Agenda item

Report of Commercial Director

Purpose of report

This report presents the final business case for a joint working in Housing Services across Cherwell District and South Northamptonshire Councils (hereafter Cherwell or CDC and South Northamptonshire or SNC respectively).

The report recommends the formation of a Joint Private Sector Housing Service and a Joint Housing Service and in doing so seeks the Executive’s agreement for the non-staffing elements of the business cases.

The proposal is part of the wider transformation programme across the two Councils.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

 1.1        To consider the attached final business case and the consultation responses in relation to non-staffing matters as outlined in section 5.1.

1.2         To note that the business case will have been considered by the Joint Commissioning Committee with regard to staffing matters on 30 March 2017. This will include consideration of the consultation responses from affected staff and trade union representatives.

1.3         To approve and implement the proposed final business case to create a Joint Private Sector Housing Service and a Joint Housing Service between CDC and SNC, subject to similar consideration and approval by SNC Cabinet on 10 April 2017 and approval of the staffing implications by the Joint Commissioning Committee.

1.4         To delegate to the Commercial Director in consultation with the Leader of the Council any non-significant amendment that may be required to the business case following the decision by SNC Cabinet and/or the Joint Commissioning Committee.

1.5         To note that the savings realised from this proposal will be held in reserve and earmarked for Housing to provide additional resources that may be required to cope with any increased demand resulting from recent legislative changes.

Resolved

(1)          That, having given due consideration, the final business case for Joint Housing Services and the consultation responses in relation to non-staffing matters be noted.

(2)          That it be noted that the business case was considered and approved by the Joint Commissioning Committee with regard to staffing matters at its meeting of 30 March 2017 and that this included consideration of the consultation responses from affected staff and trade union representatives.

(3)          That the proposed final business case to create a Joint Private Sector Housing Service and a Joint Housing Service between Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire Council (SNC), subject to similar consideration and approval by SNC Cabinet on 10 April 2017 and following approval of the staffing implications by the Joint Commissioning Committee be approved for implementation.

(4)          That authority be delegated to the Commercial Director in consultation with the Leader of the Council to make any non-significant amendment that may be required to the business case following the decision by SNC Cabinet.

(5)          That it be noted that the savings realised from this proposal will be held in reserve and earmarked for Housing to provide additional resources that may be required to cope with any increased demand resulting from recent legislative changes.

The Commercial Director submitted a report which presented the final business case for a joint working in Housing Services across Cherwell District and South Northamptonshire Councils which was part of the wider transformation programme across the two Councils.

The report recommended the formation of a Joint Private Sector Housing Service and a Joint Housing Service and in doing so sought the Executive’s agreement for the non-staffing elements of the business cases. The staffing elements of the business case had been agreed by the Joint Commissioning Committee at their meeting of 30 March 2017

Resolved

(1)          That, having given due consideration, the final business case for Joint Housing Services and the consultation responses in relation to non-staffing matters be noted.

(2)          That it be noted that the business case was considered and approved by the Joint Commissioning Committee with regard to staffing matters at its meeting of 30 March 2017 and that this included consideration of the consultation responses from affected staff and trade union representatives.

(3)          That the proposed final business case to create a Joint Private Sector Housing Service and a Joint Housing Service between Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire Council (SNC), subject to similar consideration and approval by SNC Cabinet on 10 April 2017 and following approval of the staffing implications by the Joint Commissioning Committee be approved for implementation.

(4)          That authority be delegated to the Commercial Director in consultation with the Leader of the Council to make any non-significant amendment that may be required to the business case following the decision by SNC Cabinet.

(5)          That it be noted that the savings realised from this proposal will be held in reserve and earmarked for Housing to provide additional resources that may be required to cope with any increased demand resulting from recent legislative changes.

Reasons

The business case sets out the rationale for establishing the Joint Private Sector Housing Team and a Joint Housing Service across CDC and SNC.

Alternative options

Status Quo (no change)

Retaining the status quo is an option for both Councils. However, retaining the status quo would not deliver the benefits set out in this business case nor would it provide access to the additional resilience and shared expertise that a joint service would facilitate.

Alternative Joint Service Option – Harmonise housing options and allocations approaches to enable a single options and allocation team.

Harmonising the policy approach to housing options and allocations at the two Councils would enable the creation of a single housing team to deliver these services compared to the two locality teams proposed in this business case which could deliver further efficiency savings.

This option was ruled out following early discussions with SNC Members on the potential adoption of Choice Based Lettings. The business case proposes that the option of harmonising the policy approaches be reviewed by the proposed Joint Housing Services manager once the shared service has been established.

Alternative Joint Service Option – Combining the proposed Joint Housing Service and Private Sector Housing team.

A single joint service combining the proposed joint Housing Service and the proposed Joint Private Sector Housing service has been considered and discounted. While there are clear links between the service areas, they are fundamentally different disciplines. The CDC approach of having a dedicated Private Sector Housing team is also well established and building on the foundation of this team is considered the best approach for a joint team.

Outsource Service

While it could be possible to outsource certain elements of the service, there are a number of statutory responsibilities related to an outsourced service that could affect delivery and, given that Housing is one of the core front-line services for both Councils, it was not considered appropriate to add an element of risk, in terms of costs and delays to the service, in order to be able to do this.

The approach in the recommendations is believed to be the best way forward. The proposal is to establish a Joint Private Sector Housing Service and a Joint Housing Service.