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K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 1
Devon Unitary Item 3 Executive Summary 1 The Boundary Committee published its proposal for the future of local government in
Devon on 7 July 2008. The publication of the proposal was followed by the issue of
financial workbooks for each of the proposals to specified lead S151 financial officers.
The lead financial officer for the single unitary proposal is the Director of Finance, IT and
Trading of Devon County Council. The deadline for return of the workbooks to the
Boundary Committee is 12 September 2008.
2 The overriding purpose of the affordability study is to demonstrate that accumulated
savings in excess of total initial costs can be achieved between lead up year 1 (2008/09)
and year 4 (2013/13) of a unitary pattern of local government.
3 The benefits that will come from unitary local government cannot be measured simply in
financial terms. The criteria that the Secretary of State has specified to measure
proposals for unitary local government require that strategic leadership is effective,
accountable and can improve the way in which people are involved in decisions affecting
the places in which they live and the services they receive.
4 The timescale for this exercise is short. It is not possible, given this constraint, to
determine the detailed structures and precise costs and savings that would underpin a
working budget. The estimates and projections used have been designed to set a
reasonable base against which to measure the effect of transitional costs. The modelled
position results from applying robust assumptions to the budgeted expenditure for all the
contributing authorities where significant change is anticipated as a result of the
proposal.
5 A number of assumptions have been made. The key assumptions are that:
• The existing County Council will be a continuing authority for employment purposes
• Changes to the formula grant regime, the impact of changes to the national
distribution of formula grant from this proposal and other current reorganisations have
not been taken into account
• Demographic changes, inflationary pressures and policy changes reflected in budgets
since 2007/08 have not been recognised
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 2
• Only general fund services have been considered (it is acknowledged that there are
implications for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as a result of the proposals but
that these will generally be accommodated from ring fenced HRA balances)
• Staff related costs and savings are estimated and may not reflect the actual cost of
adding or deleting posts
• Other costs and savings relating to the change in staffing levels have been derived
from average unit costs.
6 These assumptions have been applied to areas of review where significant change is
anticipated as a result of the proposal. Reviews have been completed for the following
service elements:
• Democratic arrangements
• Management structure
• Environmental and trading standards
• Waste management
• Planning services
• Revenues and benefits
• Housing services (GF)
• ICT services, and
• Procurement services.
7 The affordability study demonstrates that by year five of operation annual savings will be
£29m and ongoing costs £10m. Of this £10m nearly £8m relates to new investment for
city and community boards to strengthen working at a local level by the new Unitary
Council. Initial one off transition costs are high. Redundancy costs of £20m and pay
harmonisation of £11m have been included. Redundancy costs predominantly fall in the
first year of operation.
8 Costs in the lead up years and first year of operation exceed savings. In order to manage
this imbalance reserves of £9m have been applied. The application of £6m from general
reserves allows council tax to be equalised at a level below the average council tax in
the first year and to the lowest level of council tax from year two when measured at
2007/08 levels. Thereafter, the level of ongoing savings is sufficient to allow for further
Council Tax reductions and/or further investment in services.
9 The financial health of the authority will be maintained throughout the period. Balances
although used to equalise council tax in the first year of unitary operation will be
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 3
maintained at £22m, significantly in excess of and proportionately greater than those
held by the existing County Council.
The approach to this study and the risks attached to the process that has been followed
has been independently evaluated by consultants. The conclusions drawn are that:
The submissions to the Boundary Committee
a) Given the nature of the exercise, in our opinion, the level of accuracy for the financial workbooks achieved should be sufficient for the Boundary Committee’s purpose.
The overall robustness of the financial workbooks
b) We have formed the view that a reasonable approach has been adopted and that the assessment of costs and cost reductions in the future are not inappropriate.
c) The workbook for the rural county is, in our opinion, sufficiently robust for its purpose,
even though its sensitivity for error is greater than the whole County approach, which we judge to be more robust.
Management of risks
d) We consider that the risk registers attached to the submissions to the Boundary Committee identify significant risks, record the actions that will be taken to mitigate the risk and identifies who is responsible for their control.
Implementation planning and contingency planning
e) DCC has identified the key issues that will be relevant to the implementation of each option. However, planning has not yet progressed to the next level, which will need to demonstrate that the plans can be achieved to the timetable without any adverse impact upon affordability.
Savings and costs
f) Our conclusion is that, whilst not all risks of misjudgement can be eliminated, DCC has made reasonable efforts to identify and assess the costs and savings attributable to the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals, with any bias being to overstate cost estimates and understate savings.
Budget disaggregation
g) There is a risk that the disaggregation may be sensitive to some revisions, however. Based upon our assessment, the exercise has been carried out with regard to the agreed principles determined by the Devon Section 151 officers group and, in overall terms, the allocated budget for the two unitary option should be within acceptable parameters of accuracy.
Formula grant allocations
h) The principal risk is that, where judgement has been exercised, that a material error in the split of the grant between the two unitaries would arise. It is our view that the accuracy of the split is reasonable, given the nature of the exercise. LGF carried out the formula grant disaggregation on behalf of DCC and Exeter City Council.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 4
10 A move to unitary local government will save money. It will remove duplication, allow
easier integration of related services and deliver savings in management, administration
and democratic costs. The business case demonstrates that although there are
significant transitional costs, these are more than offset by savings. The net costs can be
met locally and sustain a decrease in council tax to the lowest council tax level as
measured by 2007/08 levels.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 5
Business Case Introduction 1 Purpose 1.1 This business case for a single unitary authority in Devon based on existing boundaries
is in response to the proposal of the Boundary Committee made in July 2008. It should
be read in conjunction with the completed financial workbook issued by the Boundary
Committee which details the financial impact of restructuring.
1.2 A move to unitary local government will save money. It will remove duplication, allow
easier integration of related services and deliver savings in management,
administration and democratic costs. There will be transition costs to meet though. The
business case demonstrates that although there are significant transitional costs, these
are more than offset by savings. The net costs can be met locally without increasing
Council tax for the specific purpose of meeting transition costs
1.3 The benefits that will come from unitary local government cannot be measured simply
in financial terms. The criteria that the Secretary of State has specified to measure
proposals for unitary local government require that strategic leadership is effective,
accountable and can improve the way in which people are involved in decisions
affecting the places in which they live and the services they receive.
1.4 The purpose of this business case is to demonstrate that all of the Secretary of State’s
criteria are satisfied and that the cost of achieving them is more than offset by savings
that will continue to benefit the Council tax payers of Devon into the future.
2 Consultation with stakeholders
2.1 During the period since the Boundary Committee published its draft proposal the
County Council has worked with local partners to begin the further development of the
concepts underpinning that proposal. Specifically, an early meeting was convened with
District Councils, on 18 July, to discuss initial views about future service design,
organisation structure and planning for transition.
2.2 The issue of the role of Town and Parish Councils in any new structure and further
development of the Community Board concept has been taken forward jointly with the
Devon Association of Parish Councils, who nominated 2 Parish and 2 Town Council
representatives to work with us on the detailed development of these aspects of the
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 6
proposal. This work has also involved other stakeholders including Devon and Cornwall
Police.
2.3 Discussions have also taken place with a range of stakeholders in Exeter to help
develop a response to the questions about the role and place of the City in a new
Unitary Devon structure which would include Exeter and the associated community
governance arrangements.
3 Consideration of the Secretary of State’s Criteria 3.1 Must be supported by a broad cross section of partners and stakeholders
3.1.1 Since the structural review process began, Devon County Council has worked hard to
engage with its local communities, residents and stakeholders. The County Council
has held over seventy consultation meetings with Devon residents, District, Town and
Parish Councils, MPs, Devon business leaders and public sector partners.
3.1.2 Many partners believe that the move to a single unitary form of local government in
Devon will increase clarity and simplicity and remove duplication. Key public sector
partners have indicated their desire to have a single authority to capitalise on the
advances that have already been made in integrated working.
3.1.3 An initial single unitary concept was submitted by the County Council under the joint
signature of the Leader and shadow Leader who, between them represent 56 of the
County Council’s 62 elected members. There is strong support at all levels of the
County Council for the single unitary concept.
3.1.4 Through a series of consultation events we have engaged local stakeholders,
including Town and Parish Councils, in the development of the details around some
of the proposals within the concept. A good cross section of Town and Parish
Councils has immediately been enthusiastic. When there has been an opportunity to
discuss in depth and address any misunderstanding, particularly around local
governance arrangements and Community Boards, those Parish and Town Councils
who were initially sceptical have become more receptive. There appear to be very
few Town and Parish Councils that strongly oppose the concept and many believe
that if unitary government is required in Devon a single unitary excluding Plymouth
and Torbay is the solution.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 7
3.1.5 Devon County Council is the only proponent to have consulted over the whole area
subject to review and, the single unitary concept has to date, received more support
across Devon than the Committee’s alternative idea of a two unitary authority pattern.
3.2 Must provide strong, effective and accountable strategic leadership
3.2.1 The basis of the single unitary concept for Devon is the creation of a robust
community and neighbourhood platform which will enhance leadership at the local
level and provide a direct route to strategic leadership in a revised structure.
• A single unitary authority Council made up of about 100 elected members will join
local visibility with clear strategic leadership. Within the new authority a Leader
elected by the Council will be supported by an Executive made up of 10 members.
There will be extensive delegation to individual portfolio holders leaving the Executive
free to concentrate on strategic decision making. Through discussion with Lead
members of a new single unitary authority the following portfolios could be developed
to marry the need for democratic accountability for service delivery with policy,
strategy and resources, and strategic challenge:
• Policy, strategy and performance
• Resources
• Children, young people and families
• Adult services and health
• Housing
• Environment, sustainability and public realm
• Highways and Transport
• Economy, regeneration and spatial planning
• Communities, Culture and Customer Services
• Community Safety and Resilience
3.2.2 A single Council Leader for Devon will have the strength and the mandate to speak
for Devon at a regional, national and international level. The single Leader and
Executive for Devon will be subject to robust community, public, partner and
stakeholder scrutiny and will also be able to lead across partner bodies and hold
others to account.
3.2.3 Unitary Councillors at the local level, operating in single member wards, will provide
clear and accountable local leadership. Local members will be supported in their role
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 8
as leaders of place and will need to develop strong links with relevant Town and
Parish Councils together with other local neighbourhood and community bodies. This
will be a demanding but highly visible and rewarding role which will require members
to work across the representative and participatory structures at the local level.
3.2.4 Partnership planning, development and delivery in the mainstream of the single
authority will enhance its strategic capability. There will be strong and visible
Executive leadership in both the single unitary authority and in work with external
partners, stakeholders and communities opening up the new Council to external
influences.
3.2.5 The Leader will play a key role on the Devon Strategic Partnership with Executive
members having similar roles on relevant partnerships and Strategic Boards.
3.2.6 Creation of a single unitary authority will strengthen strategic leadership, protect the
capacity to assist others and enable Devon, Plymouth and Torbay to punch their
weight at a regional, national and international level. The creation of a single unitary
authority for Devon will provide focused leadership, which is clear and visible across
the County.
3.3 Must deliver genuine opportunities for neighbourhood flexibility and empowerment
3.3.1 This criterion was the start point for the County Council’s initial concept document
and is the foundation stone on which a new locally focused, strategically led authority
will be based. A move to a single unitary authority will serve to simplify opportunities
for community and neighbourhood engagement and empowerment.
3.3.2 A reduction in the number of Councillors representing the same local area will be a
result of a move to new unitary structures. A single unitary authority will have the
resource and capacity available to support local Councillors enabling them to perform
an enhanced community leadership and advocacy role.
3.3.3 Parish and Town Councils will also benefit from the capacity of a single unitary
authority. The capacity will support and develop the Town and Parish sector to work
as effectively as possible as the first tier of democratic representation.
3.3.4 The creation of Community Boards will, together with a Board for Exeter, offer
powerful, inclusive locality governance operating within an existing core but with the
flexibility necessary to reflect local difference. Each Community Board will be
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 9
accountable for establishing arrangements to ensure effective community
engagement and representation across the whole of that area.
3.3.5 The underlying concept behind an Exeter City Board is consistent with the model for
the Community Boards but, will have a wider set of accountabilities, stewardship of a
greater set of resources and different membership to reflect Exeter’s economic, social
and cultural influence.
3.3.6 Exeter has an impact on, and relies upon, a wide area of the County. This manifests
itself most obviously in the interaction between the economy, skills, housing,
transport, planning and communications. This wider impact will be recognised and
supported through the work of the Spatial and Economic Board.
3.3.7 Viewed from a resident’s perspective there are a number of well established
neighbourhoods within the City. A community governance review together with
support for the unitary Councillors for the City in strengthening links with existing
neighbourhood bodies and establishing that infrastructure where it does not already
exist would enable effective community engagement and empowerment..
3.4 Must deliver value for money and equity in public services 3.4.1 A move to unitary local government will save money. It will remove duplication, allow
the integration of related services and deliver savings in management, administration
and democratic costs.
3.4.2 A Devon unitary authority will allow for efficiencies of scale, rationalisation of systems
and assets, the capacity necessary to maximise savings on commissioning and
procurement and, provide a platform for easier integration with major partners. It will
protect the capacity of strategic and specialised services. . A single unitary authority
will result in less competition for skilled staff of high calibre and protect the capacity
necessary to ensure the maintenance of specialist services.
3.4.3 The potential for making savings and minimising transition costs is greater the fewer
new authorities that are created. A single unitary authority for Devon will complement
the current boundaries of the Devon Primary Care Trust and the Police Basic
Command Unit which covers Devon and Torbay. Our experience is that this co-
terminosity has accelerated our ability to take forward joint projects and integrate
services.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 10
3.4.4 A single unitary authority will not require the dismantling of services and will
strengthen existing integrated arrangements, in particular with the PCT.
3.4.5 The creation of a single unitary authority for Devon will reduce the fixed and variable
costs of transition, will maximise continuity and reduce as far as possible risks to
delivery of key service areas of national importance and will keep timing and overall
costs within the control of one authority.
3.4.6 The transition to a single unitary authority will be easier the two-unitary pattern which
would require the simultaneous disaggregation and amalgamation of services.
3.5 Be affordable – the change itself both represents value for money and can be
met from Councils existing resource envelope (transition costs must be more than offset over a 5 year period)
Detailed affordability considerations 4 Approach 4.1 The Boundary Committee published its proposal for the future of local government in
Devon on 7 July 2008. The publication of the proposal was followed by the issue of
financial workbooks for each of the proposals to specified lead S151 financial officers.
The lead financial officer for the single unitary proposal is the Director of Finance, IT
and Trading of Devon County Council. The deadline for return of the workbooks to the
Boundary Committee is 12 September 2008.
4.2 The overriding purpose of the affordability study is to demonstrate that accumulated
savings in excess of total initial costs can be achieved within four years of the start of a
unitary pattern of local government.
4.3 The timescale for this exercise is short. It is not possible, given this constraint, to
determine the detailed structures and precise costs and savings that will underpin a
working budget. The estimates and projections used have been designed to set a
reasonable base against which to measure the effect of transitional costs. The
modelled position results from applying robust assumptions to the budgeted
expenditure for all the contributing authorities where significant change is anticipated
as a result of the proposal.
5 Assumptions 5.1 A number of assumptions have been made. The key assumptions are that:
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 11
• For employment purposes the existing County Council will be a continuing authority
• Changes to the formula grant regime, the impact of changes to the national
distribution of formula grant from this proposal and other current reorganisations have
not been taken into account
• Demographic changes, inflationary pressures and policy changes reflected in budgets
since 2007/08 have not been recognised
• Only general fund services have been considered (it is acknowledged that there are
implications for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as a result of the proposals but
that these will generally be accommodated from ring fenced HRA balances)
• Staff related costs and savings are estimated and may not reflect the actual cost of
adding or deleting posts
• Other costs and savings relating to the change in staffing levels have been derived
from average unit costs
5.2 A more detailed analysis of assumptions and calculations that are significant to the
model are listed in Item 2 of this pack.
5.3 These assumptions have been applied to areas of review where significant change is
anticipated as a result of the proposal. Reviews have been completed for the following
service elements:
• Democratic arrangements
• Management structure
• Environmental and trading standards
• Waste management
• Planning services
• Revenues and benefits
• Housing services (GF)
• ICT services, and
• Procurement services
5.4 The transitional costs, ongoing costs and savings resulting from this analysis are
reflected in the workbook. Implications for reserve balances and council tax levels are
derived from the aggregated position and are discussed later in this analysis.
5.5 The approach outlined will provide a basis for determining the balance between
transitional costs and savings. There are inherent limitations. The analysis is static and
does not attempt to model all of the variables that will need to be brought together to
reflect the dynamics of changes in policy, the grant regime, cost pressures or changes
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 12
in tax bases in years beyond 2007/08. Interpretation of future Council tax levels will be
needed. Levels of Council tax for the proposed unitary Council in 2010/11 will not be
easily reconciled to those in the workbook.
6 Aggregation
The base data provided in the workbooks has been checked for accuracy. No changes
have been made to the data. The aggregated figures have been used without
amendment.
7 Detailed considerations
The areas where significant change is anticipated as a result of the proposal have been
identified earlier. A consideration of the costs and benefits for each of these is
summarised below. Detailed information relating to costs and savings is included in Item
2 of this pack.
8 Democratic arrangements 8.1 Member support 8.2 The creation of the Unitary Council will have a significant impact on the costs and
structure of democratic arrangements. The main implications of unitary government will
be the establishment of around 100 unitary Councillors and the provision of City and
Community Boards to provide leadership and responsiveness at a local level. Savings
from District Council members’ allowances will be made.
8.3 Elections to the Unitary Council will not take place until May 2010. In the period prior to
this an Implementation Executive for the unitary Council will exist.
9 Other democratic core costs
A total of £18.3m is spent on corporate and democratic core costs. Of this £14.2m is
generated by District Councils. Corporate and democratic core costs relate to democratic
representation and corporate management. Both are activities which provide for public
accountability and are a part of the infrastructure for providing services. These costs will
no longer be generated by District Councils when unitary government begins. Immediate
and ongoing savings will be made. Some interaction with members will continue
concerning local functions formerly carried out by District Councils. Not all the costs will
be lost and an allowance for continued professional support for local issues has been
retained. The costs are predominantly but not exclusively staffing costs and it is
recognised that compensation payments will be required for strategic officers who
support this activity. These costs are considered further below.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 13
10 City and Community Boards
10.1 A commitment to strengthen community engagement is made in the concept ‘Strong
Leadership and Local Focus’. In practice City and Community Boards will be supported
by a team led by a senior officer who will ensure the logistics of the Board are
managed and provide a link to the service delivery structures of the unitary Council. It
is estimated that these arrangements will cost £1.8m pa and require 38 officers. The
officers needed to make these arrangements work will be deployed from the combined
workforce. This redeployment will reduce the potential level of severance payments.
10.2 In addition to officer support the Boards will receive an annual development budget.
For all Boards this will be approximately £6m each year.
11 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs
0
Ongoing costs (per annum) City and Community Boards
7.8
Ongoing savings (per annum) Members Allowances
1.8
12 Structure of Management Board and Support Costs
The structure of strategic board has been considered by the Corporate Management
Board and financial provision to reflect the scale of operations made. This management
structure will replace the existing County and District strategic management Boards
across all authorities and result in a net reduction of about 40 officers. Commensurate
severance costs to the reduction in the number of senior officers will be incurred.
13 Support services 13.1 The methodology for the theme reviews which have identified savings included in the
affordability study focuses predominantly on management structure. At this level of
review the majority of client facing jobs currently undertaken for district services have
been unaffected and the affordability study has assumed that they will continue.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 14
13.2 Back office support functions that are not client facing will be affected by the
introduction of corporate procedures and systems. The staffing required to operate
these systems will reduce and savings will be made.
13.3 The approach taken to derive the savings included in the business case has been to
review staff for all existing Councils including the County Council. Modelled savings are
based on the nature of support provided not on location. Some allowance has been
made for skills to be retained where there are acknowledged pressures and where
shortages have been experienced in other reconfigured County areas. Accountants,
Human Resource and legal staff have been subject to lower reductions than other
support staff given that the City and Community Boards and other client focussed
initiatives will require enhanced support services if they are to deliver the improvements
in governance and services envisaged by the concept document.
13.4 In modelling the savings it has been assumed that 2.5% of posts will be lost. It is
unrealistic to assume that the posts can all be shed at the 1 April 2010 and only a
proportion of savings has been assumed over the first three years as follows; 75%
2010/11, 85% 2011/12 and 100% 2012/13. It is recognised that natural wastage and
normal retirement will increase the potential savings over and above these figures but
no assumption about the financial impact of this has been taken into account.
14 Summary of costs and benefits
Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (total) Redundancy Early Retirement & Pensions Retraining
10.38.80.2
Ongoing costs (per annum)
0.1 Ongoing savings (per annum) Support Staff Senior Staff
6.73.6
15 Regulatory Services 15.1 The arrangements designed by unitary authorities for these services vary significantly.
It is proposed that trading standards, environmental health, licensing and related
services are combined into a single service.
15.2 A single management structure will be created. Delivery will maintain its local focus but
will be directed through three area managers. The primary role of these managers will
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 15
be to take responsibility for service delivery within their geographic area and integration
of teams to focus on key service priorities rather than functional outputs. They will also
provide a direct link to central strategic operations and planning.
15.3 Initially, specialism will be maintained for existing disciplines and specialists will act as
a focal point for coordination of that area of work leaving management and
performance monitoring to the area managers. Eventually it is envisaged that other
flexible patterns of working could be developed to deliver objectives in key priority
areas. Significant savings arise from this approach and these are set out in the
following table.
16 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
Ongoing costs (per annum)
Ongoing savings (per annum)
1.9
17 Waste management 17.1 Under a single Unitary Devon the existing management of the disposal function, the
recycling centre network and aftercare of redundant sites will remain intact as the
current operation in Devon County Council covers the geographic area of Unitary
Devon. A single Unitary Devon will enable the aggregation of all the existing waste
collection management teams into a single unit. The initial thinking is that this will be
organised into an operations and strategy team with four area based operational teams
dispersed around the County and related to the disposal facilities these area teams will
utilise. This arrangement will enable some efficiencies in the management structure for
waste collection services.
17.2 The management savings are set out in the table below.
18 Waste collection and disposal
Amalgamation of waste collection and disposal management teams for a single Unitary
Devon, using a unified HQ Management team with four area based operational teams,
will produce savings of £240,000 from staffing efficiencies. This represents a saving of
approximately 10% of existing management costs.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 16
19 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
Ongoing costs
Ongoing savings (per annum) 0.2
20 Planning services 20.1 Within a Unitary Devon, it is envisaged that there will continue to be an Executive
Director and Director supported by a Head of Policy and Head of Development
Management, the latter supported by up to four senior managers dealing with
development control delivery. The Head of Policy may also require three senior
managers leading different aspects of planning policy development.
20.2 Within Unitary Devon, there will be a single Local Development Framework (LDF) core
strategy and a series of Area Action Plans and other policy documents. This will
require an enhanced LDF team of fifteen. Including administration managers, twenty
nine staff will be employed excluding front line development control, building control
and specialist staff.
Further Analysis
In addition to the outline above, there are a number of ancillary services in place to support
the planning function, not least conservation officers, enforcement officers, landscape officers
etc who currently advise Districts on a individual or shared basis. In a Unitary Devon
structure, these support services could potentially be delivered more effectively and efficiently
with consequent savings.
Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
Ongoing costs (per annum)
Ongoing savings (per annum) 2.3
21 Revenues and benefits 21.1 Housing benefit administration and revenue collection services together are the single
most significant group of services provided by District Councils. These services reach
all Council taxpayers and businesses in the Council’s area as well as many of the most
disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the community. The ability to generate
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 17
immediate savings from rationalising these services has been measured against the
risk of failing to provide them effectively and the harm that this will cause.
21.2 Although housing benefit payments are approaching £200m each year, these represent
transfer payments and cannot form part of the assessment for ongoing savings. The
only element of housing benefit related expenditure that has been reviewed is
administrative support. This element of cost is supported by housing benefit
administration grant. It is anticipated that any saving on administration costs will be
reduced by a reduction in grant.
21.3 A phased approach to managing the transition to common platforms and software is
proposed. This approach will release duplicated management costs as it progresses.
This phased approach is reflected in the savings that are achieved. It is estimated that
by 2013/14 annual savings, net of lost grant, will be £0.72m each year and 25 posts will
be saved. Further efficiencies may be forthcoming over time, however, this will remain
uncertain until platforms and software transition is complete.
22 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
Ongoing costs (per annum)
Ongoing savings (per annum) 0.72
23 Housing 23.1 Housing services are provided by each of the District Councils. Three of the Councils
retain ownership of their housing stock and maintain housing revenue accounts, the
remainder have undertaken Large Scale Voluntary Transfers to Registered Social
Landlords. There is some variation in the services offered at a local level.
23.2 Organisationally the Councils undertake their housing responsibilities very differently.
Some split housing functions over more than one directorate; some link housing
services with planning, some with environmental health and some with wider social and
community functions. One authority delivers some housing services within its revenues
and benefits directorate.
23.3 A single housing division is proposed for the unitary authority. A management structure
has been designed which will rationalise existing structures and reduce cost. It is
assumed at this stage that staff at lower levels will remain in place for the time being.
Further structural design will take place should the Secretary of State give approval to
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 18
unitary local government. Further savings may be identified when this work is
completed.
24 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
Ongoing costs (per annum)
Ongoing savings (per annum) 1.0
25 Streetscene and car parking 25.1 A single management structure for Streetscene management will be created. Savings
will arise from rationalising management structures and from streamlining contract
administration. Further efficiencies will be derived from combining existing County and
District functions for lengthsmen. For example litter picking activities currently
undertaken by district staff can be combined with other activities to generate savings.
Combining contracts for grounds maintenance, weed control and tree management will
produce further efficiencies.
25.2 Car parking management can be streamlined around a three area structure with
savings resulting from the replacement of individual district management structures.
Some costs will be incurred in relation to ancillary costs but these are less than £0.2m.
There will be a reduction in back office costs and the service encountered will be the
same for everyone, driving up customer satisfaction.
26 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
0.2
Ongoing costs (per annum)
Ongoing savings (per annum) 0.3
27 ICT services 27.1 A strategic review of ICT infrastructure has taken place. The objective of the review is
to recognise the economies of scale that can be achieved by moving to common
systems and standards. It is recognised that the ability to rationalise major systems and
functions for ICT purposes may not coincide with the ability to manage change
elsewhere in the organisation. Where absorption of district processing can be arranged
for the 1 April 2010, this will be programmed. It is envisaged, for example, that the
payrolls of all demising bodies will be incorporated into one payroll from that date.
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27.2 This is not the case with all client facing systems. Revenue and benefit systems are
considered at greater length above. It is acknowledged that the rationalisation of these
systems will need to be progressive and cannot be accomplished without unacceptable
risk immediately the unitary authority is formed. The costs and savings included in the
summarised figures reflect this.
27.3 The review has concluded that there is sufficient capacity to maintain the main
accounting system for several years after reorganisation. It is recommended that during
the transition period only those enhancements needed to manage an enlarged chart of
account and an increased level of transactions are made.
27.4 To achieve any savings there is an initial investment to be made. Among the most
significant initial investments is that needed to ensure that all personal computers
operate to the same standards. To achieve this it is intended to enter an enterprise
agreement with the software manufacturer as early as March 2009. The agreement
needs to be in place at the start of the second lead up year to allow work to be
undertaken and systems standardised before 1 April 2010 so that communication
difficulties are avoided.
27.5 The purchase of this software licence can be capitalised and the intangible asset
written down over the five years of its life. The capital cost can be minimised in the lead
up years by negotiating an end loaded agreement with the manufacturer. There is
sufficient flexibility in the capital programme to fund this purchase from usable capital
receipts. This method of financing incurs no ongoing revenue financing.
27.6 It is anticipated that some savings will be achieved in the first year of unitary status.
Transition costs are front loaded and occur typically in the second lead up year and the
first year of operation. This is reflected in the workbook financial analysis. Significant
savings will accrue thereafter reaching £5.6m pa in 2013/14 and beyond.
28 Summary of costs and benefits
Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
3.4
Ongoing costs (per annum)
0.7 Ongoing savings (per annum) 6.2
Capital costs (Total)
3.3
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29 Procurement 29.1 The procurement team have reviewed all of the standard procurement categories and
identified minimum and maximum anticipated savings for each. The savings included
within the affordability workbook are toward the minimum anticipated and include high
volume, high value supplies such as agency staff, waste collection, printing and
copying. Estimated savings of £2.5m per annum have been included.
29.2 Significant efficiency savings are anticipated from year 1 onwards by rolling out the use
of, for example, Devon eBiz (an electronic purchase to pay system), and Devon
Tenders. These savings have not been included within the workbook.
30 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)
Ongoing costs (per annum)
Ongoing savings (per annum) 2.5
31 Other costs and savings 31.1 Closedown 31.1.1 Responsibility for closure of District Council 2009/10 accounts will rest with the S151
officer of the successor unitary authority. It is envisaged that existing District Council
staff including the head of finance for each District will remain in place for the six
month period ending 30 September 2010 in order to prepare the statement of account
and whole of government accounts return and to respond to the requirements of the
external auditor. To achieve this the main accounting system of each District will need
to remain open for at least this period.
31.1.2 Coinciding with the beginning of the 2010/11 financial year it is proposed that
International Financial Reporting Standards will apply to local authority accounts for
the first time. The time available to the accountancy staff of each District should be
sufficient to deal with both the final accounts audit process and to convert financial
reports to the revised format in the period running up to 30 September 2010. The
converted reports for each District can then be consolidated for the new unitary
authority opening balance sheet in a cost effective manner.
31.1.3 Closedown is not limited to financial reporting. The payroll system for each District
Council will need to produce year end returns and individual P60 declarations for staff
employed up to 31 March 2010. It is proposed that the system will be maintained until
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30 May 2010 to allow this to happen. Sales ledgers and purchase ledger processing
will still be required. For the period that staff are retained to close the accounts
invoices received for goods and services prior to 31 March 2010 can be paid and
similarly income can be posted against accruals for the previous year. This will allow
a reduced number of outstanding transactions for the previous financial year to be
taken into the corporate systems of the unitary authority and minimise the opportunity
for invoices to remain unpaid and income uncollected.
31.1.4 The costs of achieving this will be in the region of £0.5m. The cost has been included
in the financial appraisal that accompanies this business case.
32 Redundancy 32.1 The costs of severance and redundancy are significant. There will be opportunity for
both existing County and District staff to apply to fill positions in the management
structure of the unitary authority. The reduction in the number of posts available for
staff at senior positions will mean that some existing staff will be displaced. This study
has identified that management will need to be rationalised and refocused across the
authority. The themes that have been considered in modelling the financial impact
which are considered above have almost without exception reduced senior and middle
management posts.
32.2 Some reductions are inevitable at other levels within the organisation to reduce
duplication and its attendant cost. It has not been the purpose of this study to attempt
to determine every opportunity to do this, however, it is recognised that in any change
of this magnitude a continuing provision to meet the costs of redundancy will be
required. A sum of £2.5m has been included in the overall costs submitted for the
second, third and fourth years of unitary Council operation.
32.3 Not all posts that become redundant will result in redundancy costs. Some post holders
will transfer to posts in the unitary structure. Other posts will fall vacant and result in no
severance costs at all. Where vacancies in the unitary structure occur or there are new
posts to fill, for example in relation to City and Community Board support roles,
redeployment will reduce the need for severance and redundancy and reduce the total
amount to be set aside for this purpose.
32.4 It is not possible to know with certainty the proportion of redundant posts that will
require severance payments. The transition costs calculated are based on the
assumption that 25% of posts will not carry a financial cost due to natural wastage and
redeployment.
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32.5 Approximately £19m has been provided to meet severance costs and pension fund
strain payments. This figure is based on an assessment of recent redundancies which
have occurred at the County Council. The uncertainty due to different severance and
early retirement policies has been acknowledged by adding £4.5m to the calculated
figures. Changes to the local government pension fund regulations from 1st April 2010
suggest that this estimate is prudent. The costs include both an element for severance
and pension fund strain payments where the terms and conditions for individuals will
allow for this. It is not possible to form a judgement about either the number of
individuals for which early retirement may be a possibility, or conversely, those that will
have much smaller redundancy costs due to having been employed for a much shorter
period without knowing exactly which individuals will be released and when. The
provision is intended to provide reasonable cover for redundancy and compensation
payments taking into account the range and profile of costs that will be generated.
33 Pay harmonisation
33.1 It is difficult to estimate the revenue impact of integration without detailed information
about the District schemes and the extent of duplication where roles are common to all
Councils. It is not possible in the timescale available for this exercise to complete this
comparison. Without this information it will be prudent to allow a contingency figure of
£1.5m per annum. This is based on the assumption that City and District staff will be
integrated into the County’s pay and grading structure and that there may be
consequent impact of £1.5m per annum on the pay bill.
33.2 Significant costs are attached to administering pay harmonisation reviews and appeals.
£2.4m has been included within the costing to provide for this.
34 Recruitment and selection
34.1 Chief Officer posts and their deputies will all be filled by an open, externally run,
competitive process. This includes the Chief Executive, Executive Directors, Directors
and some Heads of Service.
34.2 This process will result in additional one off costs that will fall, if the senior management
is to be in place by 1 April 2010, mostly prior to the first full year of operation. The
financial appraisal recognises the timing of this cost. An amount of £1.3m has been
included.
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35 Relocation costs
35.1 The customer focussed approach adopted in considering the way in which the unitary
authority operates requires that for many client facing services, particularly those
provided by District Councils, there will still need to be provision at a local level. It is
envisaged that these services will continue to have customer service access points
where they are now. For the overwhelming number of officers relocation is not a
consideration.
35.2 It is noted that some officers may be appointed to posts from other parts of the country
or which are located in a different part of the County from that in which they are
currently working. Limited relocation costs have always been found from within existing
budgetary provision and in these limited cases this practice will continue. The policies
of the County Council encourage home working where this is possible and minimise
travel costs by using high speed IT links which facilitate remote working and are
designed to minimise avoidable travel. The limited number of cases where existing
District or County employees may need to relocate can be managed by these modern
working practices.
35.3 Significant relocation is not envisaged. Where this may be necessary for some
individuals existing budget provision and the application of modern working practices
will minimise the call on resources and cost. Additional costs are deemed to be minimal
and only a small financial provision has been made.
36 Accommodation
36.1 The combined estate of the County Council and District Councils is considerable. The
management of the combined estate will provide opportunities for rationalisation. It is
difficult to predict the exact shape of the estate without detailed appraisal of both the
pattern of services delivery adopted by the unitary authority and the exact location of
staff which will provide those services.
36.2 Nonetheless a reduction in the number of staff, largely due to reducing duplication as
discussed earlier, will release office space. For the purposes of the business case the
saving from the released space has been calculated by estimating the cost of space
occupied by an employee and multiplying that by the reduction in the number of staff.
The aggregate saving has been calculated at £0.5m. Given the cost of running the
estate as a whole this is a marginal saving.
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 24
36.3 The impact of this level of saving on the location of offices and whether some will be
released or surplus space sub-let is unclear and will depend on the location of
accommodation required and its proximity to other available facilities. It is not difficult to
envisage a situation where smaller and expensive accommodation is either sold if it is
owned or does not have its lease renewed if it is rented releasing greater savings than
those calculated. Where surplus accommodation is available in larger buildings sub-
letting to related organisations will provide an income stream and enhance existing
partnership working.
37 Contracts 37.1 Contracts that will require immediate review and affect the amalgamation and
rationalisation of support services are few. Two District Councils have contracts with
external providers for internal audit services. The combined value of these contracts is
less then £100,000. It is envisaged that these contracts will be terminated. The
combined internal audit service will generate internal efficiencies that will allow any
residual audit work to be adequately staffed. Contract termination costs are anticipated
to be very small.
37.2 One District Council has let a contract for housing benefit services. This contract is due
to expire on 31 March 2011. It is understood that the District Council concerned is
evaluating whether the service should be brought in house. The phased rationalisation
of housing benefit and revenue services onto common software will allow for this
contract to run down without need of early termination. There will be no financial
impact.
37.3 Contract for other services will be allowed to run down and no financial penalty will be
incurred. Rationalisation of services will occur when they expire if this is appropriate.
Given the complexity of determining how services, such as leisure, will be organised
should the unitary proposal proceed, no attempt to model savings has been made.
38 Transition Team 38.1 In order to achieve transition arrangements a focussed transition strategy is required.
Effective project management will only be achieved if the programme director and
programme managers can operate at the highest levels within the authority and to
exacting standards and timescales. A balance of project management and process re-
engineering with a detailed knowledge of service requirements needs to be achieved.
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38.2 The proposed transition team will number 45 and cost £2.8m in a full year if all costs
were additional to existing budgets. Appointments to the team are unlikely to begin until
after the Secretary of State’s announcement in the first quarter of 2009 which means
that a realistic start date for the team is April 2009. For the financial consequences to
be determined it has been assumed that not all of the team will be appointed at the
same time, although it is anticipated that senior appointments will be made promptly. It
has been decided that for existing staff appointments, their substantive posts in the
unitary structure will not be backfilled during their secondment and therefore the costs
of the team to the authority will be approximately 50% less than the headline budget.
The cost of the team to the authority will be £0.9m in the year immediately preceding the 1
April 2010 and £1.4m in the first year of unitary local government.
38.3 An outline Transition Plan has been prepared and is shown as Item11 within this pack.
39 Capital Programme 39.1 The transition cost on the capital programme is relatively minor. The County Council’s
capital programme is currently running at approximately £190m annually. The
proposed capital investment as a result of transition is in the region of £3m. The
expenditure begins in the first lead up year 2008/09 and is phased over three years.
The early funding relates primarily to the Enterprise Agreement for computer systems
that will be required to ensure that all computers operate to the same standard. It is
also the largest individual element of expenditure.
39.2 In relative terms the additional expenditure is small. Capital programme management is
dynamic and financing decisions are based on available resources at the time the
expenditure is made. It is envisaged that sufficient flexibility exists to fund this
expenditure without incurring additional borrowing costs. There is no impact on
revenue costs as a result.
39.3 The existing capital programme is currently fully funded. Reference to the Medium
Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) confirms this. A link to the MTFS is contained in the
section on reserves and balances later in this document.
40 Reserves and balances
40.1 Reserves
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40.1.1 The existing policy of Devon County Council is to manage demand and cost
uncertainties through robust budget management. Anticipation of future and major
cost pressures relating to significant policy changes or known and material financial
liabilities has been managed by establishing earmarked reserves and drawing them
down as need requires. This policy has been successful to the extent that no call has
been made on balances for a number of years even though the gross revenue
spending of the authority is now in excess of £1bn.
40.1.2 Reserves are earmarked for specific purposes with well defined short term timescales
and some with longer term policy objectives in mind. The planned addition to
earmarked reserves is £8.4m in 2008/09 with further contributions of £14.6m and
£12.6m planned for 2009/10 and 2010/11 respectively. Existing reserves have some
degree of flexibility and are not immediately required to support policy initiatives or
significant financial liabilities. In particular the Service Development Reserve is only
partially committed. A combination of this flexibility and the re-prioritisation of planned
additions will allow the flexibility needed to meet transitional costs in 2009/10 and
2010/11. It is envisaged that the outturn for 2008/09 and the budget for 2009/10 will
be used to establish a transition reserve to finance additional costs.
40.1.3 The level of reserves reported in the County Council’s Statement of Accounts is
£52.2m for 2006/07 and £59.8m for 2007/08. The availability of reserves at this level
provides a significant level of assurance over the authority’s financial health.
40.1.4 It is accepted that the earmarked reserves of the District Councils have been
established for similarly well defined reasons that will play out either before
reorganisation or in the years immediately following it. This principle of financial
management in relation to earmarked reserves is well established and the various
judgements of S151 officers mean that these reserves are not available to meet any
of the cost of transition.
40.1.5 Funding transitional costs in lead up year two and in the first operational year will be
challenging: lead up year 2 (2009/10) because there is no opportunity to secure
additional funding through taxation or reductions in spending that has already been
planned, the first operational year (2010/11) because set up costs will be high in
relation to cost savings that will not be fully established until the second and
subsequent years of operation.
40.1.6 Transition costs in 2009/10 of £4.3m will be entirely supported from uncommitted
earmarked reserves. The remainder of the uncommitted figure will be used to support
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 27
£4.7m of costs in 2010/11. The financial case that has been constructed recognises
that the developments relating to transition and organisational change will require
some support from earmarked reserves. It is envisaged that the outturn for 2008/09
and the budget setting for 2009/10 will afford the opportunity to establish an
earmarked reserve specifically to manage the costs of transition in LUY2 and Year 1
of operation. The significant flexibility afforded to an organisation of the County
Council’s size will be an enabler in making these arrangements.
40.2 Balances
40.2.1 The free balances of the existing County Council stand at £14.2m. This represents
3.4% of the existing County Council’s net revenue expenditure. This level of balances
is required to manage risk over and above that mitigated by earmarked reserves. The
nature and extent of these risks are summarised in the MTFS.
40.2.2 Aggregated balances for the combined unitary at the 1 April 2010 are projected to be
£28.9m. This is a substantial increase on those held by the County Council and
represent 5.5% of the estimated unitary authority’s net revenue expenditure. A
judgement has been made which assesses risk and conservatively requires balances
of £20m to be held. This provides some flexibility to support spending in 2010/11
when investment costs are high and savings streams are still to be fully established.
£6.0m has been used in 2010/11 to fund the cost of Transition. Balances are still at a
level that is above that required by the risk being carried when modelled on the
existing a County Council approach to risk assessment.
40.2.3 The MTFS demonstrating the County Council’s level of reserves and balances can be
reviewed by following the link provided.
http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/democracycommunities/decision_making/cma/cma_document.htm?cmadoc=agenda_dcc_20080214.html 41 Council Tax Equalisation
41.1 The costs and savings in the foregoing have been added to the base data, reserve and
balance movements to match spending to reserves in the first year of the unitary
authority. The indicative Council tax level for a Band D property in year 1 is £1,175.
41.2 Council tax levels will reduce to £1,164 in the following years. This will mean that the
council tax for the unitary authority from Year 2 will be equivalent to the lowest council
tax level of district councils prior to reorganisation.
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41.3 [As the Boundary Committee’s workbook includes parish council tax the council tax
levels quoted include £30.46 for the average parish council tax for the County
calculated from the Finance and General Statistics 2007-08 published by CIPFA].
42 Contingency
42.1 The affordability study has concentrated on management and essentially only looked at
management and support service costs to determine potential savings. The greater
part of any future budget has not been scrutinised for other potential savings. This
gives a significant inbuilt safety valve against which to manage financial risk. When
detailed structures are prepared and costs calculated it is likely that further savings to
those declared will be achievable.
42.2 Our view is that if the Secretary of State approves the proposal the issue becomes one
of budget management. This management is in two principal parts. Budget setting:
recognising budget pressures from growth in costs or shortfall in grant. The
mechanisms that have allowed the authority to set prudent and achievable budgets in
the past will continue to operate. In year budget management: where budget
overspending occurs our monitoring procedures allow this to be identified early in the
year. Management action to contain costs can be taken.
42.3 Because of its prudent approach to budget setting the authority has not been required
to set a formal recovery plan to manage material overspending. If there are persistent
pressures earmarked reserves are applied. At year end directorate over and under
spending are considered and both can be carried forward as circumstances require. As
outlined earlier financial uncertainty will continue to be managed through the use of
earmarked reserves.
43 Pay back
The aggregated gross savings for the period until the 31 March 2014 are £102.3m. Costs
including those in the lead up years, 2008/09 and 2009/10 amount to £74.3m. Savings,
therefore, exceed costs by £28m. Pay back occurs 3 years and 8 months after 1 April 2009.
44 Risk assessment
44.1 The business case has been based on 2007/08 budgets. The result is a snapshot
which is designed to demonstrate affordability if all factors had remained the same. For
this purpose the approach is valid. The business case does not attempt to model
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 29
changes to policies, real spending patterns and decisions made by each of the
authorities since the budgets were set. Neither does the study attempt to reflect
changes in the national economy and international economic pressures. Delivery of the
first budget of the unitary authority and the consequent Council tax decision will reflect
the costs and savings discussed here but will not reflect the real world changes and
pressures that will have occurred subsequently. The result will look very different from
the model presented here.
44.2 A conservative approach to estimating savings has been followed. Savings have been
calculated for major service themes only. Predominantly reviews have concentrated on
management costs. Savings from client facing activities have generally not been
considered due to the impact this may have on the customer focused vision the
authority is developing. This approach leads to low risk of misstating savings and limits
their impact in sensitivity analyses.
44.3 Costs have been calculated on the basis of the best information available. The
following highlight estimated costs that may be subject to volatility and comments on
the potential impact on the business case that has been prepared.
45 ICT
The detailed analysis that has been undertaken has revealed significant savings after
initial transition costs have been incurred. The nature of the review suggests that it is
unlikely that business critical systems have been missed. Each system or system
component in the ICT review has been subject to the same rigorous examination
resulting in cost and savings estimates. This suggests a low risk of significant cost or
saving misstatement.
46 Pay harmonisation
46.1 There is considerable risk attached to estimates of future pay equalisation costs
resulting from unifying job evaluation arrangements for the unitary authority. Each of
the districts are implementing their own agreement. The extent to which there will be
appeals or dispute is unknown. Accounting principles, however, require that liabilities
attached to the harmonisation undertaken by each district in terms of back pay and
appeals should either have been already settled or recognised by appropriate accruals
in the accounts of that district prior to the start of unitary government. These costs
should fall on the new unitary authority only to the extent that provision has been made
and should not be a significant liability that remains to be funded.
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46.2 Harmonising the district agreements will result in additional cost. Determining what
should be provided is problematic without a significant amount of detailed work which
will take a considerable period to complete. The sums included in the business case
represent the best estimate available but the estimate carries some degree of
uncertainty with it.
47 Redundancy
Assumptions have been made as set out above. There is uncertainty about a number of
factors, the proportion of early retirements, the level of natural wastage and deployment
that will occur that will reduce costs and the estimate of the cost of individual retirements.
48 Risk register
48.1 High level risks are set out in the risk register at Item 9 within this pack. Although risks
with financial impact are of importance to the financial assessment, the business of the
proposed unitary needs to recognise and manage all of these risks if it is to function
effectively.
48.2 The County Council has encountered in one form or another many of these risks and is
managing them successfully in the current two tier system of local government. This
has influenced the view about likelihood and impact shown in the register.
49 Sensitivity analysis
49.1 The impact of underachieving savings and underestimating costs will be the most
difficult situation to manage particularly in the first year of the unitary authority. In
practice some of the costs, particularly around City and Community Boards are
determined by decision and are controllable. The costs of pay equalisation,
redundancy, and to a lesser degree ICT costs are not.
49.2 An independent external evaluation has been undertaken of our procedures behind the
workbooks. The report concludes that even in the worse case scenario reserves and
balances are sufficient to absorb the financial impact of the assessed risks.. 49.3 It should be noted that the costs of redundancy will have less of an impact after the first
year of operation and management action can be taken if cost pressures persist to
reduce their impact on aggregate costs. The combined value of balances and
earmarked reserves will allow the impact to be addressed.
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49.4 The coincidence of increased costs and lower levels of savings are unlikely to happen.
The approach to assessing savings as outlined above will suggest that if they were to
vary from the anticipated levels it is likely that they will increase, limiting the risk of
increased costs before recourse to other corrective measures.
50 Briefing S151 Officers 50.1 It is a requirement set down by the Boundary Committee that S151 officers of the
participating District Councils are fully briefed about the impact these proposals will
have. Liaison with them has been on a monthly basis since the original meeting with
Boundary Committee representatives and S151 officers in April.
50.2 As work has progressed toward a conclusion additional meetings have been arranged
to share more detail about assumptions and outcomes. The detailed programme for
these meetings is described in Appendix 1 to this document.
50.3 The Director of Finance, IT and Trading for Devon County Council has arranged
meetings with District Council S151 officers and members to discuss the approach
taken and to answer questions about the business case and workbook. These
arrangements are deemed to meet the requirements of the Boundary Committee for
briefing and consultation.
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Appendices to this document:
1. S151 officer briefing
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APPENDIX 1 S151 Officers Briefing Content of the meetings and further consultation arrangements The meetings outlined below are for S151 Officers of authorities which have contributed data to the workbooks being completed for the unitary proposal and for the Devon unitary in the 2 unitary pattern. The main focus of the meetings will be to discuss the progress made toward workbook and business case completion of the proposal and alternative option for which John Mills is the lead S151 Officer and to develop consultation arrangements that will allow S151 certification to take place by 11 September. In outline our intention is as follows: Consultation - first stage 22 August 2008 This meeting is intended to be the first stage in our consultation process. There are limitations to what we can give you at this stage because our work will very much be ‘work in progress’, however we intend to:
• discuss the disaggregation process • provide information on the process being followed for completion of the workbooks • provide base data either included in the workbook by the Boundary Committee or
provided subsequently for you to take away and check for accuracy • outline the major assumptions we have adopted • give an update on progress to date and where possible exemplify this with costs and
implications • outline the basis for our planning finance related services including revenue and
benefit services both during the transition (closedown of 2009/10 accounts etc) and for the future management of the services
• engage in discussion about balances and earmarked reserves • send to you after the meeting a copy of the presentation.
It will not be possible to give an accurate indication of the calculated overall costs and savings of either the proposal or option because the work will not be complete. Until the overall costs and savings are known the implications for Council tax levels cannot be determined. There will be opportunity for you to question us about the work to date and to raise any concerns that you feel need to be addressed. At the meeting we will agree with you the arrangements for further consultation. At the moment it is our intention to hold a meeting either on Friday 5 September or early in the following week. Consultation – second stage 5 September 2008 This is the second meeting in our consultation process. At this meeting it is intended to provide the following:
K:\CorProject\Shared\LGR 2008\Business case 34
• final drafts of workbooks and business cases for both the unitary proposal and the Devon unitary in the 2 unitary pattern
• identify any significant changes we have made to the approach taken to complete the workbooks
• share the additional information we will provide to the Boundary Committee in support of the workbooks
• outline the approach adopted to the use of balances and reserves and the implication for Council tax
• identify any areas which are still to be finalised and the implications for S151 certification.
• send to you after the meeting a copy of the presentation. There will be opportunity for you to question us about the final draft workbooks to date and to raise any concerns that you feel need to be addressed. Consultation – third stage The final draft workbooks, outline business cases and presentations from the consultation meetings will enable you to draw conclusions about the robustness of the work we have undertaken There should be two or three days for you to consider this material and make a certification in line with Boundary Committee requirements.