Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Executive Councillor (Supporting Places)

This report advises Executive of the work undertaken to date to determine whether a viable business case exists for the delivery of a shared service across a number of Greater Manchester authorities for Highways and Transport. This work is being developed by a number of GM local authorities and Transport for Greater Manchester.

The Executive is asked to:

(i)      support the case for a proposed highways shared service and note the work to date;

(ii)     comment on the proposed shared services operating model and on those areas which lend themselves best to a shared service approach;

(iii)    support the further development of a business case with participating authorities; and

(iv)    comment on the potential for the greater future management of the GM capital programme as outlined at Section 5.

Officer contact: Pete Price, 0161 474 4901, pete.price@stockport.gov.uk

The Executive Councillor (Supporting Places) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Executive to consider the work undertaken by a number of local authorities in Greater Manchester and Transport for Greater Manchester to determine whether a viable business case existed for the delivery of a shared service for Highways and Transport across a number of local authorities in Greater Manchester.

RESOLVED - (1) That the case for a proposed highways shared service be supported and the work to date be noted.

(2) That the proposed shared services operating model and areas which lent themselves best to a shared service approach be noted.

(3)That the further development of a business case with participating local authorities be supported.

(4)That the potential for the greater future management of the Greater Manchester capital programme as outlined in the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration

The report advises Members of the work undertaken to date on the proposal to create a shared service for local highway services by a number of local authorities within Greater Manchester in order to achieve the saving within the Highway & Engineering Investing in Stockport proposals.

The Scrutiny Committee is requested to comment on the report, prior to its consideration by the Executive.

Officer Contact: Pete Price on 0161 474 4901or email: pete.price@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) advising Members of the work undertaken to date on the proposal to create a shared service for local highway services by a number of local authorities within Greater Manchester in order to achieve the saving within the Highways and Engineering business case as part of the Investing in Stockport Proposals.

The Deputy Executive Leader and Portfolio holder for Support and Governance (Councillor Iain Roberts), deputising for the Executive Councillor (Supporting Places) (Martin Candler), attended the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The review of the scope for ‘shared services’ had been undertaken by Transport for Greater Manchester and Lead District Officers, overseen by the Wider Leadership Team, alongside the development of arrangements for the Key Route Network. Should a Highways Shared Service be agreed, further reports on the detail, including service level agreements, would be submitted to future meetings of the Scrutiny Committee.

·         Should a Highways Shared Service be agreed, those Stockport Council Officers affected could become employees of a different authority, which it was currently assumed would be Transport for Greater Manchester. Highways Officers who worked for Solutions SK would remain as employees of the company.

·         A Member expressed concern about the proposed timescale and whether it was feasible for the service to go ‘live’ in April 2016. He further expressed concerns about Officers from other boroughs of Greater Manchester dealing with issues in Stockport making it more difficult for local Councillors and residents to understand.

·         A Member expressed concern about the potential loss of control by Stockport Councillors, particularly if some highways work was required to be undertaken urgently such as replacement street lights or when traffic lights are faulty.

·         The Corporate Director confirmed that these issues would need to be addressed as part of any shared service, and that the Highways Investment Programme would be unaffected by the proposals for a Highways Shared Service.

RESOLVED – That report be noted and the Scrutiny Committee’s comments referred to the Executive at its meeting on 21 July 2015 for consideration.