Item 05 Appendix 3
West Dunbartonshire Council · 1 March 2023
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 1 March 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham/Angela Wilson Saving Ref: CCF01 Saving Title Co-locate Dalmuir Library and CE Centre Summary of Savings Proposal Dalmuir Library is open 9.30am-5pm Monday to Friday and 10am-1pm on Saturday. The library provides free internet and PC access as well as support for learning and is well used by the community. Under this option, Dalmuir Library would be co-located with Dalmuir Community Centre. Library provision will be retained for the benefit of the community, with savings generated from repairs, maintenance and running costs at the current library site. This proposal will free up £530,000 of capital committed to create a gallery space in the existing library, and a further £700,000 committed to building upgrades on the building. In addition, there is potential to generate a capital receipt of circa £270,000 from the sale of the current library building. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The proposal would result in the Council owning less buildings with associated reduced costs in utilities, rates, maintenance. The proposal would safeguard library provision in this area and maximise use of the community centre. The community centre is situated on the edge of the village and there is a risk footfall may decrease as fewer people pass. This would be mitigated by effectively marketing the new location. The library would move to a repurposed space within a community centre and there is a risk this could be viewed as denigration of provision. Every effort would be made to maximise space and retain existing facilities. The proposal would not impact on the employee headcount. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 14* 0 28 0 28 0 *Does not include capital receipt
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham/Angela Wilson Saving Ref: CCF02 Saving Title Review library estate Summary of Savings Proposal The Council owns and operates a number of community facilities across West Dunbartonshire, including libraries. Currently there are eight libraries across West Dunbartonshire, three in the main towns of Alexandria, Dumbarton and Clydebank and the remaining five in villages and estates. Libraries provide access to books, learning, study, ICT equipment and free wifi but also provide safe space in communities. Library staff also help citizens access Council services through online provision. Under this proposal, there are two options to be considered. Option 1 Under this option, opportunities to co-locate the libraries which exist outwith the three main town centres would be identified. If co-locations opportunities were progressed for Balloch, Parkhall, Duntocher (within Glenhead), and Dalmuir in alternative Council properties or partner providers, a saving of circa £100,000 could be generated from running costs in addition to the following capital receipts: Parkhall £200,000 Dalmuir £270,000 Balloch £130,000 Glenhead £560,000 All staff would be retained. Option 2 Under this option, main branch libraries in Alexandria, Dumbarton and Clydebank would be retained, with Balloch, Parkhall, Duntocher, Faifley and Dalmuir libraries closed. If all five closures were progressed, this would result in the deletion of 12 posts. This proposal would generate a saving of circa £427,000 (£300,000 from staffing and £127,000 from property running costs including energy and maintenance). The potential capital receipt income is as stated in Option 1. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1 could be perceived as reduction in service as the square metrage of libraries would be reduced. This could be mitigated through creative use of space and highlighting to communities the benefits of retaining the asset at a lower cost rather than ceasing the service.
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Appendix 3 Option 2 will impact on employee numbers as well as reducing the overall service available within communities. The model of integrating one stop shops into libraries was designed to increase access and was only fully implemented on that basis. This option would also cease this provision. The closure option presents a political and reputational risk as it could be perceived as a reduction in opportunity to access resources including books, literacy materials and training for communities particularly those who are not digitally connected. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE Option 1 50* 0 100* 0 100* 0 Option 2 277** 12 427 12 427 12 *Excludes capital receipts ** Based on decision in March, building in time to progress with staff and therefore only half of staffing saving anticipated in 23/24.
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF03 Saving Title West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides an annual management fee to WDLT for the strategic and operational management of its Sport and Leisure Facilities, Community Facilities, Sports Development, Active Schools, Outdoor Recreation facilities and for event delivery. In 2022/23 the fee was £4.16m. Since the Trust was founded in 2012 the Council has underwritten uplifts in employee costs and increases in utilities. The Trust is bound to honour Council terms and conditions for employees and also any nationally agreed pay increases for the local government workforce. The Trust is responsible for all revenue expenditure relating to the operation of properties and delivery of services. Under this option, the management fee would be reduced, and/or the Council would not meet the increase in utility charges for this year. The fee reduction would be a set percentage, which for illustration purposes would equate to 10% reduction - £416,107 7.5% reduction - £312,080 5% reduction - £208,053 The Trust’s current utilities bill is £983,000 and it is projected this could be up to £500,000 more in 23/24. The Council would not pay the increase. The Trust has reserves of £1.4m against a target of around £675,000 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The Council has an SLA with the Trust around delivery of service. There is a risk that delivering savings results in a reduction of provision of services, facilities or staffing, and in turn this impacts on the community. This could be mitigated in part by the Board opting to use some of its reserves in 23/24. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 10% 416 0 416 0 416 0 7.5% 312 0 312 0 312 0 5% 208 0 208 0 208 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham/Angela Wilson Saving Ref:CCF06 Saving Title Generate additional income from buildings Summary of Savings Proposal Space in Council buildings is not being fully utilised post-pandemic and opportunity exists to maximise use of our assets by sub-letting. The first opportunity is to generate additional income by letting space within the publically accessible area of Church Street as a coffee shop. The proposal would generate circa £12,000 per annum helping to offset operating costs of the building in addition to providing a facility for both employees and visitors. The Bruce Street Baths which adjoin Clydebank Town Hall are currently vacant following investment in 2017 to enable an exhibition to be staged in the space. There are no current plans for use of the historic building although it is wind and water tight. An opportunity exists to market the space and bring the building back into meaningful use by way of lease. It is estimated the building would generate rental income of circa £12,000 per annum. Currently the Council is seeking to identify space for the Children and Families social work team to facilitate contact between parents and children. Under this option, the team would utilise the first floor of Clydebank Leisure Centre which offers multi use space including offices and play areas and is serviced by its own lift. This has potential to realise £130,000 of income per annum and in turn provide an opportunity to generate an income from letting the ground floor of Aurora House. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is a risk that in spite of marketing the spaces for lease, they are not let and therefore the income would not materialise however this has been mitigated by keeping projections low. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 77 0 154 0 154 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF09 Saving Title Amend opening hours of Clydebank Town Hall Summary of Savings Proposal The Town Hall is currently open to the public five days a week. The building struggled to attract visitors prior to the pandemic and a refurbishment project with new museum space to attract touring exhibitions was previously planned to address this but in 2021 committee decided not to proceed with this project, and maintain static art exhibitions. Post Covid, plans are being developed to address the low visitor numbers but in light of the high operational costs of the building there is opportunity to consider reducing opening hours. Option 1 Under this option, the Town Hall would continue to operate on four days. The building would open on additional days as required to support pre-booked events. A review of usage and bookings would be undertaken to ascertain the most appropriate days for opening and closure. Access for elected members and support staff would be maintained on four week days. Option 2 Under this option, the Town Hall would operate over three days. The building would continue to open on additional days as required to support pre-booked events as the cost would be mitigated by the income generated. Access for elected members and support staff would be maintained on three week days. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There would be little if any impact on the public from the change as currently visitor numbers are low. Other than events, the building has not been open on a Saturday since February 2020 with no challenge or query by the public during this time. The revised model would save up to £40,000 a year on gas and electricity. The number of posts would be unaffected as employees could work from home or another building. Elected member and support staff would continue to have access to the building three/four days a week, with days for committee and Council business protected. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2024/25 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE Option 1 27 0 27 0 27 0 Option 2 40 0 40 0 40 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF12 Saving Title Citizen Services Provision at Church St Summary of Savings Proposal Currently Citizen Services operates the Customer Contact Centre, Housing Repairs Contact Centre and provides a front of house service at 16 Church Street. The Council recognises that for many people, their digital skills, literacy or deprivation can prevent them from accessing the internet and for this reason it is important to maintain alternative means of contacting the Council. The front desk at Church Street, supported by one member of staff, is the only office location where residents can access services face to face. Under this option, the service would be removed and residents would be directed to use the phone lines currently provided in reception to call the contact centre or, in the case of emergencies, contact the services direct. This would generate a saving of circa £30,000 per annum. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is an expectation from residents that Church Street, as a public building, is accessible for face to face support. The current customer service staff are fully trained and can direct people to a range of services. The impact could be mitigated by the introduction of signage in Church Street to highlight alternative ways of contacting the Council including using freephones in reception area to call the contact centre or dial services direct in emergencies. There is a risk that despite highlighting alternative means of contact, people would continue to attend in numbers and feel dissatisfied with the level of service. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 30 1 30 1 30 1
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF13 Saving Title Community facilities review Summary of Savings Proposal Currently West Dunbartonshire has 12 Council owned community centres serving a population of 89,000. In addition, a number of independent community facilities exist operated by third sector or charitable organisations. There are also several sports facilities in the area including sports hubs, with many communities having access to facilities like libraries and church halls within walking distance. Council-owned provision is in excess of neighbouring authorities. In Inverclyde, which is of comparable size and demographic, there are five community halls and hubs with a further five managed by independent organisations. Argyll and Bute offers three community centres and East Dunbartonshire has nine for a population of 109,000 people. Many of the centres’ block bookings have not returned post-Covid as sites were unavailable for so long due to use as testing or vaccination centres. Under this option, the provision would be reviewed with up to seven centres transferred to community ownership or closed. Those in scope are: Bonhill Community Centre (Ladyton) Napier Hall Bowling Hall Glenhead Community Centre Skypoint Community Centre Clydebank East Community Centre West Dunbartonshire Activity Centre (Brucehill) This option would result in an overall generated of saving of over £450,000 – part of the figure is from reduction in West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust staffing of 7.8 FTE with a total saving for the Council of £257,700. There is also a potential to achieve capital receipts from sales of the buildings, totalling £2,415,000. A further £987,694 could be saved as a result of non-capital condition survey works programmed not progressing. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The area currently, per head of the population, has access to a significant number of facilities and these are not fully utilised. Opportunity exists to rationalise the estate and maximise the use of community facilities. While a reputational and political risk exists this can be mitigated by seeking opportunities for engagement and partnership with alternative providers, with early engagement and clear communication essential. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 257 7.8 257 7.8 257 7.8
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF16 Saving Title Review Communications, Culture and Performance Summary of Savings Proposal The Communications, Culture and Performance area supports a wide range of services across the Council incorporating Arts and Heritage; Communications, Marketing and Events and Performance and Strategy. Arts and Heritage supports heritage centres and museum spaces in addition to managing the Council’s collections including archives and records and delivering a programme of cultural programming in the community linking with schools ELCCs, community groups and care homes with a focus on wellbeing. Communications manages the reputation of the Council providing media management, promotion of Council services and achievements, strategic communications support, social media management, event management as well as leading on sales, sponsorship opportunities, marketing and graphic design. The Performance and Strategy team leads on the strategic plan, benchmarking information for service improvement and supports strategic consultation and engagement including the telephone survey and citizens panel. The team is also responsible for the corporate equalities agenda This proposal would see a review of staffing across the three teams with up to two posts impacted, generating a saving of circa £80k. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The deletion of the post would impact on the resource available across the service. The full impact on service delivery would not be determined until it is ascertained which post would be removed from the structure. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 80 2 80 2 80 2
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF17 Saving Title Revise Housing Repairs Contact Centre Provision Summary of Savings Proposal Currently Citizen Services operates the Customer Contact Centre, Housing Repairs Contact Centre and provides a front of house service at 16 Church Street. The Council recognises that for many people, their digital skills, literacy or deprivation can prevent them from accessing the internet and for this reason it is important to maintain alternative means of contacting the Council. In 2021/22 there were 50,000 calls received by the Housing Repairs Contact Centre, with many following up on repairs already reported. Ongoing work to reduce the number of outstanding repairs along with implementation of full functionality of the IHMS system to staff within housing and building services will reduce this contact.. The option would see the contact centre replaced with a single emergency and right to repair only manned phone line. All other reports would be via a voicemail service, the website and email. This would result in the reduction of four members of staff, generating a saving of circa £120,000 per annum. The emergency controller would continue to operate out of hours, 365 days a year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The option would retain telephone services for those without internet access or for those requiring urgent assistance. A new process would require to be developed for housing repairs with the engagement of all stakeholders, particularly the Housing and Building Services. As with any significant change in service, this would require a public awareness campaign to support the channel shift. There is a risk that despite communications highlighting the new process and signposting to alternatives means of contact, people use the emergency and right to repair line to attempt to report standard repairs, and this results in waiting times on this line. This could result in dissatisfaction with the level of service and in turn increased complaints. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 120 4 120 4 120 4
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF18 Saving Title Review library opening hours and staffing structures Summary of Savings Proposal In recent years, savings have been taken from the libraries service as part of a service wide review. These were generated in the main from a restructure of the service to fully integrate with Citizen Services and reduce post numbers and a reduction in library opening hours. Under this option, a further review of opening hours would be undertaken across all library branches with a view to reducing hours or days of operation. Any adjustment to opening hours would be informed by visitor data collated by each branch identifying peak usage times. The staffing structure would also be reviewed. This would result in the deletion of up to four posts. This would generate a saving of circa £95,000. This can be taken in addition to the options to co-locate libraries but the saving would be limited if the option is taken to close branches. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Libraries support literacy and digital inclusion providing access to books, other reading materials and PCs alongside signposting to other Council services via the integration of citizen services. They are used by a number of services including Working4U and CL&D to provide outreach and also provide a safe space for people who are vulnerable and isolated. Any reduction in service would carry a political and reputational risk. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 95 4 95 4 95 4
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF19 Saving Title Review school library provision Summary of Savings Proposal Currently, there is four-day-a-week staffed library provision across most of West Dunbartonshire’s five secondary schools, with one school operating five days and another three days. The service has a workforce of 4.1 FTE librarians. Under this proposal, the service would operate part-time and on days when librarians were not present, the space could be utilised for lessons with teaching staff, or could be supported by senior student volunteers at lunchtimes. Option 1 Under this option, provision would continue in each secondary school location on two days a week. This proposal would result in a reduction of staffing with two FTE posts retained. This would generate a saving of circa £60,000. Option 2 Under this option, provision would continue in each secondary school, opening for three days in each location. This proposal would result in a reduction of staffing with three FTE posts retained. This would generate a saving of circa £30,000. Option 3 Under this option, provision would continue in each secondary school on a term time only basis. This would retain staffing with a required contractual change and consultation in line with this. Saving would be limited, circa £10,000 0.3 FTE. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The school library service not only exists to issue books and other materials to pupils across the five mainstream secondary schools, it supports literacy, provides space and support for study and projects and is integral to the curriculum in schools with lessons held in this location. Any reduction in service would carry a political and reputational risk. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2024/25 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 40* 2 60 2 60 2 2 20 1 30 1 30 1 3 10 0.3 10 0.3 10 0.3 *Factors time taken to progress consultation and process
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF20 Saving Title Review of Contact Centre Summary of Savings Proposal Currently Citizen Services operates the Customer Contact Centre, Housing Repairs Contact Centre and provides a front of house service at 16 Church Street. The Council recognises that for many people, their digital skills, literacy or deprivation can prevent them from accessing the internet and for this reason it is important to maintain alternative means of contacting the Council. It is recognised that for a number of people the option to call rather than access services online is a preference rather than a necessity. Currently the contact centre employs 12 members of staff. Under this option, the contact centre provision would continue with nine members of staff, with work undertaken to promote alternative methods of contacting or reporting issues to the Council including via email and via the website. This would generate a saving of circa £90,000 per annum. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings A public awareness campaign would be required to further promote the digital first approach and encourage residents who are able to self-serve and submit enquiries via the website. Telephone services would continue for those without internet access or for those requiring urgent assistance. There is a risk that people’s behaviour does not change and wait times within the contact centre could rise as a result, particularly at peak times. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2024/25 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 90 3 90 3 90 3
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham/Angela Wilson Saving Ref: CCF21 Saving Title Review grants to strategic partners - Shopmobility Summary of Savings Proposal The Council provides grant support to a number of strategic partner organisations in West Dunbartonshire. Shopmobility delivers a mobility scooter, manual and powered wheelchair service to residents from its base in Clydebank Shopping Centre. Under this proposal, the current grant of £47,670 provided to Shopmobility by the Council would reduce by between 25% and 90% Option Reduction Remaining Grant 1 – 25% reduction 11,917.50 35,752.50 2 – 50% reduction 23,835 23,835 3 – 75% reduction 35,752.50 11,917.50 4 – 90% reduction 42,903 4767 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings In addition to the provision of scooters and wheelchairs, Shopmobility delivers a range of support to residents with physical impairments to increase independence, reduce isolation and ensure equality. This includes provision of trained sighted to accompany those who are visually impaired to support them with tasks such as shopping or to attend events and facilitating a number of groups for walking, yoga, knitting and photography. Membership of Shopmobility costs £20 a year and the organisation relies on the Council funding to sustain its services. Any reduction in funding carries a political and reputational risk. Reducing funding could impact on the future sustainability of the group. The impact could potentially be reduced if alternative funding streams could be identified through the likes of CVS or the HSCP. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 12 0 12 0 12 0 2 24 0 24 0 24 0 3 36 0 36 0 36 0 4 43 0 43 0 43 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham/Angela Wilson Saving Ref: CCF22 Saving Title Reduce funding of Antonine Summary of Savings Proposal The Council provides grant support to a number of strategic partner organisations in West Dunbartonshire. The Antonine Sports Centre is an independent charity which has offered access to sports and community facilities in Duntocher for over 30 years. Under this proposal, the current grant of £49,156 provided to the Antonine by the Council would reduce by between 25% and 90% Option Reduction Remaining Grant 1 – 25% reduction 12,289 36,867 2 – 50% reduction 24,578 24,578 3 – 75% reduction 36,867 12,289 4 – 90% reduction 44,240 4,915 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The Antonine provides and supports access to sports and physical activity in the community of Duntocher and surrounding areas which members drawn from across the Clydebank area. The Council made a commitment in 2017 to support the Antonine with funding for the next 10 years to protect and enhance the facility. Any reduction in funding carries a political and reputational risk. This could potentially be mitigated by investigation other potential funding streams for the organisation through CVS. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 12 0 12 0 12 0 2 25 0 25 0 25 0 3 37 0 37 0 37 0 4 44 0 44 0 44 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU03 Saving Title Learning Assistants Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently employs 28 Learning Assistants across 29 Early Learning and Childcare Centres. Learning Assistant posts are contracted at 0.78FTE, meaning the current central allocation for these posts is 21.84FTE. Under this option, the Council will continue to provide Learning Assistants for 19.5 FTE (25 posts) in Early Learning and Childcare Centres. This would generate a saving of £32,107 in 2023/24. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Every child and young person will continue to be offered appropriate support from adults to allow them to grow and develop and reach their full potential in the Council’s Early Learning and Childcare Centres. When children and young people experience consistent, positive relationships from key adults, they are more likely to grow up resilient in their wider world. As such, children will continue to be supported through the key adult approach at our ELCCs. The nature of support required for children and young people has intensified and requires more continuous and long term interventions. A reduction in Learning Assistant support impacts on abilities to meet children’s changed needs effectively; reducing life chances and positive outcomes. This proposal will impact those in one of the lowest paid groups of workers in the Council, with three posts removed or reduction in hours for each Learning Assistant. The first year saving (2023/2024) would be a part-year saving and the saving detailed is based on the 8 month period August – March. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 32 2.34 49 2.34 49 2.34
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU07 Saving Title School Clothing Grant Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently pays a school clothing grant of £300 per child per year, which is more than double the statutory amount. This amount was increased from £150 offered in 2022/23 because the Council were able to fund it using Local Authority Covid Economic Recovery (LACER) funding. LACER funding has now been fully utilised and will not be available to fund this policy in future years. Under this proposal, there are two options to be considered. Option 1 Under this option, families of eligible children would continue to receive grant funding to support them with the cost of providing school uniform. From 2023/24 onwards, this payment will be £150, as was paid in previous years. The Scottish Government fully fund the £150 payment for secondary school pupils, with the amount allocated for primary pupils sitting at £120. The Council will subsidise this payment to increase it to £150 per primary school pupil. This is favourable compared to other local authorities, with most providing £120 for primary school children. This option would generate £774,000 of savings. Option 2 Under this option, all families of eligible children would continue to receive grant funding to support them with the cost of providing school uniform. From 2023/24 onwards, a school clothing grant payment in line with the Scottish Government funding provision of £120 for primary school and £150 for secondary school would be made to eligible families. This option would generate a saving of £839,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This proposal means that families who are eligible will continue to receive support in line with what is offered in other local authority areas. The proposal will impact recipients of the increased grant in 2022/23. Saving (Cumulative) Option 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 774 0 774 0 774 0 2 839 0 839 0 839 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU09 Saving Title Clerical Review in Primary Schools Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently offers 2,250 hours of clerical support in primary schools costing £1.461m. This equates to 64.3 FTE posts. Under this proposal, a review of clerical operations within primary schools would be undertaken to identify duplication and ensure the service is working efficiently. It is proposed that a saving of £119,420 could be achieved by introducing modern technological solutions, creating a local learning community administrative support function, reviewing front-line personnel required in school offices and introducing modern working practices including flexible working to enhance the work-life balance of employees. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Pupils, staff and parents would continue to have access to services delivered by school offices. It is accepted that a reduction in staffing may impact on capacity to deliver a personal service. A risk analysis assessing the impact of any changes to roles will be undertaken and current employees will be supported to ensure they are ready for change, with service assessments and action plans completed. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 0 0 120 5 120 5
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU11 Saving Title Bring Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in line with statutory level Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently pays Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) of £30 per week to eligible 16 – 19 year olds who want to continue learning. The Council also pays an additional £5 per week to those who have 100% attendance. This is more than the statutory EMA payment requirement of £30 per week, paid every two weeks in arrears. This proposal would bring the Council’s EMA payment in line with the statutory level of £30 per week. This proposal would bring the Council in line with other local authorities, and save approximately £50,000 per annum Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Eligible young people will continue to receive financial support while learning. This proposed change could impact upon attendance of young people staying on at school. The Council will engage with impacted families timeously before any changes to payments. Savings are based on probable outturn as the additional payment is based on the young person achieving 100% attendance, which varies each year. In 2021/22 the additional cost to the council was £54,000. The 2022/23 budget is £47,000. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 47 0 47 0 47 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU12 Saving Title Breakfast Clubs in Primary Schools Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides breakfast clubs in all primary schools every morning. The Breakfast Club operates between 8.00 am – 9.00 am. Under this proposal, breakfast club provision would cease, generating a saving of £142,000 (including on costs) in the first year. The first year saving (2023/2024) would be a part-year saving and the saving detailed is based on the 8 month period August – March. The savings for future years would equate to £212,867 (including on costs). Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Children and young people will continue to be provided with healthy and nutritious food options during their school day, both through school meals and in school cafeterias. It is recognised that providing a healthy start to the day has associated benefits of improved concentration, behaviour and attendance. Parents who utilise the service as childcare will be require to consider alternative options. This proposal will impact 69 employees (working the equivalent of 9 FTE posts) who are predominantly female. The impact on 67 of those employees will be loss of hours to the individual, while two employees will lose their only post with the Council. The average weekly hours required to cover breakfast clubs in the post is between 3 – 5 hours per week. Employees will be supported through the SWITCH policy to try to find posts with similar hours. This proposal will impact employees in other departments including facilities management. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 142 9 213 9 213 9
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU13 Saving Title P4 Swimming Lessons Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides free swimming lessons to all primary 4 pupils during term time, costing £14,000. Under this proposal, children will continue to be educated in all aspects of water safety. Free swimming lessons offered to Primary 4 children during term time will cease. The Council offered free swimming to all children in West Dunbartonshire over the Summer and October week holidays. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The Council works proactively with Police Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, Scottish Ambulance and the RNLI to develop water safety learning materials. These are used to educate children about the risks of swimming in open water. There is a risk of disadvantage and inequity for children not supported to learn to swim by their parents/carers. The removal of free lessons could result in reputational risk to the Council given local and national attention on promoting water safety within schools. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 14 0 14 0 14 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU15 Saving Title Reduce Greenspace Budget Summary of Savings Proposal Education Services currently pays £313,883 per annum for grounds maintenance, which includes grass and hedge cutting, weed killing, shrub maintenance and sports pitch maintenance within the schools estate. The level of maintenance is specific to each premise, with an additional £10,000 provided for six schools who have synthetic pitches. Under this proposal, the service would continue to invest in grounds maintenance with a budget of £213,883 per year. To achieve this saving, two options are being considered under this proposal. Option 1 Under this option, there would be no change to sports pitch maintenance, and grass cuts would be undertaken on a four-weekly basis. Option 2 Under this option, additional biodiversity areas would be created by identifying large areas of grass to plant small trees on. This would reduce the requirement for grass cutting in these areas. The trees would be funded from Greenspace’s Nature Restoration Fund. The saving generated will result in a staff reduction of 4FTE which will either be delivered through employing less seasonal staff or an increased reduction in the permanent workforce Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Increased biodiversity areas help the Council reduce its carbon footprint, as well as encourage a more diverse range of birds and insects, and providing additional learning opportunities for school pupils. There may be a perception by residents that areas are not well maintained. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 100 4 100 4 100 4
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laura Mason Saving Ref EDU16 Saving Title School 4 Day Week Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides education over five days between Monday-Friday. Primary schools are open to pupils from 9am-3pm with one hour break split between morning and lunch. There is local flexibility in the timing of breaks and lunch in each establishment. Secondary schools run an asymmetric week: Monday & Tuesday, 8:50am until 3:50pm (7 periods) Wednesday - Friday, 8:50am until 3:00pm (6 periods) Each day includes 1 hour 10 minutes for registration, interval and lunch. Under this proposal schools would continue to meet their statutory provision of learning and teaching time across a four day week. Primary schools would open Monday - Thursday, 8:30am until 3:45pm, providing pupils with the same amount of teaching time across four days, instead of five. Secondary schools will run an eight period day, Monday - Thursday, 8:20am until 4:10pm. Various start and finish times in all schools could be explored to provide the same hours of learning. Models that vary the length of day by season could also be explored (shorter days in winter/heating season could result in a larger saving). It is expected that local authorities introduce changes to facilitate a reduction in teacher class contact time from the current 22.5 hours to 21 hours for the start of session 2024/25. Change to the school day could potentially be introduced at the same time. It is proposed that a programme of extra-curricular activities for the 5th day is developed to ensure provision for vulnerable and at risk children. As secondary school buildings are required to be open through the Council’s contract with BAM, these could be utilised as venues for delivering the programme. It is proposed that approximately £1million of the savings generated by this change are reinvested to facilitate delivery of this programme, with the potential for partnership providers to be involved. Five models of provision for the 5th day are being explored, including creating local learning communities in each catchment area with a range of activities offered; targeted support offered to the six family groups identified by the Scottish Government as requiring wrap-around provision; working with community partners to
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Appendix 3 deliver programmes for children and families to participate in; providing funding to libraries and culture/active schools/sports development/swimming development/music/drama to plan and deliver a range of community based programmes; and engaging with national partners with possibility of matched funding to deliver activities. It is possible to blend the models listed above and these will be explored in more detail should this savings option be progressed. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This proposal would result in the Council seeing a significant reduction in transportation costs, and in energy usage, with savings generated for Facilities Management as well as Education. All pupils will continue to receive the same teaching time as they do currently and schools would continue to meet their statutory provision of learning and teaching across a four day week. The five-day model has been in place for a significant period of time and therefore the change may not be well-received as it may impact upon childcare arrangements for parents. Consideration must be given to supports in place for vulnerable children whose attendance at school provides a much-needed routine. Saving Option 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 0 0 1,338 0 2,008 0 2 1,338 0 2,008 0 2,008 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU17 Saving Title Review Senior Early Learning and Childcare Officers (SELCO) role and delete 6 Early Learning and Childcare Officers (ELCO) posts Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently has six experienced Senior Early Learning and Childcare Officers (SELCO) at seven ELCCs. SELCOs are allocated to centres with at least 80 children and are currently not committed to a key worker group. This means they are not currently counted in ratio of adults to children required by the Care Inspectorate registration of settings. The Council also has 250 Early Learning and Childcare Officers (ELCO) across the 29 ELCCs. Under this proposal, all six SELCO posts will be retained which will require a review of their role, in order to commit the post holders to a key worker group. Employees at each ELC would have continued support from the SELCO and leadership team. The Senior position will remain as part of the route to promotion in our ELC leadership structure. In order to achieve this saving 6 ELCO posts will be deleted. The 6 ELCO post holders will be offered ELCO vacancies as they arise. Vacant ELCO posts will be held for and offered to the 6 post holders impacted by this saving. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The first year saving (2023/2024) would be a part-year saving and the saving detailed is based on the 8 month period August - March. ELCCs have a regular turnover of ELCO positions. Vacancies which arise can be utilised for the six ELCO posts to be deleted. A consultation with employees impacted by this decision will be undertaken, with the SWITCH Policy highlighted as an option for ELCO being replaced by SELCO. Saving: 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 119 6 179 6 179 6
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE01 Saving Title Reduce anti-social behaviour service Summary of Savings Proposal Currently the Council’s anti-social behaviour team consists of eight officers and one team leader who operate on varying shift patterns to ensure a comprehensive service provision from 9am until 2am seven days a week. The team undertake duties including investigating complaints, identifying disruptive behaviour, supporting the prosecution of perpetrators and providing mediation where neighbours are in dispute. Officers act as professional witnesses in court, conduct proactive patrols, issue enforcement actions or issue Fixed Penalty Notices for fly tipping, dog fouling or littering. . As part of this option, there are three proposals to be considered. Option 1 Under this option, the ASB service would continue to operate with a team of seven, with two posts removed. The team would assist only with complaints involving Council tenants. Issues with other residents would be referred to police. Option 2 Under this option, a reduced anti-social behaviour service would operate with a team of two. The provision would operate Monday to Friday during office hours only with evening and weekend service and proactive patrols ceasing. It will be a telephone service only, with no proactive interventions possible. Option 3 Under this option, we would reduce the current budget required under General Service and increase Housing Revenue Account (HRA) contribution to fund the service based on a shift in complainer/perpetrator tenure using the service. The service would continue to operate as it currently does with no negative impact on our communities or employees as outlined in option 1 and 2. Implications and Risks Option One Backshift/weekend service provision will be vulnerable to interruption with a reduced workforce for cover purposes. This is because of shift patterns and the health and safety requirement for two officers to always be in attendance when responding to ASB complaints A reduction in workforce could also lead to increased levels of anti-social behaviour, low level disputes escalating without mediation and a loss of opportunity for evidence gathering. Communities will feel unsupported because there will be delays
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Appendix 3 in responding to their enquiries. In addition, there is a risk of increased failed tenancies where long term ASB cases go unresolved, which will have a wider impact on services including homelessness, HSCP, social work and education. This option proposes restricting the service to Council tenants only. There is a reputational risk to the Council if the service offer to Council tenants and other residents differ. It meant that no service will be provided for complaints that do not involve a council tenant either as victim or perpetrator. Option Two This option will see the loss of 7 ASB posts and end evening, night and weekend provision of the ASB Service, leaving a phone service only with no physical response and only within normal office hours Monday-Friday This option would effectively cease the proactive community based ASB service and extremely limit use of any enforcement actions The service would be left with 2 ASB Officers dayshift who could not deal with the volume of enquiries received or allow investigation of cases, gathering of evidence or effective progression of actions to address ASB behaviour. The daytime ASB Officers would also be unable to deliver effective responses on our unique No Home for Domestic Abuse service. Data analysis for the past 2 years indicates 67% of calls are received out of normal office hours. Option Three The current funding split between General Fund and HRA has become increasingly complex in recent years but broadly equates to 66% General Fund and 34% HRA. Analysis has identified that the existing financial funding split for the service was no longer reflective of current demand, therefore this option proposes to amend the existing funding split to 65% HRA and 35% General Services. This change is designed to protect the key elements of the ASB service whilst at the same time offering up a substantial saving for the general fund. This change would ensure the ASB Service continued to operate as it currently does with no detrimental or significant negative impact on our communities or employees as outlined in option 1 and 2. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 89 2 89 2 89 2 2 272 7 272 7 272 7 3 127 0 127 0 127 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE02 Saving Title Apprenticeship Pathway Modern apprenticeship scheme Summary of Savings Proposal In March 2022 the Council agreed to invest £250k per year over four years to fund the salary costs for young people to take up apprenticeships within West Dunbartonshire Council and beyond. In year 1, Covid recovery (LACER) funding was used to meet the commitment however there is no specific funding in place for years 2-4 which means it will need to be funded from the general services budget. Under this option, there are two proposals to be considered. Option 1: Under this option, the Council will continue to invest in apprenticeships with a fund of £200,000 available each year. This would generate a yearly saving of £50,000. Option 2: Under this option, the modern apprenticeship programme will cease at the end of 2022/23, generating a saving of £250,000 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings While Option 1 will mean a reduction in available opportunities, the Council will be able to maintain the critical elements of the apprenticeship pathway and outcomes. The impact will be a reduction of outputs by approximately 25%, with approximately 300 people still supported to secure employment or improved position in the workplace. Under Option 2, the Council’s support for young people - in particular those making the transition to the workplace through modern and foundation apprenticeships - will be significantly reduced. Work to support the development of key skills for essential industries including social care workers will end and there may be a requirement to reduce the number of staff in the team carrying out this work. In addition the Council will not have the resources to capitalise on any future opportunities, such as the Government-funded Kickstart programme and programmes such as Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 50 0 50 0 50 0 2 250 0 250 0 250 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE04 Saving Title Review Communities Team Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Communities Team provides a range of services to support the development and wellbeing of communities including community councils and other community groups, CCTV, Participatory Budgeting and community involvement. The team leads and co-ordinates the implementation of the Council and CPWD Community Empowerment Strategy and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund community proposals. Under this proposal, there are two options to consider. Option 1 Under this option, the Communities Team would be reduced by 50%, with a workforce of 11.5 operating a streamlined service. 11.5 posts would be deleted from the organisation. This would generate potential savings of £447,000 per annum. Option 2 Under this option, the Communities Team would be restructured, and amalgamated with the Working4U Youth Learning and Community Planning support role. This would general potential savings of £383,000 per annum, with a reduction in workforce of 13 across both services Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1 The proposed 50% budget reduction for the Communities team would severely impact their ability to operate effectively and meet strategic and operational priorities developed in response to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Resulting in a loss of progress and impact in areas such as building community resilience, anti-poverty, and community safety, including reduced capacity to develop community groups including councils, hindered anti-poverty efforts, reduced monitoring services and inability to develop the public space CCTV network in line with UKSPF external funding. This would remove the long-term ambition of self- sufficiency for the CCTV service and increase reliance on council budgets. Option 2 Combining the Communities team and Working4U Youth Learning Team would create an efficient operating model which continues to meet key strategic priorities. It also enables the continuation of the community planning function within the Council and the development of services in line with the three year Community Learning and Development Plan, Community Empowerment Strategy and Public Space CCTV. The proposed restructure will reduce overall costs of the service but strengthen ability to lever external funding.
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Appendix 3 Please note that: Option 1 relates to the Communities Team only. Option 2 affects two teams Communities and Working4U Youth Team, and also the community planning function which is currently provided through an arrangement with Argyle and Bute Council. The headcount is lower than FTE for Option 2 due to two staff and their budget returning to Education and the FTE being the difference between the combined teams total and the proposed restructure staffing total of FTE. 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 447 11.5 447 11.5 447 11.5 2 383 13 383 13 383 13
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE07 Saving Title Review Working4U service Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Working4U is a non-statutory service which offers some of the most vulnerable residents in West Dunbartonshire a range of financial, employability and learning support. The service employs approximately 98.5 FTE of which 49.5 FTE are funded through either Scottish Government employability grants or European Social Funds (ESF). ESF funding (18 posts) ends in June 2023. The Council directly funds 49 FTE of theWorking4U posts from the general revenue budget at a cost of £2.3m. Under this proposal, there are three options for consideration which reduce some of the element funded by the Council. The percentage reductions for each option represent the total reduction in W4U, i.e. the % of the total resource of 98.5 FTE. The options do not affect the externally funded element of W4U and means that we would retain between 73.5 FTE and 94 FTE staff depending on which option for savings is selected. However, externally funded posts are dependent on Scottish Government funding for employability services, which is currently under review, and in addition there is some uncertainty around the impact of the transition from ESF to UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Option 1 Reduce Working 4U by 5%. In addition to the 49.5 FTE externally funded staff our Working4U service would continue to support residents with approximately 44.5 FTE employees delivering practical debt and benefit advice and community learning support. This would reduce the service by 4.5 x FTE. Option 2 Reduce Working 4U by 13% In addition to the 49.5 FTE externally funded staff our Working4U service would continue to support residents, on a reduced scale, with 36 FTE employees delivering practical debt and benefit advice and community-based learning. This would reduce the service by 13 x FTE. Option 3 Reduce Working 4U by 25% In addition to the 49.5 FTE externally funded staff our Working4U service would continue with approximately 24 FTE employees delivering practical debt and benefit advice and community-based learning. This would reduce the service by 25 x FTE. The savings would come from teams supported by Council core budgets, which are the Debt and Money Advice Team and the Community Learning Team.
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Appendix 3 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1 the Working4U service will continue to operate and provide a range of practical financial and employability support to residents throughout West Dunbartonshire , although, the reduction in funding will reduce the capacity to meet the demand for welfare rights and community learning services. Option 2 will impact welfare rights, debt and adult learning teams, reducing their capacity to meet current and future demands for services. In addition, benefit maximisation and debt management support will reduce alongside support for residents to secure, retain and progress in employment. Option 3: will reduce the provision to a minimal service limiting the opportunity to tackle inequality. The ability to maximise income from benefits for citizens could be substantially reduced; and there will be limited resources to support residents to manage their debt. There is a risk the Council’s will not meet its commitment to supporting literacy/numeracy/ESOL work/ youth representation and outreach work through community learning activities. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 183 4.5 183 4.5 183 4.5 2 572 13 572 13 572 13 3 1,145 25 1,145 25 1,145 25
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE08 Saving Title Review Citizen Advice Bureau Funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Working4U service currently manages a budget of £594,118 which is paid to external bodies for the provision of services. West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau (WDCAB) receives £349,137 of this. As part of this proposal, there are four option. Under each, WDCAB would continue to receive financial support from the Council for provision of services. Option 1 Under this option, WDCAB would continue to receive £261,583 per year in Council funding. This would generate a saving for the Council of £87,284. Option 2 Under this option, WDCAB would continue to receive £175,569 per year in Council funding. This would generate a saving for the Council of £174,569. Option 3 Under this option, WDCAB would continue to receive £87,284 per year in Council funding. This would generate a saving for the Council of £261,583. Option 4 Under this option, WDCAB would continue to receive £34,914 per year in Council funding. This would generate a saving for the Council of £314,223. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Under all options, West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau (WDCAB) will continue to receive a level of Council funding to support their provision of debt support, benefit advice and consumer rights. This is in addition to the funding it receives from other sources. WDCAB has recently changed its delivery model from static premises to a pro-active community-based, outreach approach. As such, the organisation has reduced its overhead costs and is better prepared for a reduction in grants. It is recognised that a change in the level of grant funding is likely to lead to a reduction in services with greater emphasis on the use of ICT, telephone and online services.
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Appendix 3 Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2024/25 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 87 0 87 0 87 0 2 174 0 174 0 174 0 3 261 0 261 0 261 0 4 314 0 314 0 314 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE10 Saving Title Review YSortit Funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Working4U service currently manages a budget of £594,118 which is paid to external bodies for the provision of services. Youth charity Ysortit currently receives £156,124 of this for the provision of services. Under this proposal, there are four options to be considered. Option 1 Under this option, Ysortit will continue to receive £117,093 in Council funding. This will generate a saving of £39,031. Option 2 Under this option, Ysortit will continue to receive £78,062 in Council funding. This will generate a saving of £78,062. Option 3 Under this option, Ysortit will continue to receive £39,031 in Council funding. This will generate a saving of £117,093. Option 4 Under this option, Ysortit will continue to receive £15,612 in Council funding. This will generate a saving of £140,512. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Under all options, Ysortit will continue to receive a level of Council funding to support their provision of youth services. This is in addition to the funding it receives from other sources which include a grant of £116,000 from the Council’s Education Service and £30,000 from West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership. In addition, Ysortit has reported in its latest annual accounts that the organisation has reserve funds of £982,619; of which £103,536 are restricted. It is stated in their statutory accounts that this is equivalent to a year’s running cost. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 39 0 39 0 39 0 2 78 0 78 0 78 0 3 117 0 117 0 117 0 4 141 0 141 0 141 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE11 Saving Title Review Tenant Liaison Officer (TLO) service Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently employs four tenant liaison officers to provide neighbourhood and workplace mediation, respond to low-level neighbour disputes and work in partnership with other agencies to support vulnerable households to sustain tenancies. Under this option, the Council would continue to provide two tenant liaison officers to support tenants, with a review of the service undertaken to ensure it is working efficiently without duplication. This will generate a saving of £99,000 per year. Implications and Risks The tenant liaison service will continue to be available to support tenants in communities throughout West Dunbartonshire. A reduction in workforce will lead to a reduced capacity to provide specialist housing support or early engagement with vulnerable individuals. A reduction in provision may result in increased incidents of unacceptable and challenging behaviours from some of our most vulnerable households. This has the potential to impact upon those individuals, their families and other residents in the community. A review will be undertaken to ensure the service is working efficiently and the impacts of a reduced workforce are minimised. A range of additional supports are also available through the Council’s Housing and Working4U services for tenants who currently engage with the tenant liaison officer service. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 99 2 99 2 99 2
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE12 Saving Title Mitchell Way Office Accommodation Rent Summary of Savings Proposal The Homeless and Housing Options Service centralised public access provision following the pandemic, and as a result no longer provide services from the Mitchell Way office in Alexandria. The office is still used by Police Scotland and the Housing Operations Service Area for staff location and has a limited public access provision. This option would see the current rental charge passed to the Housing Revenue Account as the staff utilising the office are all HRA funded posts. There is also an opportunity for Assets to examine the current relationship with Police Scotland who currently have sole use of the first floor at the building for a £1 annual charge. This option will ensure the Council still receives the targeted rental income, but an opportunity exists for this to be maximised. This could represent a saving of £41,500 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings A new rental charge requires to be assessed internally for 2023/24 and an appropriate proportionate allocation to be set for those still using the building as a staff office base. Any new proposed rent should be seen to be appropriate and correlates with service provision. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 41.5 0 41.5 0 41.5 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE13 Saving Title Reduce the level of funding available to Community Councils Summary of Savings Proposal The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act of 2015 empowers Community Councils with legal powers and responsibilities, such as the ability to request information and assets from public bodies and to be consulted on certain decisions that affect their community. At present, the budget allocated to Community Councils is £25,000, which is distributed as a flat rate £500 administration grant plus a per capita allowance minus insurance costs. This option reduces the budget to £14,000 by increasing the administration grant to £750 and reducing the per capita allowance by 75%. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The impact and risks associated with this option would include: reduced community engagement; limited ability to advocate for community needs; decreased ability to organise community events; difficulty in maintaining and improving community infrastructure; and loss of local decision making. This can lead to decisions being made without adequate input from the community which may not reflect the needs and wants of local residents. Savings 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 11 0 11 0 11 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Victoria Rogers Saving Ref: PT05 Saving Title Reduce pay preservation Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently protects eligible employee’s salary under pay preservation for 24 months, subject to criteria being satisfied. Under this proposal the current level of pay preservation will be reduced to either three months or six months. Data for the five year period (01/012018 to 13/01/2023) indicated that: Reducing pay preservation to 6 months could have reduced costs by circa £128,000 for the 5 year period or £25,700 per annum. Reducing pay preservation to 3 months could have reduced cost by circa £165,000 for the 5 year period or £33,000 per annum. It is difficult to forecast the cost reduction for the Council in future years as it depends on the number of employees eligible for pay preservation. The data assessment also indicated that, in that 5 year timeframe, the breakdown of impacted employees was 67% females and 33% males. This is disproportionately more advantageous to men as the overall demographic is 73% female and 27% male so one should expect the protected numbers to mirror that. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings A reduction of this nature will need to consider: Legal requirements to ensure the change is compliant with relevant laws and regulations, such as those related to employee rights and severance pay. Operational impact to consider any potential adverse impact on staff morale, productivity and turnover and thereby service delivery. However our offering in this area is beyond that offered by many other councils and while others have removed this entirely, the proposal seeks to retain a sustainable element. This option requires consultation with the Joint Trade Unions and employees and so it is assumed this is unlikely to be implemented until 2024/25. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 0 0 26 0 26 0 2 0 0 33 0 33 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Victoria Rogers Saving Ref: PT06 Saving Title Reduction in ICT Management Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides Information & Computer Technology hardware, software and support to all employees/members and some third party organisations which plays an integral role in the organisation’s infrastructure and security posture. There are currently 53.1 FTE in ICT. This option would remove one full-time ICT Business Partner role saving £50,000 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Removal of this strategic role would increase workload for the ICT management team and impact service delivery with reduced capacity to attend meetings, delay delivery of strategic tasks including annual application savings exercise and ICT customer satisfaction survey. Reduced availability for service area and partner liaison meetings including scoping and resourcing of new systems/upgrades. Noting this post is currently vacant. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 50 1 50 1 50 1
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Victoria Rogers Saving Ref: PT07 Saving Title Reduction in ICT Support Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides Information & Computer Technology hardware, software and support to all employees/members and some third party organisations which plays an integral role in the organisation’s infrastructure and security posture. There are currently 53.1 FTE in ICT. This option would remove three part-time roles (1.7FTE) thus reducing the available ICT support and saving £82,000 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Reduction in support areas will mean longer waiting times for system upgrades, file restores and longer waiting times for incident/request resolution in both corporate, education and partner areas. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 82 2.7 82 2.7 82 2.7
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Resources Saving Ref: RES01 Saving Title Restructure Audit & Fraud Provision Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently has an Audit & Fraud team consisting of nine employees. The audit team has one FTE vacancy and a further 14 vacant hours relating to an existing post (0.4FTE). Under this proposal these will be deleted from the structure from 1 April 2023, generating a saving of £58k. There are two further opportunities to generate savings: A full time Grade 8 audit officer is retiring in June 2023. It is intended to replace the post with a 0.6 FTE Grade 8 Internal Auditor post generating an in year saving of £17k for 2023/24 and a full year saving in future years of £23k. There is a further Grade 8 officer in the Fraud team who has expressed an interest in voluntary redundancy from 31 March 2024. This presents an opportunity to review the structure of the team to ensure it remains efficient and effective. The current structure consists of one FTE Grade 8 Section Lead and 2 FTE Grade 6 Counter Fraud Officers. The proposal would be to: 1. Delete the grade 8 post 2. Create a Grade 7 Senior Counter Fraud Officer and retain one Grade 6 Counter Fraud Officer. 3. Delete the remaining Grade 6 Counter Fraud Officer. This would generate annual saving of £50k from 2024/25 onwards. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The vacant 1xFTE post does not carry a case load and therefore does not directly influence the work of the team. There will be a small impact on the audit plan in relation to the 0.4xFTE vacant hours (reduction of 40 days). This is not considered to have a detrimental impact on the overall audit plan resources which sufficiently cover the risk-based audit work required to provide assurance on the Council’s System of Internal Control. The Section Lead – Corporate Fraud post does not carry a case load and therefore does not directly influence the work of the team. It is proposed that a Grade 7 Senior Counter Fraud Officer post is created to continue to ensure the quality of the work of the team, attend any national events that are required and provide oversight to the National Fraud Initiative. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 75 1.8 131 2.8 131 2.8
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES03 Saving Title Remove Elderly Welfare Grant Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently offers £15 per year in Elderly Welfare Grants to all West Dunbartonshire residents over the age of 67. The budget for this grant is £110,000 annually. Individuals have the option to have funding paid to themselves or allocated to a group they are involved with for use for a social event. Last year approximately £90,000k was paid to individuals and groups. Under this proposal, the Council would stop payments of these grants. Administration of this fund involves significant manual exercises for a range of services including Central Admin Support and Finance. Employees must verify applications, pay £15 to each resident over 67 and manage discrepancies including failed bank transfers. The Council relies on individuals and their families to update personal records for any changes and when information is not kept up to date it can lead to a significant additional workload. In addition to a saving of £110,000, a further £10,000 could be saved from year two on stationary and postage costs associated with issuing remittance advice to each individual. This £10,000 saving would not be benefited in year one as the Council would require to notify in writing those currently in receipt of the grant that it is no longer available. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings An Equality Impact Assessment carried out in previous years has age-related equality concerns in relation to this award. Removing this grant would remove these concerns. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 110 0 120 0 120 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES04 Saving Title Remove Voluntary Grant Funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently supports various community groups via West Dunbartonshire Community & Volunteering Services (WDCVS) who administer Voluntary Grant funding on behalf of the Council of up to £150,000 per annum. This funding covers social transport (£100,000), community chest, play schemes and running costs (£50,000). An annual report is brought to Corporate Services Committee on the allocation of the grant funding. In 2020/21 only £29,711 of this money was paid out, due to the impacts of COVID restrictions. WDCVS have confirmed that, based on their 2021/22 year-end report, the community chest spend increased to £44,100 and the social transport spend increased to £63,600, reflective of a cautious approach to the ongoing COVID experience amongst some vulnerable groups. WDCVS also report that 2022/23 spend levels are seeing a return to full spend in Community Chest and a stable spend position with regards to the Social Transport fund. In addition to the above funding, the Council also provides £21,560 of funding to Clydebank Asbestos Group and £17,297 to Tullochan Trust. Under this proposal: The £150,000 of Voluntary Grant Funding would be removed. Clydebank Asbestos Group funding would reduce by 25% from £21,560 to £16,170 (reduction of £5,390) Funding for Tullochan Trust would continue at £17,297 however it would be provided through an alternative funding stream provided by the Scottish Government for employability called No One Left Behind. In total this would generate a saving of £172,687. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Reduced funding to voluntary groups could have an impact on the groups and the services they provide to the community. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 173 0 173 0 173 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES05 Saving Title Remove Provost Hospitality Fund Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently has £37,000 in the Provost Hospitality Fund which is used for hospitality (food and refreshments) at events hosted by the Provost. The fund is also used to buy flowers for anniversaries for couples within the community. Under this proposal, the hospitality fund would be removed to generate a saving of £37,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Residents would no longer receive gifts for lifetime events. No hospitality would be available for hosting events. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 37 0 37 0 37 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES10 Saving Title Insurance Management Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently employs an Insurance Team Leader who is responsible for all insurance contracts and annual reviews within the Council and is also responsible for contracts within WD Leisure Trust, Clydebank Property Company, and District Heating Network Under this option, the Council would remove the Insurance Team Leader post from the structure. Consideration would be given to sharing services with another local authority or expanding the role of another existing Team Leader within Finance. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The Insurance Section has three other team members at lower grades, some of which are relatively new to the team. Any changes to the job role of the existing team may result in job re-evaluation which could lead to an increase in salary costs and reduce the overall saving. If a shared service was to be considered, the saving would be less, the loss of knowledge in the wider insurance market would be less, and a suitable Council who is willing to agree a shared service would require to be identified. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 50 1 50 1 50 1
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES11 Saving Title Invoicing Automation Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently issues debtor and creditor invoices to residents and business for services received by the Council manually in Agresso via the Central Admin Support (CAS) team. Under this proposal, invoices would be issued via an automated system. Automation would deliver efficiencies in a number of services including Commercial Waste, Greenspace, Bereavement Services, Roads, Sold Property and Education - Lets and Early Years. The main potential for efficiency of creditor invoices is within Building Services process. Successful delivery of this saving proposal will require engagement/consultation with residents/businesses. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This proposal will see a reduction in staff within CAS. The process would still require support by the team but less FTE would be required as they would only be dealing with exceptions. There will also be an impact on service users who would no longer be dealing with people directly involved in the service and queries would need to be raised with the Council’s Contact Centre. Saving (Cumulative) 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 25 1 25 1 50 2
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES21 Saving Title Automation Project Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently uses Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and was one of the first local authorities to deploy the technology in 2020. The Council has invested £69,000 per annum on UiPath (RPA solution) with a further investment of £132,000 in three posts currently allocated to the Automation team (one FTE Grade nine and two FTE Grade six posts). A number of automated processes have been introduced including the issuing of payslips via email, tasks required for new employees and the calculation of sickness absence. In addition, a number of automated processes are under development or consideration including the processing of refunds, invoice processing in Building Services and annual leave calculations. Under this option, the automation project would continue to progress, with UiPath automation solution retained along with a Grade nine employee. Of the two Grade six posts, one is currently vacant. In order to minimise disruption to the programme and ensure knowledge sharing, it is proposed to delete one grade six post in 2023/24 and the other in 2024/25. This would generate a saving of £37,500 in 2023/24 increasing to £75,000 in year two. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Under this proposal, work would continue to develop automation with the associated benefits to services managing workload. As the Grade nine post would be the sole member of the team, development of further automation throughout the organisation could potentially slow. Saving (Cumulative) 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 37.5 1 75 2 75 2
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Resources Saving Ref: RES22 Saving Title Reduce Accountancy Provision Summary of Savings Proposal The Council has a Grade 8 Accountant temporarily seconded from Resources to the Housing Maintenance Trading Account (HMTA) to work on projects relating to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The cost of this secondment is currently not charged to the HRA as it is a temporary arrangement. This would see the secondment made permanent with the postholder supporting Accountancy for 30% of the role, and HMTA for 70%. This would provide a saving of £39,000 to general services as the 0.7FTE would be charged to HRA. In addition the accountancy team has a Grade 8 Accountant post which is currently vacant due to a recent resignation. The intention is to delete this post from the establishment saving £55,000 with a 0.5FTE Finance Assistant (Grade 5) recruited at a cost of £18,000. In order to support the service until 30 June 2023 to cover year end tasks, temporary provision would be provided at a cost of £3,000. The full annual saving for this proposal will be £37k however the 2023/24 saving will be £34k due to the temporary provision until 30 June 2023. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings In order to deliver this saving changes are required within the Accountancy team. While there will be less capacity within the team, a review will be undertaken to establish tasks that can stop or reduce in frequency. This will include Chief Officers receiving full budgetary control reports every two months rather than monthly. It is not envisaged that this reduction will impact the current on the Accountancy team’s ability to deliver statutory requirements and there should be no material impact on the quality of information provided to Elected Members at Committees. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 73 1 76 1 76 1
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN01 Saving Title School Crossing Patrollers The Council currently provides school crossing patrollers at 43 locations, a number of which have a signalised crossing. The controllers are in place for the start and finish of the school day. There is no statutory obligation to provide a school crossing service and in addition, the Council has experienced difficulties recruiting for school crossing vacancies and currently has 6 vacant posts. Under this proposal, there are three options to consider. Option 1 Under this proposal, the Council would not provide crossing patrollers. The Council would continue to work with parents and pupils to promote road safety. Option 2 Under this option, 31 crossing patrollers would be in place across the Council area, with crossing patrollers located at controlled pedestrian crossings withdrawn. National best practice guidance states that school crossing patrollers should not be deployed at junctions where pedestrian crossings already exist because this duplication can be confusing for motorists. This saving would be achieved through not filling nine vacant posts with three posts affected. Option 3 Under this option, 17 crossing patrollers would be in place across the Council area, with six vacant FTE posts removed. Sites for crossing patrollers would be prioritised based on location and traffic conditions. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Patrollers are based along safe routes to schools. These routes have been identified and are monitored by the Council’s Road Safety Officers. Any locations highlighted by parents, pupils or schools will be assessed for physical measures. Children will continue to receive education on road safety, including the safe crossing of roads and awareness of vehicle movement. Saving Option 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 95 9.43 190 9.43 190 9.43 2 22.5 2.6 45 2.6 45 2.6 3 52 6 102 6 102 6
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN04 Saving Title Care of Gardens Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently offers free garden maintenance to any resident who is in receipt of a disability benefit. As part of this scheme they receive two hedge cuts and seven grass cuts per year. Any resident pensioner in receipt of state benefit can also request the service for a fee of £70 per annum. Currently 1,300 households use the service, with 200 of them paying the annual fee of £70. As such, the scheme generates an income of approximately £14,000. The cost to deliver the service is subsidised, with the true cost in the region of £338 per household, or approximately £440,000 per year. As part of this option, there are four proposals to be considered: Option 1 Under this option, the existing £70 annual fee would be payable by all households joining the scheme. It is estimated that approximately 200 households would not apply for the scheme if a charge was introduced, reducing the cost of running the service by £67,600. Together with achieving a potential income of £77,000 through the introduction of a fee, this option could deliver a saving of £130,600. Option 2 Under this option, all households joining the scheme would pay an annual fee of £100 per property. It is estimated that approximately 400 households would not re- apply for the scheme if this option was taken. This would reduce the cost of running the service by £135,200 and together with achieving a potential income of £76,000 through the introduction of a fee, this option could deliver a total saving of £211,200. Option 3 This option would see the scheme available to those in receipt of disability benefits only, with a £100 annual fee payable to access the service. This would reduce potential users to 1,100 and it is estimated that approximately 300 households would not re-apply for the scheme. Therefore the cost of running the service would be reduced by £169,000 and with a potential income of £66,000 generated by the introduction of a fee, this option could achieve a saving of £235,000. Option 4 Under this option, the Council would not provide a garden maintenance service. This would generate a saving of £440,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings
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Appendix 3 The service is delivered through the recruitment of seasonal operatives. The reduction in numbers or no requirement to appoint seasonal operatives will have an impact on 25 seasonal roles. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 130 4 130 4 130 4 2 211 8 211 8 211 8 3 235 10 235 10 235 10 4 440 16 440 16 440 16
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN06 Saving Title Weekend Litter Collection Summary of Savings Proposal Currently, the Council undertakes litter collection at weekends at key destinations such as parks and town centres, as well as supporting locations with increased visitor numbers and events. Six operatives are employed on an 18 hour contract over four days (Friday to Monday). This contract was introduced to reduce the requirement for overtime. Under this option, there are three proposals to consider: Option 1 Under this option, four operatives will undertake weekend litter collection, focusing on town centres and parks only. Option 2 Under this option, two operatives will undertake weekend litter collection, focusing on hot spots in town centres only. Option 3 Under this option, the weekend litter collection service would cease to operate. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is potential for litter build up over the weekend, with bin emptying and litter collection not commencing until Monday. Teams will ensure bins are fully emptied each Friday to minimise this risk. Under each option, there will be a workforce reduction and associated impact. Saving Option 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 47 1.6 47 1.6 47 1.6 2 114 3.2 114 3.2 114 3.2 3 140 4.8 140 4.8 140 4.8
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN08 Saving Title Garden Waste Collection Charge Summary of Savings Proposal Currently, the Council collects garden and food waste in the same bin. Under this proposal, garden waste and food waste will be collected separately. Food waste uplift will continue to be offered free of charge. Residents who wish to have their garden waste uplifted will buy a permit, costing in the region of £30 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This proposal has a capital implication due to the requirement for every household to have a food bin. There is potential for this to be funded by Zero Waste Scotland or another external partner as it will lead to improved recycling and waste treatment. In line with national guidance and best practice it is anticipated that garden and food waste will no longer be permitted to be comingled as this contaminates the garden waste and reduces recycling opportunities. It also increases the cost to treat as it is then treated as residual waste. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 64 0 127 0 127 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN09 Saving Title Review of Grounds Service / Street Cleaning Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently undertakes general open space grass cutting every three weeks, with high amenity areas such as parks and sports facilities cut on a weekly basis. The Greenspace team also undertakes bin clearing and litter collection twice per week, with mechanical street sweeping in town centres weekly Under this proposal, ground maintenance would be reviewed to identify duplication and ensure the service is working efficiently. The number of biodiversity areas would be increased, helping the Council to reduce its carbon footprint as well as encouraging a more diverse range of birds and insects. Grass cutting would be undertaken every four weeks in open spaces, and fortnightly in high amenity areas. Option 1 - Under this option, no seasonal workforce operatives would be recruited and the cutting of high amenity areas would be undertaken by permanent workforce. There would be no cutting of open space areas. This would save £460,000. Option 2 - Under this option, 15 seasonal employees would be taken on (rather than 30 in previous years) with a reduction in the permanent workforce by 12. The full year saving would be £560,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Grass cutting would be impacted as seasonal operatives carry out the majority of grass cutting within the summer months. A prioritisation exercise will be carried out to programme the grass cutting effectively. Grounds maintenance standards could drop across the Council and there may be a perception by local residents and visitors the area has become a less well maintained and clean Council. A reduced workforce could potentially lead to increased response times to attend to complaints or unplanned maintenance. The ability to service litter bins and dog waste bins in parks and open spaces would be curtailed, potentially reducing the frequency of emptying bins, as well as reduced capacity to undertake new bin requests. Legal and regulatory risk associated with not being able to clear snow and/or spread grit around schools and other key public footways. The Winter Plan would be updated to reflect reduction in service. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 460 18 460 18 460 18 2 400 22 560 22 560 22
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN10 Saving Title Three-Weekly Bin Collection Summary of Savings Proposal Currently the Council collects residual waste from households on a two-weekly frequency, with recyclable waste collected on alternate weeks. Under this this proposal, a three-weekly residual waste collection would be implemented to increase recycling levels, reduce residual waste levels and contribute to a reduction in the Council’s carbon footprint. Residents would receive a residual collection on a three-week cycle, with an alternative collection of recycling and garden/food waste. Treating residual waste costs more than the treatment of recyclable material. Zero Waste Scotland are supporting the Council to develop a business case for the new model with potential savings of £150,000. The saving will be realised through a reduction in vehicles and operatives, as well as a route optimisation review which is already underway as the first phase of facilitating this change. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Waste is a key contributor to the organisation’s carbon output figures. The introduction of a three-weekly residual bin collection would improve the Council’s recycling figures, contributing to the climate change agenda The circular economy looks to reuse, resource and recycle as much material as possible. A three- weekly collection will support this aim. As the landfill tax ban is due to be introduced in 2025 this will support the council to deliver a compliant service. A communications strategy will be key to ensuring residents understand the wider benefits of the change to three-weekly collections, both on a local and national level. It will also be necessary to ensure a smooth transition to new collection days and systems for households and stricter criteria for the type of waste within specific bins. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 50 0 150 2 150 2
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN12 Saving Title Reduction in Footway Gritting Summary of Savings Proposal Currently, as part of the Council’s Winter Maintenance Programme, footway gritting is undertaken during adverse weather on priority routes. This includes treatment of main routes at schools, hospitals, sheltered housing complexes, day care centres, public buildings, transport hubs and urban shopping areas. Priority treatment also takes place in main pedestrian routes in major residential developments. Priority treatment is undertaken during the hours of 8am - 3.30pm Monday to Friday, with an average annual cost of providing the service of £128,000. Under this option, there are three proposals to consider. Option 1 – Reduce service by 20% Under this option, the footway gritting service would focus on areas of higher footfall only, including routes to schools, shopping areas, main streets and key public transport hubs. Residents would be encouraged to use grit bins on residential streets. Option 2 – Reduce service by 50% Under this option, teams would continue to treat footways on main roads, main shopping areas and around schools. Grit bins would be re-stocked regularly to assist residents. Option 3 – Cease all footway gritting Under this option, the provision of footway gritting would cease. The Council would consider whether additional grit bin provision is necessary to assist residents. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Untreated sections of the network could lead to increased claims from residents and a reputational risk to the Council. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 26 0 26 0 26 0 2 64 0 64 0 64 0 3 128 0 128 0 128 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN15 Saving Title Provision of Christmas Lights Summary of Savings Proposal Currently, the Council provides decorative Christmas lighting at a cost of £25,000 per year for installation and energy usage. Under this option, the Council would cease provision and installation of Christmas lights, with support given to communities and traders associations to take on providing decorative lighting at Christmas. Similar initiatives have been successful in neighbouring authorities, including in Helensburgh and Oban. It is expected that some WDC assistance would be required at switch on events to ensure events go as planned. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Upgrades to the electrical system would be required to simplify installation for local groups and ensure no interference in the Council’s network. It is expected that some assistance from the Council would be required during Switch-On events to ensure they run smoothly. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 25 0 25 0 25 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN16 Saving Title Roads Review of Activities to Support Education The Roads Services is a statutory service but it also provides additional non- statutory services to schools covering Cycling Proficiency, Road Safety, School Travel Plans and Safe Routes to School. This option would remove these non statutory items however note that schools have a requirement to develop a School Travel Plan and update it on a regular basis. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any risk and impact of this option would, be reduced by the Roads Service providing schools with professional information and advice to support road safety activities. A road safety pack could be made available by Roads Services & Education, on the Council website to help support parents to reinforce road safety issues. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 34 2 68 2 68 2
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN17 Saving Title Environmental Trust Grant Reduction A grant is provided annually to the Environmental Trust in the region of £177k. The Trust provide project management to the Council on a range of Environmental improvement projects, submit funding bids to external bodies and support the maintenance of infrastructure such as play parks and paths. The proposal is to reduce the funding allocated to the Trust as follows: Option 1 - Reduction of grant by £43.5k (25%) This would reduce the number of projects that could be project managed by the Trust and their ability to apply for external funding. Option 2 - Reduction of grant by £87k (50%) This would remove the ability to fund project management of environmental projects, apply for funding to external bodies. Both options retain the funding of maintenance works. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The grant funds the project management of environmental projects and the ability to apply for external funding. The risk is that the reduction in grant means that the Trust is no longer able to deliver and manage projects within the Council area. Although it is not proposed to reduce the funding for maintenance if the Trust is no longer operational there may be the requirement to reconsider how maintenance is carried out. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE Option 1 43.5 0 43.5 0 43.5 0 Option 2 87 0 87 0 87 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR12 Saving Title Economic Development – Business Support Savings Summary of Savings Proposal The Business Support service, sitting within the Economic Development, is partly funded by General Services Revenue and partly by securing income from Revenue Block grant to deliver Business Gateway Advisory services (£228k) and a range of business grants, to fund external membership fees and provide funding to external organisations. The Service will receive a £500k share of the Shared Prosperity Fund between 2022/23 – 2024/25 for delivery of additional services to the business community. Currently the Business Support staffing is ten with a FTE of 8.46. Also sitting within Economic Development is the Energy Compliance Team and two departures from that team has created an opportunity to relocate officers in the compliance side of the Team to Supply, Distribution and Property (cost neutral). This change has allowed the first steps towards a service redesign that will realise full year capital savings of £73k. There are two options as set out below. Option 1 a) Terminate the Business Gateway Workshops and Expert Help support contract from 1 October 2023 saving £24.7k in 2023/24 rising to £49.3k in subsequent years. b) Reduce ‘Other Funding’ Budget by £11k to reduce it to the core funding needed of £17k c) Reduce the Scheme allocation from £110k to £70k, saving £40k saving, due to the potential funding available to provide business support grants and expert help through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, of which £500,000 is allocated to Business Support to deliver 4 programmes of work during 2023/24 and 2024/25 d) Implement a Service Redesign reducing the total number in Business Support by 1.5 FTE, generating a saving of £52.4k Option 2 (additional to option 1) Reduce Grade 8 Officers from 4.5 FTE to 3 FTE (in addition to reducing the 1.5 FTE in Option 1). This would generate an additional full year saving of approximately £81k (depending on roles) however only a half year saving (£40.5k) will be taken in 2023/24 due to time required to implement required changes. Note this option may restrict the Council’s ability to provide assistance to business through the Shared Prosperity Fund and meet performance targets. For the sake of clarity note that:
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Appendix 3 Option 1 can be taken in isolation to deliver £128k of savings in year 1 rising to £153k in future years Option 2 can only be taken in addition to option 1 which increases the maximum saving from this option to £169k of savings in year 1 rising to £234k in future years Option 2 cannot be taken in isolation. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any reduction in the Business Support budgets will impact on the Council’s ability to support local businesses and support organisations at a time of extreme economic hardship. Reducing support at this time may draw enhanced attention as the perception of withdrawal of support at such a time may be disproportionate to the actual reduction. The Service will receive £500k share of the Shared Prosperity Fund between 2022/23 – 2024/25 for delivery of additional services to the business community. Option 2 may impact on the Council’s ability to deliver on targets that may be set for match funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund. There may be benefit in delaying taking Option 2 until the extent of the demands and relative benefits of the Shared Prosperity Fund can be fully considered. Saving (CUMULATIVE) As per note above option 2 is an add on to option 1 meaning the maximum saving that can be delivered is £169k rising to £234k. 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 128 1.5 153 1.5 153 1.5 2 169 3 234 3 234 3
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVINGS OPTIONS Chief Officer: Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP01 Saving Title Review non-regulated procurements Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Corporate Procurement Unit currently has a workforce equivalent of 15.5 FTE, across 20 posts, four of which are currently vacant. The team includes P2P (Pecos) support, procurement officers, senior procurement officers, business partners and procurement manager. Under this option, the non-regulated procurement work currently undertaken by the team will be reviewed to ensure efficiency and identify any duplication. As part of this, individual services will undertake non regulated procurement for works under £2million. In addition, work to analyse services’ procurement spend, measurement of sustainability in contracts, keeping of contract and supplier scorecards, measurement of spend on small, medium-sized enterprises or third sector bodies and measurement of suppliers with Fair Work and Real Living Wage practices will cease. These efficiencies will generate a saving of up to £109,962 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The amended work of the team will reduce employee costs, while still delivering the core support function. This will result in a reduction of 2.3 FTE. If services undertake some procurement activities independently, there may be a lack of a central control point. There is a risk that employees do not follow regulations or procedures and procurement may not achieve best value. A reduction in workforce could also cause capacity issues within the team to support volume of queries. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2024/25 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 110 2.3 110 2.3 110 2.3
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVINGS OPTIONS Chief Officer: Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP02 Saving Title Review of non-complex procurements Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Corporate Procurement Unit currently has a workforce equivalent of 15.5 FTE, across 20 posts, four of which are currently vacant. The team includes P2P (Pecos) support, procurement officers, senior procurement officers, business partners and procurement manager. Under this option, the non-complex procurement work (ie where there is low risk to Council / service users / suppliers) currently undertaken by the team will be reviewed to ensure efficiency. This will mean non-complex procurements can be undertaken by services independently. In addition, work to analyse services’ procurement spend, measurement of sustainability in contracts, keeping of contract and supplier scorecards, measurement of spend on small, medium-sized enterprises or third sector bodies and measurement of suppliers with Fair Work and Real Living Wage practices will cease. This option will generate savings of up to £148,471 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Saving The amended work of the team will reduce employee costs, while still delivering the core support function. This will result in a reduction of 3.1 FTE. If services undertake certain procurement activities independently, there may be a lack of a central control point. There is a risk that employees do not follow regulations or procedures and procurement may not achieve best value. A reduction in workforce could also cause capacity issues within the team to support volume of queries. Requests for reports, briefs and Freedom of Information would require input from all services. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 148 3.1 148 3.1 148 3.1
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVINGS OPTIONS Chief Officer: Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP03 Saving Title Review Purchase to Pay Support Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Corporate Procurement Unit currently has a workforce equivalent of 15.5 FTE, across 20 posts, four of which are currently vacant. The team includes P2P (Pecos) support, procurement officers, senior procurement officers, business partners and procurement manager. Under this option, work would be undertaken to review and improve pecos (p2p) admin procedures to ensure efficiency and reduce the need for CPU support. This option will allow services to fully undertake p2p activities. Work to analyse services’ procurement spend, measurement of spend on small, medium-sized enterprises or third sector bodies and measurement of suppliers with Fair Work and Real Living Wage practices will cease. This option will generate savings of up to £99,481 per year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This option will reduce employee costs, while still delivering the core support function. This will result in a reduction of 2.7 FTE. If services undertake some procurement activities independently, there may be a lack of a central control point. There is a risk that employees do not follow regulations or procedures and procurement. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 99 2.7 99 2.7 99 2.7
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP11 Saving Title Consultancy Services/Capital Investment Team - Review of service provision Summary of Savings Proposal Consultancy Services and the Capital Investment Team sits within Corporate Asset Management and is the design, construction and project management service which administers and manages capital programmed construction works of all size and types. Given the planned reduction of capital projects and the current review of the capital programme the support from Consultancy Services and the Capital Investment Team should be reviewed with the review also considering how costs are recharged against the appropriate budget. Within Consultancy Services there are 24 employees of varying grades. The team comprises of a programme leader, a senior architectural officer, an electrical engineer, a senior clerk of works, architectural officers, architectural assistants, quantity surveying officers, clerks of works. Within the Capital Investment Team there are 6 posts of varying grades. The team comprises of capital project managers, client business partners, scoping officer and support co-ordinator. The revised recharging model across GS / HRA capital has been agreed with Finance and the proposal is to remove 4 posts within Consultancy Services and 2 posts from the Capital Investment Team. A further review of both teams will be undertaken in 23/24 in line with the wider review of the charging model across the council. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings It is envisaged that the reduction in staffing could continue to support current project levels without the need for additional external consultancy. The potential risks are reduced responsiveness and flexibility with any potential ad-hoc requests for technical assistance require to be assessed in terms of team capacity. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE H/Count £000 FTE H/Count £000 FTE H/Count 212 6 6 286 6 6 286 6 6
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP13 Saving Title Review Asset Management resource Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Asset Management team is currently made up of a workforce of 25 equating to 22.14 FTE. An initial review of service has been undertaken to try and deliver savings whilst streamlining processes. The initial review also looked at the support Asset Management receive from CAS and other services across the authority. The initial review has looked at processes involving monitoring physical assets and digital system holding asset information together with monitoring and instructing repairs to BAM schools. There are no further vacancies within the team. Under this option, the Asset Management team would continue to operate with 22 employees, equating to 19.14 FTE. This will generate a capital saving rather than a revenue saving. This option is in line with the capital programme reduction agreed at council in December. CAPITAL SAVING 23/24 - £96,036 24/25 - £97,957 25/26 - £99,916 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Impact From initial review impact would be minimal and can be integrated into existing staffing resources within Asset Management and wider services across the authority. Risk Associated If support from other service areas across the authority change and implementation of process changes are not delivered in financial year then the risk is other key services being delivered by Asset Management would require to be reprioritised. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 0 3 0 3 0 3
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP14 Saving Title Review use of Municipal Buildings Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Municipal Buildings are currently open five days per week between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. The building is opened at weekends for wedding ceremonies as and when required. It is proposed to review current capacity, service delivery and operating hours for the Municipal Buildings in conjunction with other office accommodation and consider options for generating income – for example leasing floor space to interested partners. The target is to achieve efficiencies / income of £37k Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This option allows the Council to maximise opportunities to maximise occupancy levels, rationalise use of its operational estate and potentially generate income to deliver efficiencies. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 37 0 37 0 37 0
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP15 Saving Title Early Closure of Clydebank Town Centre Office Summary of Savings Proposal An initial review of the operation of Clydebank Town Centre Office has indicated that an early closure of the building could take place prior to the intended closure (at expiry of lease in 2025). This is also possible due to the recent closure of the Municipal Bank. Employees based in CTCO can be relocated to accommodation within Aurora House / Titan, Dalmuir and Clydebank library. Under this option the following savings can be made per year: £63,103 Service Area Running Costs £44,522 Staffing Costs (this is in relation to FM staff/Asset staff, based on two grade 3 posts – employees can be redeployed elsewhere). Should we be able to rent out the building until the lease expires we would be able to achieve an additional saving on rental of £64,950 per annum Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This option will maximise opportunities to rationalise use of our operational estate to deliver savings on property running costs and, where applicable, staffing costs. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 108 0.8 108 0.8 108 0.8
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Appendix 3 2023/24 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Angela Wilson Saving Ref: SDP16 Saving Title Christmas Office Closure Summary of Savings Proposal This proposal is to close the majority of Council office accommodation and depots over the Christmas period whilst keeping open sufficient office capacity to accommodate key statutory functions and essential service requirements identified by Chief Officers. There are two options to consider (3 day closure and 6 day closure). The exact closure days will vary year on year based on when weekends and bank holidays fall but, by means of illustration, the days over the next three financial years for each option are set out below: Option Period of Closure 23/24 24/25 25/26 Saving (£) 1 3 Days 27 Dec 28 Dec 29 Dec 27 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec £3,500 2 6 Days 27 Dec 28 Dec 29 Dec 03 Jan 04 Jan 05 Jan 23 Dec 24 Dec 27 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec 03 Jan 22 Dec 23 Dec 24 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec £7,000 Staff would be required to take the above dates as part of their annual leave entitlement with the exception of those staff who carry out functions that are required by statute or are essential during this period. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There would be no detrimental impact on the delivery of statutory functions or essential services as a result of this proposal. Saving 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 3.5 0 3.5 0 3.5 0 2 7 0 7 0 7 0