Decision details

That Cabinet:

1.            Noted that the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) has given informal notice that they wish to withdraw from a number of Tri-borough services including Adult Social Care, Children Services and Public Health.

2.            Noted that significant monetary savings have been achieved as a result of the Tri-borough project and that the financial implications of the decision to terminate the arrangements are likely to be considerable for all three Councils and this financial impact is being assessed.

3.            Noted that in addition to the financial savings there have been non-cashable benefits through efficiencies, transformation and improvements in the quality of services, recognised nationally, as set out in this report.

4.            Noted that a year’s notice is required under the Shared Services Agreements to terminate any tri and bi borough services but that no formal notice has yet been issued by LBHF.

5.            Noted that once notice is served it may be withdrawn only if all parties agree.

6.            Delegated authority to the Chief Executive to serve notice to terminate the s113 agreements for Adult Social Care, Children Services and Public Health.

7.            Delegated further authority to the Chief Executive to serve notice to terminate any other s113 agreements as necessary or prudent in conjunction with the Leader of the Council and relevant Cabinet Members.

8.            Delegated authority to the Chief Executive to take all such actions and all such decisions as may be necessary or prudent to manage the transition of services and any other matters arising whether directly or indirectly as a consequence of serving termination notices in respect of the s113 agreements in respect of Adult Social Care, Children Services and Public Health or any other similar agreements.

9.            Noted that efforts will be made to continue the sharing arrangements wherever possible, subject to the views of our partners, in order to preserve the benefits to the residents, and that the priority will be to maintain the high quality of services and provide staff with employment protection. 

REASONS FOR DECISION

1.            Cabinet Members for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Children Services have recently become aware that LBHF is intending to terminate the current shared service arrangements for these services and is making alternative plans to create mono borough People Services in LBHF. This is evident from Mrs Redmond’s review of Adult Social Care Services and her conversations with Cabinet Members as outlined in her recent report. In a meeting with the Leaders of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and Westminster City Council (WCC) on 23 March 2017, the Leader of LBHF said that it was his intention to serve notice within the next few months to bring to an end the shared service arrangements for these three services.

2.            However, as it is not clear exactly when the formal notice that is required will be served by LBHF, this is causing uncertainty and has the potential to have an adverse impact on service delivery. Therefore, RBKC and WCC wish to serve the necessary notice to terminate the arrangements so that there is sufficient time to make alternative plans and implement them by April 2018.

3.            Terminating the shared arrangements following the service of the notice will have significant financial implications and therefore it is a key decision, which can only be taken by the Leader or Cabinet. The reason for this urgent decision is that a decision needs to be made to fit in with the financial year end or as close to it as possible; and to confirm to staff that a process of transition with a deadline has begun.