Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is inform Cabinet of the approach being taken to relaunch Hampshire Action Teams (HATs), the role and purpose of HATs and to resolve the resourcing requirements for the revised arrangements. The Terms of Reference and nominations for Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen were due to be agreed by the County Council on 19 November.

1.2 The paper responds to the statement made by the Leader at the Council meeting on 16 July when he confirmed that a review of the work completed by HATs as a pilot was being undertaken. This review would provide feedback and lessons learned which could be built in to any new arrangements for the County Council in due course. The Leader noted that this review would ensure any new arrangements would further embed the activity of local Members in the community and could extend their involvement in the full range of County Council and other services in a given area.

2. Hampshire Action Teams: Contextual Information and Background.

2.1 In January 2006 Council agreed to pilot the HAT approach across the County and then review its effectiveness before deciding upon a long term approach. This was in response to the outcomes of the Democratic Review and in particular, the need to establish the role of non-Executive members as local representatives and community leaders.

2.2 Lessons learned from the HAT pilots have now been considered. There have been positive achievements around improved communication and relationships with partners in local areas. There have also been examples of effective local consultations and local service improvements. County Council officers who have a local focus have benefitted from practical

support, the opportunity to engage in issues around, for example, the environment agenda with positive outcomes. However, there are opportunities to further improve these arrangements by:

· Providing further support to local members to develop an overall locality approach.

· Becoming more focussed on community involvement.

· Strengthening further the corporate commitment to improvement at a local level.

· An increased focus on action and a move away from a formal meetings based approach to problem solving.

2.4 Research into the locality models of other authorities has concluded that there are as many models as there are local authorities but all are largely dependent on locally agreed objectives which reflect the `style' and personality of the area.

2.5 A review has been undertaken of the arrangements that departments already make to work in local areas. A critical element of this is Hampshire Workstyle, led by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services, which includes the co-location/re-location of local County Council services with District and other partners. This will also cover the opportunity for greater joined up working by County Council departments at a district level. Good progress is being made.

2.6 The research and review work described above and guidance from the Leader and Cabinet Members was used to shape the revised Terms of Reference for HATs that the County Council was due to consider at its meeting on 19 November.

3. The New Hampshire Action Teams

3.1 The purpose of the HATs will be to enable local Members of the County Council to improve the quality of life in their area and close inequality gaps. The aim will be to achieve additionality locally and to support the Executive in getting the most out of resources. They will be re-established with a
focus on three strands of work:

· advising the Executive Member for Environment on local improvement priorities for roads and transport

· supporting the delivery of Hampshire's improvement priorities as reflected in the Hampshire Local Area Agreement targets through partnership forums such as the Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs), Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) and other relevant partnerships in each area

· tackling economic, social and health inequalities in the area to help close inequality gaps

3.2 The HATs will provide a strong role for all local Members to improve the quality of life in their area by ensuring that County Council services are responsive to local needs and priorities, and that activity is integrated with that of other local partners. Each of the HAT areas has pockets of deprivation therefore each HAT will have a clear focus on inequality. Inequality gaps will be identified by the development and use of local profiles.

3.3 The revised Terms of Reference for HATs and the Chairmen and Vice-chairmen for the seven HATs that the County Council was due to consider on the 19^th November are attached at Appendix 1. Information on some of the key operational arrangements are set out below:

· The newly appointed Executive Member for Communities will oversee the work of all the HATs on behalf of Cabinet and provide a link between the HATs and the Executive.

· A senior officer will be allocated to each HAT to work with the Chairman and will be supported by a member of the Futures Group/HOG programme (comprising younger managers) as part of their development. The senior/lead officer will be nominated by the Corporate Management Team (CMT). This arrangement will be supported by the HAT Business Managers.

· The lead officer will establish the requirements for further officer involvement in line with the approved priorities for the area.

· The Chair and lead officer will identify the need for, and establish links with other existing local arrangements such as the LSPs.

· HATs will submit Business Plans including projects for funding to the Leader and report progress annually to the Council.

· The HATs will be able to draw on a package of corporate resources to support their activity. This package will include support in the production of local profiles, business advice and management support for Members, and the design and delivery of community involvement programmes.

3.4 Each individual HAT will need to deal with the issue of how it fits into other partnership structures and forums in the locality. "One size need not fit all" and each HAT should reflect the "personality of the area", its local needs, the effectiveness or otherwise of existing partnerships and the "style" and engagement of the local Members. While the broad Terms of Reference have been agreed, the Chairman and lead officer should have the authority and sufficient flexibility to consult with local partners on the detail of working arrangements in each individual area, particularly the relationship with local LSPs.

3.5 Whatever approach is adopted, local Members working with senior Officers and partners will be central. The key will be to establish a dynamic programme concentrating on tangible improvement outcomes over a set time which is informed by local intelligence.

3.6 The new HATs will not have executive decision making powers delegated to them. As a non-Executive body, full access to information requirements will not apply, however the operation of HATs will be subject to democratic business practices in the spirit of openness and transparency, and as a matter of best practice. Accordingly, the operation of HATs will be integrated into the democratic framework, the management of which will be carried out by Business Advice and Member Support (BAMS) in the Chief Executive's department. Agendas, minutes and reports of HAT meetings will be published in the usual way on the County Council's website. HATs Officers, who now report into BAMS, have built up considerable knowledge and expertise during the pilot period and will be able to provide high level advice and business management to help embed these new arrangements.

3.7 It should be noted that, as HATs are not established as formal committees, HAT meetings would not be "meetings" for the purposes of the Members' Code of Conduct, in which case members would not be subject to the provisions of the Code dealing with declaration of personal and prejudicial interests at meetings. However, because members would still be conducting the business of the authority, they will remain subject to the other requirements of the Members' Code when attending HAT meetings.

4. Financial and Staffing Implications

4.1 There is no funding in the base budget for these proposals. One-off funding for HATs of £300,000 and £100,000 respectively are in place in the current financial year (2009/10). The immediate requirement is to resolve the resourcing of these for 2010/11 onwards. The annual costs associated with this are:

4.2 The budget above is based on the following assumptions:

· Day to day operational support to HATS will be provided through BAMS in the Chief Executive's Department. There is a good fit between this and the recommendations of the Corporate Services Review, particularly "the establishment of BAMS officers as `first point of contact' to commission the appropriate support for members throughout the organisation" and "proactive support to individual members to identify their own needs, particularly at the local level". Staffing levels are based on those established for the HATs pilot.

· A senior officer will be allocated to each HAT supported by a member of the Futures Group or HOG programme. The successful work in Andover over the last 5 years has been achieved through this model with the key strength being the very strong multi-agency approach where individual partners bring their time and resources to the table.

· The approach in Andover has been enhanced by a budget of £50,000 p.a., funded by the Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs (CCRA) department, to facilitate and pump prime initiatives. The Leader has indicated that he would like to provide each HAT with a local grant budget to operate as a "Community Chest". The proposal is to allocate a total of £700,000 providing a nominal base of £100,000 per HAT and that this should be allocated differentially to reflect the population and Index of Multiple Deprivation in each area.

· The "Community Chest" could be increased by each member of each HAT making a contribution of all or part of his/her members budget, to an approved project and therefore the local grant budget could be enhanced at the will of its members. In some cases this could be from £50,000 to £220,000 per HAT depending on its membership.

· Any Member costs (e.g. in relation to travel) will be met from the Members budget.

4.3 These costs will need to be considered by reviewing the 2009/10 financial year and when the budget is set for 2010/11.

5. Performance

5.1 HATs will submit Business Plans with projects for funding to the Leader and report progress annually to the Council. Proposed work programmes will be incorporated into departmental service planning and performance monitoring to ensure effective use of resources. The focus on inequalities will be linked to Driving Success.

5.2 In addition there will be an initial review of progress after 6 months and the HATs will report to Council annually.

6 Implementation

6.1 The new HATs will be rolled out on a phased basis over the first three months of the New Year. There will be a number of preparatory and planning stages to complete before commencing work in each of the seven areas. These are set out below:

· A briefing session on 25 November 2009 for all HATs Chairs and Vice Chairs together with the officers who will be supporting them. This will be introduced by the Leader and Director of CCRA with the primary purpose of establishing a common understanding of the role, purpose and working arrangements for HATs in the future.

· A planning session for each individual HAT to establish the team, agree preferred working arrangements and to establish a clear understanding of local priorities, partnerships and the local intelligence that already exists.

· Consultation with Districts/Partners on the detail of working arrangements in each individual area, particularly the relationship with local LSPs. Each individual HAT will need to deal with the issue of how it fits into other partnership structures and forums in its area.

6.2 The Director of CCRA will continue to manage the overall programme on behalf of CMT but under the auspices of the Change Board. The new HATs and development of this work requires someone to pull together the leads and manage the use of resources corporately. This work needs to link well with other corporate projects such as Hampshire Workstyles.

6.3 By the time that Cabinet considers this report the County Council will have considered the Terms of Reference and appointment of Chairmen and Vice Chairmen. This was done to allow approval prior to Cabinet considering this report rather than wait until February 2010 for approval by Council.

6.4 The arrangements proposed in this report do not alter either Executive Member or Chief Officer responsibilities for decision making or operational management.

7 Recommendation(s)

7.1 That Cabinet approves:

a) the approach to re-launching HATs as set out in paragraph 6.1, including the preparatory planning and consultation with Districts/Partners on local arrangements,

b) the ongoing resource requirements for HATs and their continued future development as set out at paragraphs 4.1 to 4.3.

7.2 Cabinet is asked to note the briefing meeting that will be held for Chairs and Vice Chairs on Wednesday 25 November.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

Other Significant Links

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

The HAT arrangements set out in this report will aim to improve access to participation in a wide range of activities across the organisation. It will specifically promote the process of involving vulnerable groups and communities to improve their outcomes. Completion of equality impact assessments will be an essential element of the community involvement processes.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

The arrangements proposed in this report will specifically address the relationship between HCC and local CDRPs to maximise the contribution of HCC Departments to the reduction of Crime and Disorder. In responding to local inequalities and priority issues it is expected that many of the HATs will have a focus in this area.

3. Climate Change:

a) How does what is being proposed impact on our carbon footprint / energy consumption?

The purpose of the arrangements proposed in this report are to support and encourage improved joint working at a local level. An outcome of this will be to reduce duplication and make improved use of joint resources. It should therefore have a positive impact on carbon footprint/energy consumption.

b) How does what is being proposed consider the need to adapt to climate change, and be resilient to its longer term impacts?

There are no impacts arising from this report.

c)

Appendix1: HATs Terms of Reference

There will be seven HATs covering the areas detailed below together with proposed Chairmen and Vice Chairmen:

* These posts will not be eligible for any form of Special Responsibility Allowance


Terms of Reference

The proposed terms of reference for each HAT will be as follows:

a) Developing a shared understanding of the economic, health and other social inequalities of the area, the relevance of LAA improvement priorities locally and other local priorities in the respective local and county Sustainable Community Strategies


b) Identify ways in which the County Council's services can work together, and with partners locally, to address such inequalities and contribute to the delivery of LAA improvement targets and other locally identified priorities


c) Ensure that there is a contribution to, and ownership of, priorities identified in Sustainable Community Strategies


d) Work with the Environment Department to ensure local stakeholder engagement and responsiveness on highways and transportation issues and support the Executive member Environment accordingly in setting priorities


e) Provide a means by which the public can raise issues of concern locally by participating in public forums as appropriate


f) Support all Executive members in balancing and helping to deliver County and local priorities


g) To submit Business Plans with projects for funding to the Leader of the Council. Proposed work programmes will be incorporated into departmental service planning and performance monitoring to ensure effective use of resources across the organisation


h) To make any representations on local issues to the relevant Executive Member or Cabinet collectively.


i) To report annually to the County Council

4.3 It should be noted that, as HATs are not established as formal committees, HAT meetings would not be "meetings" for the purposes of the Members' Code of Conduct, in which case members would not be subject to the provisions of the Code dealing with declaration of personal and prejudicial interests at meetings. However, because members would still be conducting the business of the authority, they will remain subject to the other requirements of the Members' Code when attending HAT meetings.