Agenda item

Cabinet received a report on proposals for potentially contracting out certain functions by East Kent Services (EKS). Since its creation EKS has achieved savings of circa £6m, through a combination of reduced annual management fees, absorbing all inflationary items such as salaries and passing cash back to councils. The operating costs were now about 40% lower than where they would have been before the shared services project was in place. This had been achieved without any significant reduction in services.

Cabinet noted that unless the partner councils wished to significantly increase the fees paid to EKS, service reductions, with staff losses, were the next necessary step to take for the delivery of services to remain viable. Members considered a number of options that were offered in detail in the Cabinet report.

There was separate work ongoing that was looking at the options for EKS residual structure, in the event of a change in service delivery arrangements, and this would be subject to a report that would be brought back to Cabinet in due course, once the detail work on each option was completed.

It was also reported that the interim position, should Councils decide to proceed with any contracting out, would expect to witness some immediate savings in EKS corporate overheads but retain EKS in a slightly smaller form for the interim period. This would allow time for the detailed residual options work to be completed and for the contract to be managed effectively during the first few months of operation.

Councillor Bayford and Councillor Campbell spoke under Council Procedure 20.1.

In response to a Member query seeking clarity regarding the wording in recommendation 2(d) in the cabinet report, Mr Dominic Whelan, Director of Shared Services said that this recommendation was in relation to contracts that may be required in order to facilitate efficient delivery of Revenue & Benefits or Customer Services; for instance by providing enabling systems such as technology systems that are required to facilitate the functions.

Councillor Crow-Brown proposed, Councillor Wells seconded and Cabinet agreed the following:

(1)  To approve the business case for entering into a strategic partnership and contract for the delivery of the Revenues, Benefits and Customer Services functions and to request the East Kent Services Committee to give effect to the recommendation;

(2)  To the extent that they are not already authorised to do so, the East Kent Services Committee be authorised to discharge the following functions and delegations on behalf of the Council:-

(a)  Acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council*, to authorise entry into contracts with third parties in relation to the discharge of all or any of the Revenues, Benefits and Customer Services Functions, including the granting of interests in land;

(b)  To exercise the powers and functions of the Council in relation to any contract entered into by the Council pursuant to (2)(a) above, (to include but not be limited to) making decisions on behalf of the Council in relation to:-

(i)  Contract management;

(ii)  Renegotiation of the contract (acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council);*

(iii)  Variation of the contract (acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council);*

(iv) Assignment of the contract (acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council);*

(v)  Novation of the contract (acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council);*

(vi) Termination of the contract (acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council);

(vii) Renewal of the contract (acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council);*

(viii)Enforcement of the contract including the making and settling of any claims arising under it (whether or not legal proceedings are actual or contemplated);

*the contracts shall be entered into in accordance with each local authority’s respective Contract Standing Orders.

(c)  To authorise the doing of anything in relation to the exercise of the powers and functions of the Council under Part ll of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 and the orders and regulations made under it;

(d)  Acting in consultation with the chief legal officer of the Council to authorise entry into contracts* with third parties in relation to any functions of the Council which are not the Revenues, Benefits and Customer Service Functions but which can usefully be entered into in connection with or in order to facilitate contracts entered into, or to be entered into with regard to the Revenues, Benefits and Customer Service Functions;

*the contracts shall be entered into in accordance with each local authority’s respective Contract Standing Orders.

(e)  To authorise the doing of anything incidental to, conducive to or otherwise expedient in connection with (a) to (d) above.