Decision details

1.       The Cabinet Members approve the implementation of the proposed structures for the services in scope, including the deletion of the current Public Protection and Licensing structure as shown in Appendix 1a to be replaced with the proposed new structure as shown in Appendix 2a; and the deletion of the current City Highways structure in Appendix 1b and to be replaced with the proposed structure as shown in Appendix 2b with effect from 1 August 2018.

1.         The following key factors have influenced the changes proposed in this report and shaped proposals for the proposed re-structures:

Duplication of interactions and opportunities for efficiency

·          For this phase of the programme the focus was on reviewing and validating process maps and system data (i.e. from visits and service requests), identifying commonalities between processes and opportunities for a more efficient and effective delivery of services.

·          Analysis of interactions for the services in scope confirmed that there is clustering of both demand and staff resources. Analysis highlights ‘hotspot’ areas and showed that within 1 day, 80% of visits have overlaps with other visits and within 7 days this increases to 97%. The highest level of overlap between teams is between City Inspectors and Noise EHOs.

·          A more detailed review of the processes showed that whilst there are clear specialisms in each team, the Noise, Highways and Planning Officers process maps show broad similarities with City Inspectors processes and confirmed that a number of opportunities exist for integrating roles, such as sharing compliance activities.

·          Analysis of the activities performed by the Highways Inspectors identified opportunities to increase capacity on the street to report on non-specialist activities such as street lighting, gullies and “Priority One” issues through City Inspectors. This opportunity would be enabled through appropriate tasking and new reporting tools delivered through the digital programme.

·          Increase multi-tasking and collaborative working across highways licensing and Schemes Management creates ownership of an area, with highways inspectors able to acquire local knowledge of historical issues and street features.

·          This provides the opportunity to adopt a blended approach, which enables elements of multi-tasking to run alongside specific expertise.

·          There is also the opportunity to extend the collaboration to closer working with Schemes Management to enable more consistent application of standards between road works and planned and preventative maintenance.

Maximising capacity to meet increasing demand

·          The significant increase in demand for services, for example short-term lets and the associated ASB issues, requires a new collaborative approach and the use of collective powers in order to better manage the rising demand within existing resources.

·              Analysis of a number of services also revealed opportunities to ‘buddy up’ roles in order to increase capacity to manage the issues and avoid lone working.

·              The analysis and consultation also identified opportunities to enhance relationships with partners and stakeholders to ensure more collaborative, multi –agency working to meet the needs of the community.

·              A review for the demand for the deployed services within City Highways was undertaken and the analysis showed that the introduction of a blended highways inspector role in conjunction with a deployment rota would allow the service to meet the increasing demand for services.

·              A more collaborative approach and centralising of support functions and other coordinating activities would also assist in meeting increasing demand for services across the network.

Community Focus and Civic Leadership

·            The changes centre around a proposed neighbourhood model to deliver front line services seeking to better appreciate and understand the different characteristics and demands of the city and focus resources accordingly. This model, based on ward boundaries, provides clear links for Ward Members, stakeholders and service providers to work together and deal with issues in a more coordinated and collaborative way.

·            It is also anticipated that the neighbourhood model could help to support the Council’s Community Cohesion Commission agenda, particularly by contributing to the recommendation to ‘work with businesses, voluntary and community groups to develop an approach that enables businesses and other groups to easily connect with the community and jointly deliver activities to strengthen community cohesion.’

       Staff Engagement Feedback

·            An extensive programme of staff engagement has taken place and the feedback received from staff has helped to inform the proposals and refine the requirements for the transition into the new model.