PART 1
(OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
ITEM NO. 9a
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE SERVICES
TO THE BUDGET SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
ON 3RD MARCH, 2004
TITLE :
SUPPORT SERVICES REVIEW AND SLAs - PROGRESS REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS :
Members are requested to note the progress made to date.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :
This report identifies the progress made to date in implementing the savings targets for the
2004/05 revenue budget in respect of the review of support services and SLAs.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS : 2004/05 Revenue Budget report to Council 18/2/04
(Available for public inspection)
Reports to Budget Scrutiny Committee 5/11/03 and 9/12/03
ASSESSMENT OF RISK :
The risk to achievement of the 2004/05 revenue saving is low.
SOURCE OF FUNDING :
2004/05 Revenue Budget
LEGAL ADVICE OBTAINED :
Not applicable
FINANCIAL ADVICE OBTAINED :
This report has been prepared by the Head of Finance
CONTACT OFFICER :
793 3230
John Spink
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S) :
None
KEY COUNCIL POLICIES : Budget Strategy
DETAILS (Continued Overleaf)
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E-mail : john.spink@salford.gov.uk
REPORT DETAILS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.Members will be aware that the savings proposals included in the 2004/05 revenue budget
contain the following :2004/05
£000s
300
285
585
Support Service Review
SLAs (collective total proposed by directorates)
Total
2005/06
£000s
500
285
785
2006/07
£000s
500
285
785
1.2.Members will also recall that initial details of how these two proposals would be implemented
were reported last November and December.
1.3.With regard to the Support Services Review members requested that periodic progress reports
be submitted on the means of achieving this saving.
1.4.These two proposals are being reported together because, following a decision conferencing
exercise undertaken by the Corporate Services Directorate to review its budget, services,
priorities and performance requirements for 2004/05, it was identified that there was a degree
of overlap in the areas of service from which the total saving would be derived, and
accordingly would be best considered together.
1.5.This report therefore considers the progress with these two proposals as a single entity.
2. DETAILS
2.1.Proposals for savings in 2004/05
A summary of the specific areas where the total proposed saving of £585,000 for 2004/05 is to be
made is as follows :Service Area
Saving
£000s
Finance
Payroll - reduce by 4 posts
Purchasing - reduce by 2 posts
Treasury Management
Accountancy - reduce by 1 post
Supplies and services
(A)
(A)
(B)
(A)
(A)
Sub-Total
I T Net
Reduce annual maintenance and
leasing costs of various systems
(A)
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Progress to date
70 Implemented July 2003 ( 3 VERs, 1 post left vacant)
34 Implemented April 2003 (2 posts left vacant)
16 Additional income from external debt management
Implemented - budget adjusted
30 Restructure Development Servs Team - implemented
73 SAP hardware lease expiry, reduced printing, stationery
and postage on FSG services and reduced contingency
223
Covers Education Mgt System, SIMS, Broadband, Council
157 Tax and mainframe. Implemented 2003/04
2
Replace bulk printers by fewer,
more suitable printers
Lose 1 post
Sub-Total
Salford Advance
Terminate Shareware software
Reduce external consultancy
Lose 1 Trainer post
Sub-Total
Law and Administration
Income generation
- NPHL board meetings
- Committee room charges
- Citizen ceremonies
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
13 Implemented - agreement lapsed
8 Implemented - budget reduced
20 Implemented (1 post left vacant)
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(A)
(C)
(D)
14 Implemented - SLA charge adjusted
10 Increase in charges implemented
26 Commences 1st April - additional income will require
monitoring
31 Budget adjusted to reflect current level of fee generated
Implemented - budget adjusted
70 Budget adjustment to reflect agreement to recharge full
60 cost
Budget adjusted - misc. income anticipated
1
3 Implemented - budget reduced
-
Legal fees - various initiatives
(C)
-
CPOs - additional fee income
NALV
(C)
(A)
- Sale of equipment
(C)
Reduce car allowances
(C)
Strategic Development Team - lose
part post
(A)
Sub-Total
Grand Total
Less :
Reallocated to fund ICT in the
Community
Reallocated to Customer Services
savings target
Net Saving
36 Implemented 2003/04
30 Implemented (VER approved wef 31/3/04)
223
5 Implemented - reduced hours working
220
707
- 82 Required to replace time-expired grant funding from ERDF
and SRB
Required to meet shortfall in achieving savings target and
- 40 avoid cuts in service
585
From the table above, it can be seen that steps have already been taken to implement the majority
of the above-mentioned proposals, and that, consequently, members should have a high degree
of confidence that the savings target for the year will be achieved.
2.2.Proposals for savings in 2005/06 and beyond
Members will note that there is a requirement to deliver an additional saving of £200,000 in
2005/06 and will recall that various initiatives had been identified to deliver future savings from a
review of certain areas of support services. Some of these areas have already enabled some of the
above-mentioned savings to be realised.
The current progress with ongoing areas of review which are expected to deliver further savings
for future years are as follows :-
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Payroll - Employee/Manager Portal
 Preparatory work and testing nearing completion for pilot to be implemented in Corporate
Services for 100 - 200 employees during March to provide facilities to view personal data and
payslips, and input leave and car mileage data.
 Subject to successful pilot, a phased roll out would follow to bring on all 5000 desktop users
during 2004/05.
Purchasing Review
 Pilot web-based ordering set up for Corporate Services with Lyreco in November 2003.
Currently being rolled out to other directorates with training support.
 Top 10 suppliers targeted for wider roll-out of web-based ordering.
 Discussions held with banks and quotations invited for proposals for the use of purchasing
cards.
 E-procurement Team in process of being established.
Income Initiatives
 Internet and debit/credit card payment facility to be implemented for identified service
activities, eg Development Services, Social Services, Museums, Swimming Baths.
SAP & HR Developments
 Cross-directorate working group reviewing the accuracy of staffing structures and work
patterns with a view to ensuring the base data is sufficiently accurate to roll-out planned
improvements to adopt best practice in the recording of sickness absence and linking in
eventually to the employee/manager portal. Target implementation date for new sickness
reporting procedures is April 2004.
Schools Broadband - development of e-mail communication
VMS back office systems
Grounds Maintenance back office systems
 The above-mentioned proposals are awaiting the appointment to a newly-created post of
Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) Analyst in Salford Advance from existing budget
resources, which will support directorates in identifying opportunities for implementing backoffice efficiencies and development of the supporting business case for change, which will
mainly be targeted at achieving real and lasting budget savings. The appointee begins in
March.
 Review underway for a future replacement for VMM (Tranman) and Highways (Consol) back
office systems, including examination of possibility of using SAP as a replacement.
Social Services case management - computerisation
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 Approval in principle to use of unsupported borrowing on an invest to save basis to fund initial
investment in ICT for mobile computing in social care
 Report in preparation for consideration in March by the Lead Members for Social Services
and Corporate Services on the detailed business case and preferred supplier/system.
Document management
 A survey for roll out has identified 62 potential service areas where this could be applied.
 Services which are currently being worked on and will be expected to go live in the first
quarter of 2004/05 are Planning, Legal, Licensing and Education Personnel.
 A second "wave" of services for later implementation during 2004/05 include Chief Executive,
Sundry Debtors, Creditors and I T Net orders.
 Services interested in later implementation are Register of Electors, Registrars, Special
Educational Needs, PFI for Secondary Schools and Supporting People.
Enterprise XP
 This is a new initiative being promoted by I T Net which aims to significantly reduce I T
hardware support and costs through the standardisation of hardware and software used on PCs
across the Council, the centralisation of data storage on a number of core data centres
(currently 6) and the development of the concept of shared workstations.
 A pilot is currently being operated in NPHL.
 A business case is currently being evaluated for implementation in Corporate Services, subject
to the outcome of the NPHL pilot.
3. CONCLUSIONS
3.1.There is a high degree of confidence that the savings target for 2004/05 can be achieved as a
result of the actions already taken.
3.2.Steps are already being taken which will lead to the identification of further savings for
2005/06 from the review of support services.
3.3.Whilst the initial savings for 2004/05 have been concentrated on the Corporate Services
Directorate because of initiatives already underway, savings in 2005/06 and later years will
emerge from other directorates as further initiatives are implemented.
3.4.A further decision conferencing exercise has already been timetabled into the Corporate
Services senior management group meetings for September 2004 to review the directorate's
budget, service and performance plan for 2005/06 and will be taking into account the progress
made with the review of support services to date and the prospects for future savings.
3.5.Members may be interested in a further report on the principle of how decision
conferencing operates as a means of budgetary review.
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4. RECOMMENDATION
4.1.Members are requested to note the progress made to date.
ALAN WESTWOOD
Director of Corporate Services
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