Agendas, reports and minutes

A meeting of the Re-Design Board of the Highland Council will take place on Tuesday, 28 February 2017 at 2.00pm in Committee Room 2, Highland Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness. 

You are invited to attend the meeting and a note of the business to be considered is attached.

Yours faithfully

Michelle Morris
Depute Chief Executive/
Director of Corporate Development 

BUSINESS

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Member making a declaration of interest should indicate whether it is a financial or non-financial interest and include some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.

3. Redesign Board – Draft Recommendations to the Council

There is circulated Report No RDB/1/17 dated 24 February 2017 by the Chief Executive which sets out the final draft recommendations from the Redesign Board for the redesign of the Council.  

Board members are asked to confirm whether any changes are required for the report recommendations as follows – 

The Board recommends:

1. The redesign statement at Appendix 1 already agreed by the Council is presented to the new Council for approval and implementation;
2. The statement of purpose, values and outcomes already agreed by the Council is amended as highlighted at Appendix 2 and is presented to the new Council for approval.
3. That it is noted that the booklets listing all Council functions and their prioritisation agreed at the Council meeting in September 2016 are used for the induction of new Members after the May election, for identifying future areas for review and for informing the redesign of our governance and service structures to be considered by the new Council.
4. That the review recommendations listed in Appendix 3 are agreed by the Council to enable function redesign.  It can be noted that as further review work is undertaken further recommendations would come to the new Council to consider. 
5. That the Council endorses the approach to being more commercially minded as described in paragraphs 5.6 to 5.11 as a way of sustaining services and jobs across the region.  It recommends to the new Council the creation of a Commercial Board as part of its governance arrangements.
6. That stopping or withdrawing services cannot be ruled out if they are discretionary and no longer affordable; however before considering this as an option and where the service is valued we should first do checks for efficiency, alternative ways of delivering the service, income potential to sustain it, reducing service levels and using the Audit Scotland framework for stopping services.
7. That the Council endorses the development of the Community Gateway idea through the Community Planning Partnership.  This would provide a support or brokerage service to encourage further community action.
8. That the current elements of the redesign change programme for staff and Members detailed in paragraph 7.2 are endorsed and that the programme continues to develop with early attention to the support required for localism and public participation objectives and any structure changes. 
9. That the Council endorses the proposals for governance as set out in paragraph 8.5, and recommends it to the new Council with the detail to be developed.
10. That the Chief Executive is tasked by the Council to develop proposals for the structure and management of Council operations, based on the criteria set out in paragraph 8.7.  These should include the process and timescale for implementing the redesigned structure and be recommended to the new Council.
11. That officer time to support redesign is continued through to the end of June 2016 at a cost of £7,000 and to support the Commission on Highland Democracy of up to £5,000.  This is within the budget set for 2016/17.  This would enable the activities in paragraph 9.1 to be taken forward. 

4. Redesign Board – Commercial Proposal

There will follow Report from the Commercial Manager.