Part x / ITEM NO.
______
REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR FOR CUSTOMER & SUPPORT SERVICES
______
TO:Finance and Support Services Lead Member Briefing – 20th June 2011
______
TITLE:Creating a joint integrated Legal Service with Manchester City Council
______
RECOMMENDATION: To approve the establishment of a joint legal service between Salford and Manchester City Councils by April 2012, in accordance with the findings of the review report published in March 2011.
______
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A review of Legal Services was conducted between October 2010 and March 2011 as part of a wider programme of work to look at collaborative opportunities between the two councils. It was led by Manchester staff, but involved Salford Legal Team Leaders and other officers of the council.
Of the three options included in the review report, establishing a joint integrated legal service with Manchester City Council has the greatest potential and benefits, not only creating a nationally recognised best practice in public sector, but an enlarged service capable of providing increased levels of performance, greater resilience and wider opportunities for staff.
Salford will benefit through retaining a local service that ensures responsiveness, at a lower overall cost with cashable and non-cashable benefits from increased income, reduced spend on external counsel, access to a wider range of in-house specialists, streamlined ICT and improved professional standards.
The review of Legal Services has been shared with team leaders and staff, discussed with Unions and presented to staff at events in the council chamber. We have endeavoured to be consultative through the review process and have taken on and listened to comments along the way.
Through a joint implementation project with Manchester City Council, Salford are leading 3 of the 6 work streams and are contributing to the remainder to steer the councils towards completing a joint integrated legal service by 1 April 2012. It should be noted that integration of teams is already happening, meaning that in effect the teams will be operating under one banner from September 2011.
Members are asked to note that Manchester City Council’s Executive approved the formation of a joint Legal Service with Salford on 1st June 2011.
______
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:Collaborative Work Programme – review of legal and Manchester City Council’s Exec Report – dated 1 June
(Available for public inspection)
______
KEY DECISION:NO
______
Introduction
The review identified many similarities in work, but also some significant differences. In particular Salford Legal Services externalises a large amount of commercial legal work whereas in Manchester that work is carried out in house. The review also identified some areas of quick wins in Salford, for example implementing time recording targets and developing a case management system, bringing all legal staff under one management structure, discontinuing work flows that would be better dealt with by departments, and procurement of all legal work by Legal Services. The review published in March 2011 concluded with a number of options being proposed for further collaboration including full service integration:
- Joint external advisors / frameworks
- Some joint teams (but retain some locally independent)
- Single integrated team delivering legal services to Salford and Manchester councils
The review was led by Manchester Legal Services with input from staff across both services. In addition Manchester Legal Services have been providing professional support and assistance to Salford lawyers during this period, which is expected to continue and intensify during the transition period through 2011/12.
The review process included discussions with Strategic Directors and Managers in Salford, external clients, joint staff briefings and joint best practice workshops with staff engaged in the same areas of legal practice.
Based on the findings, the greatest opportunity and potential benefits come from the option to establish an integrated joint legal service between the two councils through a specified and commissioned service where all legal teams would be managed through one management structure. This option provides greatest clarity and least fragmentation of the services but also significant challenges.
Transactional legal work would be carried out by officers based on expertise, irrespective of whether the work came from Salford or Manchester. How Salford legal staff integrate and transfer (TUPE) into a new joint team structure with Manchester will be managed by the HR implementation project work stream. Staff would continue to be based at offices in Salford to ensure responsiveness and accessibility for clients, though a flexible working approach would allow staff to work from the most appropriate location.
A joint integrated legal service provides increased legal capacity to both organisations, more resilience, potential for savings through retention of work and increased in- house advocacy, a stronger performance management culture and provide a blue print for further collaborative working between the authorities. It would be seen as a significant and radical step within legal circles given the size and capacity of the resulting legal service.
Key underlying principles for the proposal*:
- Manchester will be the host, or lead authority, which will deliver legal services to both councils as a joint integrated legal service
- Staff will continue to be based out of both councils, though technology and closer working will accommodate a more flexible approach to base to ensure services remain responsive to our needs and flexible
- Matters of quality, conflicts of interest, priorities and protocols etc., will be managed by the Monitoring Officer
- A service specification will be created for Salford to ensure that the commissioning process for services meets client needs and will be led by and defined by Salford staff
- The structure of Legal Services in Manchester is similar to that at Salford. How the new structure is configured and how Salford staff integrate (TUPE) will be planned and managed through the projects HR work stream
- The new service will be more efficient to Salford City Council and offer significant year on year benefits
- The new legal service will have greater resilience and improved professional standards
- Offers potential for further collaboration, as other AGMA authorities may elect to ‘join in’
- We are stressing this is NOT a Manchester takeover – Salford brings a lot of skill to the table
*These will be widened and detailed in much greater detail as the individual project work streams start to plan in detail.
Members’ are also asked to note that the review of Legal is only one part of a wider collaborative programme with Manchester City Council where we are exploring other opportunities including:
- Customer Services*
- Information and Communications Technology*
- Democratic and Elections*
- Human Resources
- Transport
- Asset Management (including Property)*
- Training, Development and Learning
- Procurement*
- Finance*
A number of these have already identified potential for shared services*, so it is important to view Legal as potentially the first in a growing number of collaborative proposals, which could also attract other authorities into participating.
Timeline for implementation
A project implementation team has been established involving staff from both councils to map the requirements, plan an implementation timetable and identify and quantify in detail the specific benefits (cashable and non-cashable). Its structure is:
- Human Resources (Salford leading this work stream)
- Information and Communications Technology (Salford leading this work stream)
- Change management support (Salford leading this work stream)
- Finance (Manchester leading this work stream)
- Professional Issues (Manchester leading this work stream)
- Communications (Manchester leading this work stream)
For each of these themes a project ‘workstream’ group has been formed consisting of a lead officer from each council with the relevant technical experience, plus members of the Salford Legal Services Teams.
Whilst planning for go live of April 2012, a parallel transition plan is being finalised between the two councils. This will strengthen closer working through continuation of professional support and management provided by the Manchester Legal Management Team, with team leaders from Salford being integrated into the Manchester Legal managers reporting and working arrangements through attendance at managers’ meetings and 1:1 supervision. Work is progressing on a joint child care advocacy team and discussions are taking place between managers where there is legal work to be externalised to ensure best value is obtained. A joint training and workforce development plan is being developed and arrangements are being put in place to enable staff to work from both Manchester and Salford offices.
Whilst go live of the new service is defined as April 2012, in practical terms a lot of the pre-planning will have taken place before then and we would expect that the two teams would be starting to operate as more of a single enlarged legal service from September 2011 onwards.
Communications and engagement with staff
Salford staff (including Team Leaders) have been involved in the review since the beginning and it is critical that this continues during design and implementation. We have shared and talked through the key points and next steps during an all legal staff meeting in the council chamber in May (with further such staff briefings planned roughly every 4-6 weeks to ensure staff are kept fully informed of developments).
All staff have been asked to participate in the various design workshops, which we will continue to encourage to ensure proper and effective involvement and representation in the final outcome. We are passionate to ensure a full and meaningful role for Salford and to make sure that the final options are matched to our needs and build on good practices that we have.
Understandably there are questions about structures and bases of work, but there is also considerable support for the proposition and a willingness to contribute and work towards a positive outcome. These will be key matters for discussion and resolution going forwards – specifically by the HR work stream which is being led by Salford.
The graphic on page 7 shows the “as is” position – as shown in the orange box in the middle, surrounded by what might be considered as the “to be” benefits of an integrated legal service with Manchester.
Outline financial benefits
Some areas where cashable benefits will accrue have been identified and very approximate indicative savings (which still need firmed up) have been estimated below (not all of these savings will be realised in 2011/12). These will be refined and added to as the detail of the project progresses:
CSR Savings 2011/12______£140k
Salford City Council Head of Legal (incl on costs)______£95k
10% reduction in external hourly rate (based on 09/10 spend)*______£100k
Reduction in use of external counsel and duplicate advocates______£100k
Net saving of bringing work in house currently externalised following recruitment______£50k
Miscellaneous duplication, .e.g. library, licenses______£15k
Indicative full year savings______£500k
* Note: This will depend on how much work is put out and how it is controlled and managed. If there is more project work or a high profile case the overall spend could go up. We don't have totals for 2010/11 yet.
The project will also be looking at how the combined service can increase income generation, as at present Manchester Legal Services receive in the order of ten times the income of Salford. The full benefits of the proposed shared Legal Service will continue to emerge as the project plan is implemented.
Conclusion
This proposal will bring about significant change in the management of Legal Services to both authorities. It will be important to ensure that there is no diminution in the quality of services provided to both authorities and that savings are agreed and fairly shared and that staff are fully engaged in the necessary change process.
Recommendation
Both Leaders and Chief Executives have offered their support for the proposal, as well as other senior officers in Salford, so your approval is sought to enable Salford to continue to plan and design the necessary structures during 2011/12 to create an integrated legal service by April 2012.
With Manchester City Council having already approved the proposal and staff on both sides working closely together to plan the implementation, it is important that both councils progress in sync.
______
KEY COUNCIL POLICIES: N/A
______
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS:To be completed
______
ASSESSMENT OF RISK: HIGH (subject to getting approvals and agreeing protocols and an implementation plan for delivery)
______
SOURCE OF FUNDING: N/A at this stage, though some invest to save likely
______
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS:N/A at this stage, though likely to be required
______
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Failure to deliver expected savings target
______
OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: The review involved representatives at various levels from across the organisation
______
CONTACT OFFICER:David McIlroyTEL. NO.3905
______
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): All wards in Salford and Manchester
______
1
1
1