70 Building Control Joint Service - KEY DECISION PDF 165 KB
Minutes:
The Board
considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and
Resources, on a Joint Building Control Service.
It was reported
that a Collaboration Agreement had been in place between Halton and Knowsley Councils since July 2015, with the aim of
exploring the potential for a shared Building Control service. In January 2018,
the Leaders and Chief Executives of both Councils,
endorsed the undertaking of work to examine the potential establishment of a
Regulation 12 company, as detailed in the report, on the basis that the Company
would be jointly and equally owned by both Councils.
The Board was
advised that in order to complete the work, approval was required to formalise
an interim shared service agreement until 31 March 2020 with Halton, for the
provision of Building Control services.
Reason(s) for Decision
The Building
Control Service required sufficient resource and capacity to continue to
provide high quality advice to residents, developers and investors. Following
the departure of all Building Control Officers in November 2017, temporary
arrangements had been in place to provide service continuity. The reason for
the decision was to place the Service on a sustainable footing for future
service delivery.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Do nothing – The current temporary arrangements (the use of an agency
member of staff) were not cost effective, nor efficient, and the current team
lacked capacity to offer a high quality service and generate income.
Outsourcing – A
higher quality, more cost effective service could be offered through a joint
shared service. An in-house service was far more responsive in terms of support
for public services (for example, public safety at events) and did not rely
upon commercial contracts as the basis for delivery. The preferred approach
retained local control over service delivery.
Implementation Date
1 January 2019.
RESOLVED:
That
1)
a shared service
arrangement for Building Control services for Halton and Knowsley
Councils be approved on the basis set out in the report and with a joint
structure to be hosted by Knowsley Council for a
period until March 2020;
2)
the Strategic Director,
Enterprise, Community and Resources be authorised to execute all relevant
documentation required for the establishment of a shared service agreement for
Building Control services for Knowsley and Halton
Council, as set out in the report; and
3)
the proposal to explore the establishment of a Building Control Regulation
12 company be endorsed, which would be the subject of a future report to
Executive Board.