Decision details

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor David Smith)

Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Environment) which provided an update on the progress of a service review and sought approval to continue with implementation of the review.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

The main proposal from the reviews is to merge the management of relevant functional Health and Wellbeing service with related functions in Environmental Services to ensure a consistent approach to service delivery and to generate efficiencies by reviewing how the services operate once transferred. The functional areas affected include-

·         Letting of playing fields / bowling greens to sports teams

·         Letting of concessions on parks / open space

·         Parks Patrol

·         Beach Patrol

·         Happy Mount Park splash park / concessions

·         Promenade management / concessions

·         Williamson Park (including café, butterfly house, car park, Memorial etc)

·         Park / open space- planning / development / design.

·         Cemeteries – grounds maintenance (not gravedigging)

The intention is that the delivery of the functions will be merged within the wider range of services that Environmental Services already deliver. Through the removal of duplication, focus on priority areas and economies of scale it is expected this approach will provide real and significant cashable savings.

As an example functions like parks patrol and the whole of maintenance of Williamson Park would be delivered from within the grounds maintenance / cleansing function. This will result in a net overall ongoing saving.

It is also the intention to bring forward specific proposals with regard to the café and butterfly house in Williamson Park as the current model of delivery is not sustainable.

To facilitate this merger it is necessary to restructure the existing management / supervisory arrangements across Environmental Services.  Initial work indicates this will result in cashable savings. It will also clearly result in a loss of officer capacity and expertise and, of course, there are risks involved in reducing capacity and expertise. However it is expected that this can happen without a significant decrease in levels of frontline service delivery in priority areas.

Once this stage of the review has been completed consideration will also be given to how best deliver the remaining engineering functions the Council provides.

Option 1- to approve the approach outlined above

Option 2- to not approve the approach outlined above

The officer preferred option was option 1 for the reasons outlined.

Councillor Smith proposed, seconded by Councillor Barry:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

Councillors then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

(1)                    That the proposals outlined in the report be approved, in principle, for further development by the Chief Officer (Environment).

(2)                     That where required, further reports on the implementation of specific parts of the proposals be brought back to Cabinet or Personnel Committee as appropriate for approval.

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

Chief Officer (Environment)

Reasons for making the decision:

The proposals will generate savings to assist the Council’s budgetary position.