Agenda item

NOTE: the report contains exempt information which will only be made available to Members and relevant Officers. Should Members wish to discuss any exempt information contained in the report in any detail, a decision will be required to exclude the public and press from the meeting on the grounds that exempt information is likely to be divulged, as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12 (a) of Section 100 1 of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

(Paragraph 3: Subject to the “public interest” test, information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).)

Officers presented a report in respect of a review of the Place Partnership and highlighted the following.

·                The report needed to be presented at Council for Members’ consideration as a decision needed to be taken on this matter before the end of the financial year and there were no further Executive Committee meetings scheduled to take place in March.

·                It had not been possible to present a report on this subject for Members’ consideration prior to this date as meetings with the Place Partnership had continued to be held to discuss this matter until very recently.

·                Redditch Borough Council had transferred all of the expert Property Services staff to Worcestershire County Council under shared service agreements in 2010.

·                These employees had subsequently been transferred to the Place Partnership in 2015 when the company was established.

·                The original business case for the Place Partnership had had a number of key objectives including cost reduction, service transformation and business growth.

·                The partnership had initially been established to operate in line with a three year business plan and all partners had been required to commit to the partnership for that length of time. Organisations could subsequently sign up to receive services from the partnership on a rolling annual basis.

·                The Managing Director had presented an updated business plan covering a five year period up to 2020/21 which all partners were being asked to sign up to.

·                The Place Partnership was aiming to make savings over the five year period covered by the new business plan. 

·                To achieve the proposed savings the Place Partnership Ltd would need to develop the business and achieve significant levels of efficiency savings.

·                The Place Partnership Ltd had recognised there were some problems and had published an Improvement Plan in January 2018. 

·                Correspondence received from the Managing Director of the partnership in respect of the Council’s future working relationship with the partnership had been provided for Members’ consideration.

Following presentation of the report a number of matters were discussed in detail by Members:

·                The fact that Worcester City Council was also considering its relationship with the Place Partnership Ltd.

·                The financial implications of remaining a member of the partnership and the length of time that the Council would be contractually obliged to work with the partnership should the authority sign the five year business plan.

·                The role of the Council as a shareholder and representation at shareholder meetings.

·                The work that had been undertaken by the Place Partnership Ltd in respect of the One Public Estate exercise.  Members were advised that the technical expertise of the staff was very good.

·                The one day a week of officer time allocated by the Council to the Place Partnership and what this entailed.  Officers explained that this Officer provided support to the Head of Customer Access and Financial Support to enable the Council to manage the authority’s working relationship with the partnership.

RESOLVED that

under S.100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting for the discussion of the Review of the Place Partnership on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act, as amended.

(During consideration of this item Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to exclude the press and public prior to any debate on the grounds that information would be revealed relating the financial or business affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information).)