Agenda item

Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Robinson)

 

Report of the Chief Executive (to follow).

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Robinson)

 

Cabinet received a report from the Chief Executive which provided a position statement on the review of all statutory services.

 

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

 

Governance Services (which includes democratic, legal, licensing and human resources)

It is necessary to have in place the legal advice to ensure that the Council acts lawfully.  This service could be provided in different ways and the level of service is not prescribed.  The Council is required to support its members and ensure it employs people in accordance with legislation.  How this is achieved is not set out in statute.  Licensing operates on the basis of income and expenditure balancing, so there is no scope to make savings or increase income.

 

Property Services

As the council owns land and property and it lets some of that property, the council must comply with statutes as they affect the council in its capacity as landlord and/or tenant. This includes, for example, health and safety requiring appropriate levels of both management and the need to undertake repairs and maintenance. The council is also required to purchase, sell, lease and let property at market value which requires professional advice to authorise individual transactions.

All services could be provided in different ways and the council is currently reviewing its approach to facilities management and other property services in a report to the December meeting of cabinet.

 

Environmental Services – General

The council is required to provide boundary signs for which there is a budget of £1,500.

The Council is required to provide a Bulky Waste Service. The present arrangements were developed five years ago and as the method of provision is successful the service is extending into other Council areas. This may provide extra income.

The council has a statutory duty to repair, maintain and provide street nameplates.  The budget is £12,600 and is almost at the minimum level.

Tree maintenance is a safety requirement, but this is based on the number of trees on land owned by the Council.  The Council has recently agreed a new policy in respect of tree management with the intention of managing its trees as efficiently as possible.

 

Refuse Collection and Street Cleansing

It is a statutory requirement to provide a Trade Refuse Collection Service. This is based on demand and the ability of the Council to provide the service at a competitive price.

Waste collection and recycling are statutory services. New arrangements are being brought into place which will continue to meet statutory requirements but at a reduced cost.

The provision of street cleansing is statutory, but only at the most basic level.  The budget is £1.65m which provides for a mixture of planned and reactive services.  It would be possible to provide a minimal service and still meet statutory requirements.

 

Planning Services – Development Control

Development Control is a statutory function. The level of service provided is driven by the number and complexity of planning applications received. Planning applications bring in fee income but not to a level that offsets the service.

 

Planning Services - Building Control

The service is statutory, but is provided in competition with the private sector providers. Until recently geographical distances have meant that larger private sector operators have not acted in competition to the city council. New local companies have set up and now handle more of the local activity. This has meant that the council has been able to down-size its operation and is currently operating at a much smaller level with no capacity to undertake more market share.

 

Planning Services - Local Development Framework

Currently operating above the minimum to position the district in terms of economic development, for example the Morecambe Area Action Plan, Lancaster Square Routes.

 

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Arnside and Silverdale)

Service levels are at a minimum.

 

Coastal and Flood Defence

Operating above the statutory minimum at present.

 

Community Safety

The only statutory requirements are that the city council is required to take account of Community Safety in all aspects of its work and to work in partnership with other specified agencies. There is a requirement for Overview and Scrutiny to meet annually on community safety issues.

 

Children and Young People

The city council has a duty, along with other specified agencies, to cooperate to improve the wellbeing of children and young people.  Each of the specified agencies has a duty to promote the welfare of children through the Children’s Trust and implementation of the Every Child Matters Strategy.  The city council is not required to provide any services to meet this statutory responsibility. Where the city council does provide services to children, however, there is a requirement to meet child protection legislation.

 

Cemeteries

The city council is not required to provide open cemeteries, but having decided to do so there are statutory duties that come with that decision.  It is considered that provision is at a minimum to achieve a good standard.  We previously maintained to a lower standard.

There is a statutory duty for closed cemeteries including upkeep and headstone safety, but discretion as to the level of overall maintenance.

 

Emergency Planning

This is a service provided to a good standard and could be reduced whilst meeting statutory responsibilities.  This would be best achieved through a shared service arrangement.

 

Dog Wardens

There is a statutory duty for dealing with stray dogs, but dealing with dog fouling is discretionary.  Currently 0.4 of a whole time equivalent (wte) post is spent on dog fouling.  The stray dog work is at the minimum statutory level.

 

Pest Control

Only a proportion of this service, relating to rats, mice and bed bugs, is statutory.  So overall the service operates above the minimum level.

 

Environmental Protection

The only part of the service not statutory is in relation to the radiation monitoring budget.  The statutory part of the service is operating at the minimum.  There may be options to reduce costs through shared services.

 

Food Safety

We are at the minimum level to meet the nationally set standards for inspections.

 

Health and Safety

The service is at the minimum level to provide statutory services other than one or two minor elements such as Home Safety Quiz which are discretionary.

 

Homelessness

At the minimum level.  However, preventative services which are contracted out are not statutory.

 

Home Improvements

The only part of the service which is statutory is the provision of disabled facilities grants and there is discretion as to the level of budget provision.

 

Housing Standards

Some investment is required to ensure minimum standards are met.

 

Financial Services

Each of the core functions is required as a result of legislation, but the level of each function is also dependent on the range of services the council decides to provide, including the extent to which external funding and partnerships are in place.  Depending on how Council service provision and its policies change in future, all areas have the potential to be reduced to some degree (and/or provided through shared services).

 

 

 

The officer preferred option is to accept the categorisation of statutory service levels as detailed within the report and review those statutory services provided above the minimum alongside discretionary services when determining priorities and non priorities to achieve budget savings of approximately 30% over the next four years.

 

Councillor Robinson proposed, seconded by Councillor Barry:-

 

“(1)      That Cabinet note that the following service areas are operating at or close to the minimum statutory level:

 

            -     Licensing

            -     Bulky Waste Collection

            -     Waste Collection and Recycling

            -     Development Control

            -     Building Control

            -     Dealing with Stray Dogs

            -     Environmental Protection

            -     Food Safety

            -     Health and Safety

            -     Homelessness

            -     Housing Standards

 

            however, it would be possible to provide each of these services in a different way and in doing so it might be possible to achieve some efficiencies.

 

(2)        That Cabinet view all other statutory services as capable of being reduced whilst achieving the statutory provision.  This, in effect, would put each of these service areas in the same position as discretionary services and capable of service reduction.

 

(3)        Some statutory services that operate above the minimum level have a positive impact on safe and clean streets and it is recommended that such services are prioritised above those that do not.”

 

Councillors then voted:-

 

Resolved:

 

(7 Members (Councillors Ashworth, Barry, Blamire, Fletcher, Kerr, Langhorn and Robinson) voted in favour, and 1 Member (Councillor Bryning) abstained.)

 

(1)        That Cabinet note that the following service areas are operating at or close to the minimum statutory level:

 

            -     Licensing

            -     Bulky Waste Collection

            -     Waste Collection and Recycling

            -     Development Control

            -     Building Control

            -     Dealing with Stray Dogs

            -     Environmental Protection

            -     Food Safety

            -     Health and Safety

            -     Homelessness

            -     Housing Standards

 

            However, it would be possible to provide each of these services in a different way and in doing so it might be possible to achieve some efficiencies.

 

(2)        That Cabinet view all other statutory services as capable of being reduced whilst achieving the statutory provision.  This, in effect, would put each of these service areas in the same position as discretionary services and capable of service reduction.

 

(3)        Some statutory services that operate above the minimum level have a positive impact on safe and clean streets and it is recommended that such services are prioritised above those that do not.

 

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

 

Chief Executive

 

Reasons for making the decision:

 

The decision to categorise services as set out in the report enables the majority of statutory services to be considered alongside discretionary services when considering service reductions.