Hampshire County Council

Policy and Resources Policy Review Committee

27 March 2003

Item 6 (i)

Progress with Best Value Reviews

Chief Executives Department

1. Name:

Legal services

Completed

2. Proposed improvements:

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

The Best Value Improvement Plan ("the Plan") was approved by the Policy & Resources PRC in December 2000. The Plan set out a number of specific actions to be completed within defined timescales, all within a two year period. The key areas of improvement were as follows:-

Continue to achieve best practice standards set by the Law Society, through maintaining Lexcel accreditation, to deliver a quality legal service that meets client needs.

Explore making improvements to arrangements for legal support on Child Protection functions, and in particular whether work undertaken by counsel can be more effectively handled by the in-house team.

Through benchmarking with other County Councils, identify areas where service can be improved to ensure that it compares favourably with the best provided by comparable suppliers.

Ensure internal processes are developed and continuously improved.

Clarify the contribution made by the Legal Practice to the Council's Corporate strategy.

3. Progress on implementing the Improvement Plan

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

Progress made against the key actions identified in Section 2 above can be summarised as follows:-

The Legal Practice underwent a full reassessment against the Lexcel standards, carried out by independent assessors in December 2002. The outcome of the reassessment was that accreditation has been maintained.

The assessors commended the Practice for having a well developed management structure, with clear lines of responsibility. It was recorded that there were good controls in the area of financial management. In respect of people management, it was noted that the Practice had well developed processes for internal communications with staff, and was operating an effective system of performance management in accordance with Investors in People processes. File management was considered to be to a good standard. The assessors also made a number of observations for further improvements to services, which are being drawn together into an action plan, in consultation with staff. Level of client satisfaction was determined through the use of feedback questionnaires, the responses to which indicated a high standard of service provision.

Additional dedicated management time has been invested in the area of legal support on child care functions, at no additional cost to Social Services as the client. This has resulted in efficiency improvements in the utilisation of in-house resources, to the extent that expenditure on use of external counsel is reducing. Discussions continue with Social Services with a view to making further efficiency improvements.

Benchmarking with other County Councils has enabled areas of best practice to be identified and improvements or efficiencies implemented within the service at no extra cost.

A significant number of operational improvements agreed with staff, and included in the Plan flowing from the Best Value review, have been implemented. The Practice is currently engaged in a peer review with Kent, East Sussex and Surrey County Council legal departments, to compare practices in areas such as client care, recruitment and retention, and the role of support staff, to identify ways in which further improvements to internal processes can be made.

Through service planning and operation of the performance development process, the key objectives of the Practice and staff are clearly linked to the key objectives of the Council's Corporate Strategy.

.

4. Future Plans

The Best Value Improvement Plan was a two year plan agreed in December 2000. The Plan has been implemented and will not be the subject of any further monitoring reports. The Practice maintains a three year service plan which is updated annually, to identify new, specific, measurable actions designed to achieve continuous improvement.

5. Conclusion

The actions set out in the Plan have been implemented. A full, independent assessment conducted in December 2002 has confirmed that professional best practice requirements are being met. The Practice compares itself to other benchmark suppliers and identifies where improvements to service can be made. Client satisfaction is monitored continuously and responses indicate a high degree of satisfaction. Although the Plan has now reached its end, service planning continues to identify new targets to be reached. These will enable competitiveness to continue to be measured and areas for further improvement identified.

6. Contact for further information

Kevin Gardner, Head of Legal Practice ex. 7381

Name:

Hampshire Registration Service

On-going

Proposed improvements

The review proposed the change to a single registration district together with the rationalisation and improvement of register offices and other incremental developments.

In addition, changes to legislation were proposed to enable new service delivery methods, especially on-line registration and extended marriage times, and the provision of new services such as naming ceremonies.

Progress in implementing the Improvement Plan

To facilitate the move to a single registration district, a plan has been formulated to preserve the current geographic provision of the service. Progress is dependent upon the roll-out of IT2000 to Register Offices which is currently under investigation. A number of incremental improvements have been completed including:

· Exterior redecoration of all main offices.

· Provision of mobile phones for staff working alone and provision of laptop computers for off-site registrations.

· Introduction of payment by credit card.

· Training and induction for introducing new services (e.g. Naming ceremonies in 2003 and Citizenship ceremonies in 2004).

Delays in the introduction of new legislation have put back plans for introducing on-line registrations and new role of Celebrants for marriages.

Future Plans

Key future developments include introducing:

· A new statutory function for the Registration Service to conduct Citizenship Ceremonies due to begin in January 2004.

· Alternative ceremonies (Naming Ceremonies, Re-affirmation of Vows and Commitment Ceremonies in 2003; and Civil Funerals in 2004)

· Electronic services for on-line certificate applications and payments.

Contact for further information

Karen Murray, Head of Resources, 01962 847876 or

Barbara Botley, Head of Registration Service, 01962 846230

Name:

Hampshire Transport Management (HTM)

Completed

Proposed improvements

The review endorsed the current approach to the management of HTM while identifying a range of incremental operational improvements

Progress in implementing the Improvement Plan

The improvement plan has been largely implemented with outstanding items incorporated into the 2003-04 business plan

Future Plans

HTM is committed to continuous improvement through a robust annual business planning process. Approval for the 2003-04 business plan was recommended by the Buildings, Land and Contracts Panel in February 2003

Contact for further information

Richard Green, Business Operations Manager, 01962 846281

Name:

Financial Management

On-going

Proposed improvements

1. Implementation of new Resource Management System (SAP).

2. Review further options for broader partnership working

3. Explore options for unifying the finance function

4. Clarify and Codify Financial Management Policies of the Council

5. Apply for the Charter Mark for Pensions Services

Progress in implementing the Improvement Plan

1. Implementation is proceeding, albeit on a slightly longer roll out time-scale than originally envisaged due to various implementation problems. The financial ledger was implemented from April 2001, Financials, Procurement and Phase One of Human Resources from September 2002, Payroll in three phases between September 2001 and January 2003, and the roll-out of budget management across the whole organisation including over 4,000 devolved users will now take place between April 2003 and March 2005. This delay has impacted on the cost of the project, but additional savings are also now considered achievable such that overall the project remains on course to deliver the cost benefit case set out.

2. This was intended to follow on (in 2004) from the SAP implementation, and so might in turn be delayed.

3. This has been progressed in three areas: for Social Services it was implemented in October 2001 so that some 80 Social Services staff based in local offices have transferred to the County Treasurer's Department and have now been integrated into it. For the Environment Department, 15 staff are now in the process of transferring to Treasurer's and this will be completed by April 2003. A similar approach is being proposed in the Education Department: consultation with staff is underway and details are now being finalised. Implementation will be effective from 1 October 2003. That leaves only Property, Business & Regulatory Services to consider. This will be looked at further during 2003/04.

4. Following consideration by a member working group, the Council's financial management policies were brought together in a document which is incorporated into the budget book each year. Revisions have been made for the 2003/04 budget book..

5. Application was made in July 2001, and was successful.

Future Plans

The Department continues to produce an annual Best Value Plan, supported by Section-level plans, and to monitor achievement against these on a quarterly basis. The implementation of SAP remains the primary current driver for improvement, and this incorporates the e-Government agenda. In addition, customer surveys have recently given both good results and useful ideas for improvement, and a structured interview process has recently been undertaken with all County Treasurer's staff (called Listening to You) which it is hoped will also generate ideas. Some 400 interviews took place in October - November 2002 and analysis of the results should be completed in time to implement actions in 2003/04. The CPA rating of `good' for the finance aspects of the inspection was encouraging. In addition, when the Student Support Section reapplies for its Charter Mark next year, it is intended to extend the application to cover Blue Badges, which are also now handled by that unit. Other sections will also be considering applying for Charter Mark in due course, as this is now available to support services who do not deal directly with the public.

Contact for further information

Paul Carey-Kent, ext 7525

Name:

County Council Catering Services

Completed

Proposed improvements

The review proposed the establishment of a new County Catering Unit to oversee all catering services delivered in the County Council.

The unit was to be established at no additional cost by consolidating existing specialist catering staff under a professional catering manager.

Its remit is to lead the management of catering costs, food and safety risks, modernisation and customer service improvement. It will develop best operational and business practice and set standards for catering service excellence in the County Council, including those in schools and social services units with special diets or special needs.

Progress in implementing the Improvement Plan

The new Catering Services Unit was established in the autumn of 2002 with the Bar End-based Catering Support Unit and the individual responsible for Social Services catering re-locating to the Hampshire Caterers headquarters in Eastleigh. The consolidated operation is now led by Amanda Frost who joined as its head in August 2002, from Bradford City Council.

Future Plans

A business plan has been developed for 2003-2004 setting out clear goals and strategies for the unit, drawing on the proposed outcomes from the best value improvement plan. The business plan charts a work programme for the key outcomes identified in the review - partnership working with Social Services, linking plans to corporate strategies, measuring customer results and identifying areas for improvement and development.

Contact for further information

Neil Jones, Head of Business Services, 01962 846180 or

Amanda Frost, Head of Catering Services, 023 8062 9388

Name

Passenger Transport

.Completed

Proposed improvements

This review brought together the three strands of Passenger Transport which are provided by Social Services, Education and the Environment Department ( formerly County Surveyors). A number of issues emerged that were pertinent to all three service delivery areas, therefore a `cross cutting' review was established to see what improvements could be made for the future coordination of transport policy and procurement for front line services

This following is a summary of the key proposals for the review.

The review identified the need to consider 19 policy options and commissioned a consultant to provide information for future decision making on the best options for an improved service.

Three key areas where possible improvements could be made included policy, communication and organisation and provision.

An action plan was devised and its implementation is being managed by a corporate group of officers. The main objectives include:

· greater integration of council run transport across the functional service areas

· making best use of the passenger transport call centre based in the Environment Dept 

· restructuring financial arrangements to maximise support for transport services 

· ensuring continuity of provision and entitlement across Council departments 

· ensuring consistent application of health & safety standards

· increasing competition in the pubic transport market

Progress in implementing the Improvement Plan

Implementation is progressing well with the aim of ensuring all key initiatives are underway or completed by the end of 2003. Key achievements during 2002/3 include:

· the implementation of the `Cango' demand responsive services from June 2002 in Andover, Lymington and Leigh Park with further service development underway for Alton, Burghclere and the Candovers.

· Arrangements concluded for social services transport in Eastleigh and Romsey to be coordinated through the Environment Department's call centre

· Arrangements made for better communication of information so that local communities can communicate needs and the council can respond with information and / or new initiatives.

· Consistent health & safety standards for driving established and incorporated into a new corporate policy.

Future Plans

While ongoing work continues to complete the action plan, attention is now turning to developing new ways of cross department and cross-agency working on reducing the amount of passenger transport required reducing the need to travel. This is being achieved by examining the linking of education, social services and Environment Department arrangements through the development of area specific action based projects combining County Council resources and facilities with those of partner organisations in the business and voluntary sectors.

A key recommendation emerging from this review was for a Member champion, a position that has been taken up by Cllr Tim Knight.

It is considered that this corporate approach is likely to lead to policy directional changes which could lead to more coordinated services and efficiency /productivity improvements. The links with lifestyles, sustainability and longer term thinking relating to the community needs are being pursued by the corporate group of officers who are now establishing better cross -portfolio links with the Councils' elected members and with partner organisations.

Contact for further information

Martin Robertson (Environment) on 01962 846997

Jane Graham (Social Services) on 01962 847211

Terry Rath (Education) on 01962 846547