Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1.    That it be agreed “in principle” that the Planning Support service be brought back in-house;

2.    That the Finance Director be delegated authority to conclude negotiations with Maidstone and Swale Borough Councils to enable Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to exit the shared service collaboration agreement, and to reimburse any direct financial consequences of this Council leaving the agreement;

3.    That a virement of up to £150,000 from the Invest to Save Reserve to establish an in-house Planning Support service be agreed; and

4.    That it be acknowledged that no changes to the current Planning Support service can be implemented without the agreement of Maidstone and Swale Borough Councils.

REASON FOR DECISIONS:

The Council needed to provide a Planning Support service which met the expectations of the Council and stakeholders, and, for the reasons set out in the report, the best prospect for achieving this would be to re-establish a standalone in-house service.

Lee Colyer, Director of Finance and Corporate Services, introduced the report which included the following comments:

·         The original business case that was presented in June 2013 to gauge the expectations of the service had been reviewed.

·         The joint service had not been as cost-effective as expected with regard to cost savings and performance levels.

·         Meetings with Maidstone Borough Council and Swale Borough Council had been completed to set up a project board that could bring the Planning Support Shared Service back to Tunbridge Wells.

·         The Mid-Kent Partnerships in other services were performing well and delivered in terms of cost effectiveness and performance.

·         Any decision made should be based on evidence and tables on pages 24 and 25 of the report illustrated the performance levels of the Planning Support Service.

·         Customers and councils had expressed disappointment in the quality of service received, and there had been an impact on the planning decision-making process as a result.

·         As the performance indicators were statutory, the Council had to maintain the performance to the standard expected by the public. Planning officers had been working hard, but it was not considered that this improvement would be sustainable in the long-term, and the service cost more than expected.

·         Costs of the shared service had been higher than expected and anticipated savings had not been realised.

·         By bringing the service back in-house the Council would benefit from improvements in processes, IT and collective working between teams.

·         One-off implementation costs of £150,000 would be off-set by recurring revenue savings of £94,000 per year.

·         Negotiations between the three councils had been amicable and it was acknowledged that the disaggregation could not happen without their agreement.

·         It would be more difficult to control this service in the Partnership than it would be in-house, and hence recommended that Cabinet supported the transfer of the service back to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

Councillor McDermott advised that the report was supported by the Cabinet Advisory Board meeting on 13 July 2015, and that he supported the recommendations again now.

The Chairman, Councillor Jukes, invited further comments and questions. There being none, Members were asked whether the recommendation were agreed.

RESOLVED –

1.    That it be agreed “in principle” that the Planning Support Service be brought back in-house;

2.    That the Finance Director be given delegated authority to conclude negotiations with Maidstone and Swale Borough Councils to enable Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to exit the shared service collaboration agreement, and to reimburse any direct financial consequences of this Council leaving the agreement;

3.    That a virement of up to £150,000 from the Invest to Save Reserve to establish an in-house Planning Support service be agreed; and

4.    That it be acknowledged that no changes to the current Planning Support Service can be implemented without the agreement of Maidstone and Swale Borough Councils.

REASON FOR DECISIONS:

The Council needed to provide a Planning Support Service which met the expectations of the Council and stakeholders, and, for the reasons set out in the report, the best prospect for achieving this would be to re-establish a standalone in-house service.