Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Viven Edge, Paul Goodale, Brian Rush and Peter Watson and the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer.

To receive declarations of interests in respect of any item on the agenda.

Councillor Tom Ashton made a declaration that whilst he was also an elected member of East Lindsey District Council he would deliberate and determine the business of the meeting in his role as a Member of Boston Borough Council

Report by James Gilbert, Interim Deputy Chief Executive (People)

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Paul Skinner, introduced a report by the Interim Deputy Chief Executive (People) setting out proposals to extend the strategic alliance by entering into a partnership with South Holland District Council.

The report stated that at the meeting of the Council held on 28 June 2021, it had been agreed in principle to the formation of a three Council partnership to be known as the South East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP), building upon the foundations of the existing alliance between Boston Borough Council and East Lindsey District Council.

In making the in principle decision to support the SELCP, the current Joint Chief Executive was placed at the disposal of South Holland District Council on an interim basis to produce a Business Case, a draft structure for integrated shared management arrangements (tiers 1 to 3) and a Memorandum of Agreement to provide a framework for how the relationship between the Councils would be governed.

The documents had been produced and were appended to the report for consideration. 

In developing the Business Case detailed consideration and reference had been given to examples of successful partnerships which had been established across the local government sector.

The establishment of the partnership had been split into three distinct phases:-

• Phase 1 – Set Up (April 2022) – development of an Annual Delivery Plan for each Council and the establishment of wider governance and performance arrangements within the partnership.

• Phase 2 – Accelerate (2022/23) – a programme of service reviews to commence in order to seize opportunities created by the new partnership, along with a wider programme of policy development and alignment (where there was appetite).

• Phase 3 – Embed (2023/24) – a focus on ambitious growth.

The financial analysis which supported the business case identified a financial opportunity of up to £42m available to the Councils collectively over the next ten year period through partnership working if all opportunities to integrate services (beyond a shared management structure) were embraced. Exploring wider service integration, where appropriate, would reduce pressure on the Councils’ budgets whilst creating capacity to invest in local priorities to achieve better outcomes for communities.

Through combined working the Councils’ as a partnership would collectively have a stronger voice locally, regionally and nationally, when seeking resources to further their priorities.

A key benefit of working together in respect of the workforce, would be the support available for the development of its officers, to provide greater opportunities to broaden skills, develop knowledge and progress in their careers.   The partnership had a commitment of no compulsory redundancies.

The Memorandum of Agreement set out the purpose and aims of the shared management, agreed areas of joint working, the basis on which the Councils would operate and the principles by which the relationship would operate, fundamental to the success of the partnership.

Council had previously agreed on an interim basis, the sharing of the Joint Chief Executive for the purpose of developing a Business Case, Memorandum of Agreement and the proposed management structure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.