Transformation • Customer Engagement • Property • Depot Rationalisation • In – house and Procured Services 25 November 2025 • Cross Cutting • Charging • Procurement • Overtime • Organisational and Management Structures • Fleet • Digital Transformation • Customer Engagement • Property • Depot Rationalisation • In – house and Procured Services 34