4 November 2008
27 October 2008
Corporate Director Appointments
Dear Colleagues
I am delighted to tell you that we have made four new appointments to the unitary council's senior management team.
Lorraine O’Donnell, currently Assistant Chief Executive with Darlington Borough Council, has been appointed to the same role with the new unitary council. She will be responsible for partnership working, policy, planning, improvement and performance and community engagement and communications.
Before moving to Darlington in 2000, Dr O’Donnell, 40, worked for Derwentside District Council where she rose to be come Head of Corporate Strategy. She has a PhD in Physics.
Terry Collins, currently Director of Neighborhood Services with City of York Council has been appointed Corporate Director, Neighborhood Services. In his new role he will be responsible for a wide range of public-facing services including leisure and recreation, parks, open spaces, streets and waste. He will also be responsible for delivering improved customer services and access for the council.
Mr. Collins, 47 has held similar positions with York and South Tyneside councils.
Ian Thompson, currently Group Director, Regeneration and Development, with Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council has been appointed as Corporate Director, Regeneration and Economic Development. In his new role, Mr. Thompson will be responsible for economic development, planning, housing, regeneration, tourism and transport strategy in the county.
Mr Thompson 44, has held a number of senior regeneration and development positions with other councils including Stockton-on Tees Borough Council. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and City of York Council.
Finally, Stuart Crowe, currently County Treasurer with the county council has been appointed as Corporate Director, Resources. In his new role, Mr. Crowe will oversee the unitary council’s financial management, ICT, legal services, land and property and human resources.
Mr. Crowe, 58, has worked for the County Council since 1968 when he joined the authority as a trainee accountant. He has risen through the ranks and became County Treasurer in 2002 and also holds the posts of Treasurer to Durham Police Authority and Treasurer to Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority.
Our four new appointees will be joined on the management team by two current county council directors Rachael Shimmin, Corporate Director, Adult and Community Services and David Williams, Corporate Director, Children and Young People’s Services - who will continue in their current roles.
We are currently discussing with Stuart, Ian, Terry and Lorraine when they will be able to take-up their new roles, given their existing responsibilities and notice periods etc.
We will let you know when that will be, but in the meantime I hope you will join me in congratulating our appointees and wish them every success in their new roles.
Yours faithfully
George Garlick
Chief Executive
Durham County Council
1 October 2008
Council Passes Key Milestone on Road to Unitary Shake-Up
29 September 2008
Feedback on the Area Action Partnership consultation events.
18 September 2008
Big Bang meeting creates building blocks of Council reform.
10 September 2008
Progress with the Senior Management Structure
Following the recent consultation on the proposed senior management structure for the new Council, Members have agreed the management structure they want to put in place and the approach the Council will take to appointing its new corporate directors.
7 August 2008
HR Provide Further Clarification Following Staff Feedback on the Proposed Senior Management Structure
Following the initial response from council employees regarding the proposed senior management structure previously issued to staff across all councils, HR have issued further guidance and outlined that a further period of consultation relating to the Heads of Service positions will be undertaken.
Staff are reminded that the closing date for the consultation is 18 August 2008, and staff that haven't responded as yet are encouraged to do so.
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21 July 2008
Consultation on Proposed Senior Management Structure for the New Council
A major staff consultation has been launched on the proposed senior management structure for the new council. The closing date for the consultation is 18 August 2008.
18 July 2008
Public to be Consulted on Council Name
The recently announced consultation meetings on the new unitary council will be used to take soundings on possible names for the new council.
18 July 2008
George Garlick, the newly appointed chief executive for the unitary council has written an open letter to all council staff in the County. Find out what George thinks about the opportunities and challenges ahead.
14 July 2008
Cabinet Members Work On Blue Print For New Council
The newly elected Members on the Cabinet have been involved in a number of workshops to help create and define a blueprint for how the Council will work and be organized. Their discussions were based on the original bid, but they also looked at ways to enhance and develop the original proposals.
The workshops have looked at:
- Vision and Values for the New Council
The long term vision of the new authority and issues such as how it should work at a regional level, how it should involve and work with local communities and relate to local areas.
- Senior Management Structures
Senior managers of the eight councils had been consulted on the management structure contained in the bid and their views were fed into this workshop. The Members did not however come to any firm conclusions as they were keen to develop the management structure with the new Chief Executive, George Garlick. They will be considering this further with George this week after which proposals will be further developed and issued for consultation.
- Customers and Access
The ways in which the new authority and its services could be designed around the needs of customers, to make sure that activities are joined up and the needs of customers are better met. Topics discussed included access points, a single phone number for the Council, technologies, and new ways of working to make it easier for our customers to access council services.
- Understanding Models for Service Delivery
The many different ways in which services are currently delivered across the county. Members recognized that there are many considerations and investment implications, if alternative models of service delivery are to be considered. They felt that more detailed work was required but whichever way we deliver services, they wanted to see a clear focus and commitment to customers and a high level of social responsibility as well as value for money.
- Business Support Services -
The various ways in which support services such as Finance, Payroll etc can be provided. The Members agreed a set of strategic principles which included central management, standardizing procedures and processes, cost effectiveness and maximizing the use of new technology.
Focusing On the Essentials
The LGR work streams have been focusing on the essentials which must be in place for vesting day so that the public continue to receive the best possible services as the new council begins.
Other Matters
Last week the Minister of State, John Healey visited Durham. The meeting was very helpful and provided the Members with an opportunity to impress upon the Minister their commitment to ensure the new Council is a success and delivers the promises from the original bid. The Minister also spoke to a number of stakeholders about the programme.
George Garlick also received a briefing on the LGR programme this week. He was very supportive of the approach being taken and the priorities identified for the work streams over the coming months. He is also very keen to get involved and intends to chair future JIT meetings probably from early August.
Finally Brian Dinsdale the interim Programme Director leaves us at the end of July. He has been instrumental in establishing the programme and getting us to the current position. There are no immediate plans to replace Brian, but we wish him well with his new post in North Yorkshire.
11 July 2008
Unitary Council Area Consultation Events
8 July 2008
We have just published the July issue of the LGR Update for Staff.
4 July 2008
Survey is Child's Play to Council Shake-Up Chiefs
3 July 2008
County Durham Appoints Country's First 'Super Council' Boss
I am delighted to tell you that following three days assessments and interviews, George Garlick has accepted our offer to become the first Chief Executive of the new council.
George brings with him 25 years of local government experience, which has included spells in senior positions with councils in the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside as well as the North East where he has been Chief Executive of Stockton-On-Tees Borough Council since 1995.
In that time, he led the establishment of Stockton-On-Tees as a unitary council and has taken Stockton on to become one of the top ten performing local authorities in the country, achieving the highest possible ratings for service performance.
You can view the press release we have issued today to announce George's appointment.
George has a notice period to serve with his current employer, but we are hopeful that he will be able to take up post with us before the end of September.
We are very much looking forward to working with George and hope that you will join me in wishing him every success in his new and exciting role with us.
Best wishes
Councillor Simon Henig
Leader of the Council
30 June 2008
Employee Update from The Joint Implementation Team
Lots of work has been done to develop the new unitary council for County Durham. Workshops for Cabinet members are being held during June to work towards establishing a ‘vision’ for the new authority, and as we approach July, there will be some key dates that will be important milestones for changes to our organizations.
This note gives you details on some of the timescales decided by the Joint Implementation Team. It also provides information on some of the areas where colleagues may have questions and concerns, but for a range of reasons we don’t have answers to these at this time.
The key areas where we can provide staff with information are outlined below:
Chief Executive Recruitment
Recruiting a Chief Executive for the new unitary authority is now well advanced and will end with the final selection interviews which take place next week.
Filling this key post will help us to progress with identifying and agreeing the top management team arrangements (director posts) for the new unitary authority.
Top Team Arrangements
Information has been gathered about the potential shape of the top team of the new organization. This has been collated through:
- A survey of senior managers to secure their views on the original bid proposals, set against the current business context.
- Discussion with trade union colleagues.
- Advice from external consultants on national best practice.
- A Cabinet workshop to consider leadership arrangements.
However, until this initial research is considered by the new Chief Executive there is no firm proposal to consult upon. The research will be shared with the new Chief Executive upon their appointment in July 08 so that they can consider with Elected Members the future shape of the top team. We can then move towards formal consultation with those affected by any changes proposed.
Early progress on this issue will be vital as it will be this top team, operating as the Corporate Management Team of the new unitary, that will drive any further changes that might impact upon employees.
Posts beneath Director Level
We expect that the director posts will start to be identified and filled from around September 2008. Then attention will turn to the shape of the new corporate organization and any detailed changes within services. This means that currently, it is very hard to give information with any certainty on the potential scope of any change for employees within services. We do know that:
- We do not envisage large scale changes to front line services. These will be required to maintain and improve levels of service delivery i.e. ‘business as usual’ during the transition period.
- The bid identified a duplication of posts in certain professions and support areas where a change will be needed in the number of duplicated posts. However, it is important to highlight that the bid document was based on a workforce profile that is now two years old and as such we are not using the bid as an appropriate reference point for identifying areas of the business that may be subject to employee changes.
- In addition, we need to understand the geographical arrangements of services before understanding the extent of change that will be required in terms of the workforce for the future.
- Proposed changes to staffing structures immediately below director level will start to emerge in late 2008. We expect that where changes are planned, posts at the ‘head of service’ level (immediately below directors) will start to be recruited in late 2008.
All of this means that it will be unlikely that all service restructuring will be concluded by vesting day and, in all likelihood, service structures will continue to be developed on an ongoing basis after 1 April 2009.
How Will This Affect Me?
We recognize that in this period of uncertainty, people will have lots of questions that at this stage we are unable to answer for the reasons outlined above. However below is some information on two key areas that may be of interest to colleagues:
Opportunity for Early Retirement/Voluntary Severance (ER/VR)
We have been discussing with trade unions how we can take a planned approach towards workforce changes, and a consistent approach towards the policy on any future ER/VR arrangements. These discussions are ongoing and we will keep you informed as they progress.
We can say that before the new organizational vision, values and appropriate structures have been identified, it is impossible to anticipate how the organization will change, and the detail of how the workforce will be affected by those plans.
It’s also worth noting that at this time, individual authorities are not prevented from considering ‘business as usual’ ER/VR requests from employees by way of normal efficiency business cases.
Your Pay And Conditions Of Employment
It is important to point out that the Local Government Review Staffing Guidance/Regulations have determined that the principles of TUPE will be applied to the transfer of functions from the district council to the new unitary authority. This means that employees of the previous employer, automatically become employees of the new employer on terms ‘no less favorable’ than those held prior to the transfer. It is as if their employment contract has simply transferred to the new employer.
The new unitary authority will be required to have an equality-proofed pay structure for the future. This is a complex area of work and the arrangements for transferring employees will have to be considered in any exercise to harmonize pay, terms and conditions of employment.
Work has begun in this area, but this will not be concluded before vesting day. Of course, we will keep colleagues informed of progress on this.
The legal detail around this is complex, however the above principle will apply in our reorganization.
Those Authorities who have not yet concluded Single Status and Job Evaluation exercise will continue to progress this work.
Next Steps
We will continue to provide your with regular employee communications from the Joint Implementation Team, but if you have any further questions, you can raise these via the
FAQs section or by emailing
lgrcomms@durham.gov.uk.
Joint Implementation Team, 30 June 2008
23 June 2008
Welcome
Well here it is – our new website specifically for staff in the eight councils going through reorganization. Through this site, we hope to provide staff in all of the councils with up-to-date and consistent information on progress with reorganisation in an easy and accessible way. It is also a channel through which you can ask questions and make suggestions to the LGR programme office.
The LGR programme is about to enter a new phase. Over the next few weeks, our newly elected councillors will be making key decisions about the direction of the programme and the future shape of the new unitary council. They will be appointing a new Chief Executive and going out to consultation on how the new council should relate and engage with local areas and communities across the County. They will determine the overall organisational structure of the new council, which will enable them to appoint a top management team to drive the integration of county and district services as we move forward. This will pave the way to give the certainty which all members of staff are looking for – how and where they will fit into the new flagship council that we are all putting in place.
It is going to be an exciting time, so I encourage you to visit this site on a regular basis and to take advantage of the facility to let us know what you think.
Roger Goodes, LGR Programme Manager, LGR Programme Office