Contact: Jill Lovelock, 01962 847591, [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report recommends changes to the accommodation occupied in Brussels at 35 Square de Meeus and restructuring of the partnership arrangements.

1.2 This supports aim 4 of the Corporate Strategy (building strong and safe communities) by representing the views of the local community at regional, national and international levels to influence and shape policy.

2 Background

2.1 The County Council has been represented in Brussels since the mid 1990s, and since 2000 has been part of South East England House, 35 Square de Meeus. The County Council is represented as a sub-regional partnership with West Sussex County Council, Southampton City Council, Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, Winchester and Chichester Universities. Two members of staff work for the partnership in Brussels.

2.2 The Hampshire West Sussex partnership office is co-located in South East England House with other sub-regional partnerships and the two regional agencies:

· Kent

· Thames Valley

· South East Partners (Surrey, East Sussex, Brighton & Hove Councils)

· SEEDA & SEERA


SEEDA have been the leaseholders and the five partnerships have agreed a method of working through "enhanced co-operation" with officers taking specialist portfolio responsibilities and sharing information and research across all the partnerships in SEEH.

2.3 The benefits for Hampshire in being represented in Brussels are:

· profile and lobbying

· promoting best practice

· early information on policy with potential implications for the County Council

· funding opportunities

· policy influence

· access to key institutions

· office base to use when visiting the European Institutions

3 Proposals for change

3.1 Accommodation

The lease on SEEH has a break in 2007 so the co-locating partnerships have prudently reviewed whether this premises is still appropriate and efficient as the office base. Costs have risen over the period of the lease from 2001, and for the Hampshire West Sussex partnership the structure of recharging costs means we pay more for the shared space than for the actual office space occupied. The partnership currently pays €50,250 (approx £34,500) to SEEDA which includes rent, charges and taxes, operating costs, and capital expenditure for SEEH. The partnership also spend £65,000 on staffing and running costs for the partnership. The Hampshire contribution to the partnership budget is £52,000.

3.2 SEEDA and Kent County Council have retained property agents who have investigated alternative premises. An office is available at 45 rue de Commerce, which is agreed by all partnerships to be suitable. The location is as good as the current office, it is in fact just round the corner. The building is due for refurbishment and the landlord will undertake work to provide:

· new entrance and lobby with video intercom and phone

· new tenant signage

· security doors linked to intercom

· disabled access

· redecorate lifts

· refurbishment and redecoration of 4th floor office

· refitting kitchen

· toilets redecorated.


The partnerships will be involved in specifying the standard of this work and in agreeing office layout.

3.3 The financial deal on 45 rue de Commerce is very good. Overall the costs are estimated at €68,278 pa (£46,876) as against €151,478 (£103,983) currently for Square de Meeus and for the Hampshire West Sussex partnership the annual cost is estimated at €7,132 (£4,895).

There will be one off costs associated with moving, estimated at €13,674 (£9,386) for the partnership but these can be met from the savings in year 1.

3.4 All five partnerships are recommending that the office moves from 35 Square de Meeus to 45 rue de Commerce in 2007 when the lease break occurs. Formal notice to the current landlord is due in June.

3.5 Partnership arrangements

Two of the five partnerships in SEEH, Thames Valley and SE Partners (Surrey, East Sussex, Brighton & Hove) are currently vulnerable to loss of subscription income and Thames Valley in particular is not viable beyond the current financial year without being able to make significant cost savings. These two partnerships, as well as Hampshire West Sussex, are small one or two personnel operations and therefore vulnerable to changes in staff circumstances. The three partnerships have therefore begun discussions about pooled arrangements which together with the cost benefits of moving to 45 rue de Commerce could bring additional benefits of:

· robust partnership arrangements to commit to a further three year office lease in Brussels

· opportunities for specialisation and dedicated services to partners

· better use of resources and reduced duplication in services to partners

· reduced accommodation requirements

· better team co-operation

3.6 Kent have been involved in preliminary discussions but wish to remain as an independent partnership. However, if Hampshire West Sussex, Thames Valley and South East Partners come together this will result in a new partnership of comparable scale and capacity as Kent, and two strong partnerships standing alongside the regional bodies in Brussels would offer benefits to all partners. Particularly for the County Councils, this gives scope for Counties where there needs to be a democratic lead and where staff have relevant skills and expertise.

3.7 Within the merging partnerships, detailed work is now underway to develop these new partnership arrangements by way of:

· staffing

· governance

· subscription levels

· service levels

All existing partners will be consulted on these in September. Hampshire County Council is currently leading on HR issues and may well be approached by the other partners to be the lead authority in the new partnership arrangement. We currently have this role within the Hampshire West Sussex partnership, so to take this on would be a small expansion of that role.

4 Legal implications

4.1 The County Council will need to be happy with the new partnership arrangements and satisfied that proper safeguards are in place in relation to Hampshire's contribution and responsibilities.

5 Financial implications

5.1 The overall costs to the Hampshire West Sussex partnership will be reduced in the new accommodation and partnership arrangements. There will be significant savings in accommodation costs, reduced from €50,250 (£34,500) now to an estimated €7,132 (£4,895) and even allowing for an estimated €13,674 (£9,386) one off cost in the first year for moving, the partnership will have reduced ongoing operating costs. The staffing costs will depend on the new partnership arrangements, both as to numbers and levels of staffing and the structure of subscriptions. Once these costs are clear the County Council can review the implications for its own contribution.

6 Personnel implications

6.1 Existing staff employed in Brussels will need to be consulted on the new partnership structure once established and transparent arrangements will be set up to advertise and recruit to a new partnership structure for staff employed by the three existing partnerships.

7 Impact assessment

7.1 The new premises at 45 rue de Commerce will have suitable disabled access included as part of the refurbishment. New staffing arrangements will comply with equality policies.

8 Crime prevention issues

8.1 The Brussels office provides policy information and advice on issues related to crime prevention, and opportunities to learn from best practice elsewhere in Europe. The direct changes to office accommodation and partnership arrangements will not affect this.

9 Views of the Local County Councillor

9.1 N/A

Recommendations

That the Executive Member for Community Development & External Affairs:

1 agrees that the Hampshire West Sussex partnership supports the proposal to move the Brussels office base from 35 Square de Meeus to 45 rue de Commerce

2 agrees in principle to come together as one partnership with Thames Valley & South East Partners in SEEH subject to further detailed proposals on staffing, governance and levels of service to be provided.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

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