Appendix 11 (a)

Blackpool Council: Internal Audit Assuring Quality Services for Blackpool

Internal Audit Report

Value for Money study Illuminations

Audit Team: Stephen Dunstan Issued By: Internal Audit Distribution: Richard Ryan, Alan Cavill Date: 24 May 2006

Blackpool will be a Vibrant, Inclusive, Healthy, Safe and Prosperous Town Blackpool Council: Internal Audit Assuring Quality Services for Blackpool

Contents Page

1. Introduction 3 2. Scope and Objectives 3 3. Acknowledgement 4 4. Overall Opinion and Assurance Statement 4 5. Detailed Findings and Recommendations 5 6. Information and advice 13 7. Action Plan 13

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1. Introduction

1.1 The 2006-2007 Audit Plan, agreed with senior management, includes provision for four Value for Money (VFM) studies. At the request of the Strategic Directors of Regeneration and Tourism and Business Services the Illuminations Service was selected for one of these VFM reviews.

1.2 Blackpool illuminations is an internationally renowned free visitor attraction. The displays of illuminated pole features and tableaux run for six miles from Starr Gate to Bispham. The illuminations cost approximately £2.4 million to stage and run for nine weeks in the autumn each year.

1.3 The Illuminations Service is based in a depot at Rigby Road. One of the major issues facing the service is that this accommodation is increasingly unfit for occupation; new premises have been identified for the team and plant (and the illuminations outside of the season) to relocate to.

1.4 The service underwent a best value review that was completed in 2003. This identified a detailed plan for taking the service forward. Subsequent to the best value review an internal restructure took place (on a basis of no reductions or increases in staffing) and the service also transferred from Tourism to Corporate Policy and Development.

1.5 Our recommendations are normally graded to reflect the level of risk. As this work is a VFM study we have not graded the recommendations, as they are intended to be improvement suggestions which may or may not fit with the future direction chosen for the service.

2. Scope and Objectives

2.1 The scope of the audit review was the Illuminations service, including the SRB funded Festival of Light project. The illuminations service itself is structured in the following section: o Erection, operation and dismantling o Maintenance o New Features o Depot o Design o Sponsorship o Administration

2.2 The objectives of the audit review were to provide assurance on the adequacy and effectiveness of the arrangements to ensure value for money in service provision.

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2.3 The audit review followed our standard VFM methodology developed in consultation with the Audit Commission. In particular the areas of coverage were to ensure that:

o The service has put in place arrangements for setting, reviewing and implementing its strategic and operational objectives.

o The service has put in place channels of communication with service users and other stakeholders including partners, and there are monitoring arrangements to ensure that key messages about services are taken into account.

o The service has put in place arrangements for monitoring and scrutiny of performance, to identify potential variances against strategic objectives, standards and targets, for taking action where necessary, and reporting to members.

o The service has put in place arrangements to monitor the quality of its published performance information, and to report the results to members.

o The service has put in place arrangements to maintain a sound system of internal control.

o The service has put in place arrangements to manage its significant business risks. o The service has put in place arrangements to manage and improve value for money in the following areas: o Procurement o Wastage o Staffing levels o Staffing duties o Staff remuneration o Benchmarking o Income generation o Stock control / work in progress

o The service has put in place a medium-term financial strategy, budgets and a capital programme that are soundly based and designed to deliver its strategic priorities.

o The service has put in place arrangements to ensure that its spending matches its available resources.

o The service has put in place arrangements for managing performance against budgets.

o The service has put in place arrangements for the management of its asset base.

o The service has put in place arrangements that are designed to promote and ensure probity and propriety in the conduct of its business.

3. Acknowledgement

3.1 We gratefully acknowledge the assistance and courtesy of Richard Ryan and the Illuminations staff throughout the review.

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4. Overall Opinion and Assurance Statement

4.1 We consider that the service needs to introduce further controls to ensure value for money is obtained. The current overspend reflects development areas in terms of financial management and the development of new features and other innovations. The service also faces difficulties in generating income at past levels but has taken steps that will hopefully address this. Some work has been done to increase value in procurement activity, but there are further steps that can be taken.

5. Detailed Findings and Recommendations

5.1 Strategic and Operational Objectives. 5.1.1 The service is not currently working to a service plan. A service plan is currently under development for Tourism and Regeneration. In the absence of a service plan value for money may be reduced because of the lack of agreed objectives and direction for the service. (Recommendation R1). 5.1.2 The Illuminations Service does not currently have a business plan. The service did feature in the business plan for Economic Development but were rather peripheral to the core activity of that service. The Illuminations Manager advised that the service still works informally to its Best Value Action Plan. A high level review of this document suggested a number of areas where progress had been limited (e.g. staff consultation and empowerment, relocation, development of licensed goods, management development and ongoing review of working practices). A current business plan for the service informed by the resort Masterplan should be developed, and progress against it reported to senior management and members (Recommendation R2).

Recommendation R1) A service plan should be agreed that includes the Illuminations Service, referring to how the service meets corporate objectives. R2) A bespoke illuminations business plan should be developed, with progress on the identified actions reported regularly to senior management and members.

5.2 Communication with service users and other stakeholders 5.2.1 Consultation with service users is undertaken regularly through market research activity. Stakeholder consultation is conducted through forums established by Tourism, it may be appropriate for the service to conduct its own exercises to complement the information currently obtained. 5.2.2 In terms of consultation with staff the undertakings to improve communication and empowerment in the Best Value Action Plan appear to have been only partially realised. Discussion with section managers demonstrated that some communication mechanisms had been stood down as they were not considered to be adding value, whilst internal disagreement and dissatisfaction was still in some parts of the service. It is understood that communication mechanisms are being improved as part of the lean manufacturing project, we would stress the need for good communications between management and staff irrespective of this (Recommendation R3).

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5.2.3 In terms of communication with line management we note that update meetings do occur, though their frequency has been affected by the availability of the Head of Corporate Policy and Development of late. However there is no SMART reporting of performance of the service to line management and we consider that this makes it difficult to accurately assess service performance (Recommendation R4).

Recommendation R3) Regular team meetings and process improvement sessions should be held. R4) Headline performance indicators for the service should be developed and reported to line management on a regular basis.

5.3 Arrangements for monitoring and scrutiny of performance 5.3.1 As noted in 5.2 above there is no service level reporting of performance. At the level of individual sections we found that the performance was patchy, in some areas there are robust performance indicators reported to the Illuminations Manager whilst in other cases there were not. Whilst the difficulties in establishing performance indicators for services such as design and new features is appreciated, these are areas where expenditure control or income generation has been disappointing and this has led in some part to the current overspend situation (Recommendation R5) 5.3.2 In reviewing the performance against budget of the various sections of the service it became clear that the biggest cost issues arose with regard to New Features. In 2004/5 this part of the service overspent by £48k, having reported no overruns until the end of the year and exacerbating an existing overspend position. Whilst there is some merit in the suggestion that the New Features budget has been inadequate there have also been some clear problems with operation of this activity. This includes serious design version control issues on new tableaux and a lack of new technology (e.g. computer aided design) that then has to be bought in when necessary. The design of Illuminations is an activity which could sit elsewhere in the Council or be wholly or partially outsourced, enabling the service to focus on its core business or delivering and maintaining the Illuminations themselves (Recommendation R6).

Recommendation R5) Local performance indicators should be set for each section within Illuminations to enable the Illuminations Manager to be assured that value for money is being obtained in all operations. R6) Consideration should be given to improving the methodology for the design of the Illuminations to increase efficiency.

5.4 Internal control 5.4.1 The most recent audit work on cash collection and cash handling within the service highlighted the need for a dedicated sponsorship collector. This post has been filled for some time now, and the relevant officer has been proactive in approaching audit for assistance whenever there have been any possible grounds for concern about cash collection issues. We have no recommendations to make in this area. 5.4.2 Physical security of the depot has been enhanced following a recent break in during which a significant amount of cable apparently worth several thousand pounds was stolen.

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In the current situation with a potential move of depot planned the service faces difficult choices in deciding how far to fund security improvements in an overspend situation on premises that may be vacated soon. A tour of the depot to view the additional security features in place (e.g. additional locks and fences) satisfies us that the levels of physical security are satisfactory, and we understand that OSD have undertaken an audit of security since the break in. 5.4.3 Our discussions with management showed no evidence of stock control systems. Whilst the levels of stock held have been significantly reduced inventory systems would be desirable to ensure that items with wide external uses such as timber are not taken without approval. This could be taken into account when setting up systems at the new depot (Recommendation R7). 5.4.4 During our discussions with managers the levels of external phone usage were raised. Information provided by the service accountant shows that individual mobile phone bills can average £900 per quarter. Private use payments are made by staff with works mobiles, but in some cases this is done in an ad hoc manner without adequate support being retained. We have not reviewed individual phone bills as this is outside the scope of this review, but are confident that more effective use of telephony could be made by only essential calls being made on Council mobile phones. The service could address other issues with regard to phone usage in a number of ways, including putting external blocks on phones within the depot and ensuring that private usage is fully reimbursed by monitoring extensions with high external usage. Depot phone costs are running at £150 per month, with no reimbursement being made (Recommendations R8 and R9).

Recommendation R7) Consideration should be given to establishing stock inventory systems to control and monitor issue of higher value stock lines. R8) Consideration should be given to reducing the amount of mobile calls made and using landlines or e-mail for non-urgent communications. R9) Consideration should be given to increasing controls over private telephone usage within the depot, or increasing monitoring to ensure that such usage is fully reimbursed.

5.5 Risk management 5.5.1 The service has taken part in directorate risk management groups, where the condition of the depot infrastructure has been raised as an issue. We consider that risk management is more advanced in Illuminations than in most Council services, but that further work is required to ensure it is fully embedded. We have no specific recommendation to make in this report though, as there is a corporate action plan in place to address this. 5.5.2 Health and safety is actively managed by the service. All operators receive training in working at height, and are not able to work on the Promenade until this has been completed. Steps are taken to ensure other staff working in potentially hazardous situations (e.g. the Promenade collectors) are adequately protected. We did note however that training records are not kept in a retrievable form, so we were unable to evidence training received (Recommendation R10).

Recommendation R10) Up to date training records should be maintained at a central point.

5.6 Procurement value for money

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5.6.1 Work has been undertaken to improve procurement practice within Illuminations. This has included the development of an approved supplier database that covers all significant activities of the service. In addition the Illuminations Manager has identified on an ad hoc basis circumstances where sections within the service have clearly not obtained value for money compared with others. 5.6.2 Review of the arrangements relating to the annual lamp purchase show satisfactory arrangements to obtain value for money. Previous work to obtain good prices has been further enhanced by cost effective attendance at trade fairs to negotiate directly with suppliers and obtain further savings. 5.6.3 We understand that the service is working to develop relationships with central procurement (and has also got involved in the early stages of the e-procurement system project). At this stage our understanding is that the procurement team are waiting on the provision of a list of key items that would form the basis of a tendering exercise and subsequent contracts (since the fieldwork was undertaken we understand this has been done) (Recommendation 11).

Recommendation R11) Illuminations should provide the procurement team with the information required to enable central contracts to be drawn up for purchasing.

5.7 Value for money - wastage 5.7.1 Review of the reasons for new features overspend identified that design version control issues had lead to significant overspends in prior years due to high wastage arising from the need to modify work already undertaken. We are assured by new features management that this situation has been addressed and will not recur; review of current year expenditure suggests that this is the case but large late adjustments have occurred relating to new features in the previous two years and it is thus still too early to be certain that the necessary improvements have occurred (Recommendation R12). 5.7.2 Levels of all stocks have been reduced significantly due to the opportunity cost of amounts tied up in stock. This has the further benefit of reducing the risk of stocks becoming damaged or obsolete.

Recommendation R12) To the extent not already addressed version control should be developed to ensure that wastage from design version control weaknesses is minimised.

5.8 Value for money – staffing levels 5.8.1 There is no documented evidence of staffing levels since the Best Value Review in 2003. The service is undergoing a lean manufacturing exercise conducted by The Manufacturing Institute. It is hoped that this will yield efficiency gains in the region of 20 to 25%, although much of this would be dependent on the service moving to new premises where a more efficient workflow could be developed. 5.8.2 The managers of the three sections involved in deploying the majority of the workforce (EOD, maintenance and new features) meet regularly to discuss manpower requirements. EOD and maintenance have picked up the slack arising from reduced new features work, though on occasion there may still be some excess capacity. The conclusions of the lean manufacturing work to date are fairly high level, it seems clear

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however that any efficiency gains derived will only have value if other income generating activity can be taken on or costs can be reduced (Recommendation R13). 5.8.3 In terms of the creative staff employed the impression given by management was that there was something of a shortage of work for them at the present time due to the reductions in the amounts of new features being introduced. In the longer term it may be desirable to move towards another way of designing and undertaking artistic work, with the Illuminations Service focusing on the core activities of erecting, operating, dismantling and maintaining the illuminations product. This was referred to at Recommendation 6.

Recommendation R13) A workforce plan should be developed to identify how the benefits that will arise from the depot move and introduction of lean manufacturing will be utilised.

5.9 Value for money – staffing duties 5.9.1 In terms of the core workforce staff are generally used flexibly when the need arises. Although there is no workforce plan (see 5.8 above) this provides some assurance that value for money is obtained within the existing structure. 5.9.2 In terms of the management structure it was observed that the nominated deputy to the Illuminations Manager is the Designer, who has limited financial expertise. It would be helpful for the nominated deputy role to encompass knowledge of financial management and staff management experience (Recommendation R14). 5.9.3 Discussion with service management highlighted a need for management training in some areas, particularly new features where the manager has requested management training for the two foremen (Recommendation R15).

Recommendation R14) Consideration should be given to reviewing the deputy arrangements for the role of Illuminations Manager so that they take account of the need for financial and staff management expertise. R15) Consideration should be given to providing additional management training.

5.10 Value for money – staff remuneration 5.10.1 Although the bonus arrangements have been diluted somewhat recently there remain two bonus payments. One relates to the illuminations being substantially complete in time for the designates switch on date and is now given to all Illuminations staff, the other relates to the main workforce and is awarded for clocking on in a timely manner. 5.10.2 There does not appear to be a justification for either of the bonus schemes currently being paid. Maintenance and erection are both fairly standardised processes where completion of the work to a reasonable target date should be expected, rather than meriting an exceptional bonus. Although there have been some issues in terms of new features these should not have occurred and are in the process of being rectified. The bonus for clocking in on time is contrary to the policy elsewhere in the authority of not rewarding people for arriving on time to undertake their designated duties (Recommendation 16). 5.10.3 In terms of overtime arrangements are in place to try and pool labour effectively. Discussion with staff as part of the audit work highlights some possible issues with this, but overall it is clear that attempts are made to cross-utilise staff and overtime is restricted to where there are good business reasons for doing so.

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5.10.4 Review of the appointment of collection staff highlighted a number of anomalies. Business collectors are recruited externally, Promenade collectors are drawn entirely from within the Council. Business collectors are not retained from one year to the next, Promenade collectors are. Business collectors do not receive any kind of bonus, Promenade collectors receive a bonus which has not been reviewed for several years and which seems to have lost any challenge as a stretch target. There is currently a waiting list of staff wanting to be Promenade collectors, and thus no evidence that the relatively generous present terms are necessary. It is considered that the remuneration and conditions for the two roles should be made more consistent, ideally by bringing them into line with general Council recruitment and retention policy (Recommendation R17).

Recommendation R16) The appropriateness of switch on and clocking on bonuses should be reviewed as part of the upcoming job evaluation exercise. R17) Recruitment policies and payment structures should be made consistent for illuminations and business sponsorship collections, and the methodology for collection processes reviewed as appropriate.

5.11 Value for money – benchmarking 5.11.1 The Best Value review highlighted difficulties in benchmarking the service due to the lack of direct comparisons. Work which was done comparing with the Disney organisation and local authorities providing similar services provided mixed results. Actions identified arising from the work done included comparison with other local authorities providing Christmas lights, and development of local performance indicators. As far as can be ascertained these tasks have not been fully undertaken to date. The need for local performance indicators was set out in section 5.3 of this report. 5.11.2 We consider that it would be productive for the service to benchmark processes, as much of the activity of the Illuminations service can be compared with other services elsewhere. To some extent this has been addressed by the lean manufacturing exercise, which has involved an independent consultant with manufacturing expertise reviewing the processes in place in the Illuminations service (Recommendation R18).

Recommendation R18) Current work on process benchmarking should be further developed.

5.12 Value for money – income generation 5.12.1 As the overspending report to Audit Committee notes, a significant element in the budget situation faced by the Illuminations service. For the last four years income has dropped from £354k to £244k as a result of the lack of a flagship sponsor and significantly declining business collections, partly offset by the Promenade on street collection remaining fairly buoyant. 5.12.2 In terms of attracting flagship sponsors the service has reached a ‘no win no fee’ agreement with an external organisation who will seek to identify potential partners. This arrangement appears more sensible than previous arrangements with external consultants, which preceded the appointment of a Sponsorship Co-ordinator and have now lapsed. 5.12.3 There is some evidence from feedback that the business collections are suffering due to other issues hoteliers etc have with the Council. On the other hand the scheme itself has not been reviewed for some time, and it may be that a relaunched and revitalised

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set of rewards for contribution may have some impact in stemming the falls in donations. At present all donations over £250 qualify for a gold ‘sticker’, whilst in terms of recognition there is little real incentive for larger donations to be made (Recommendation R19). 5.12.4 In terms of other income generation activity a number of efforts have been made to improve this. In particular this includes the development of the bus that can be used to project texts onto a tableau and also to run mobile illumination displays outside the borough. Opinions about the utility of recent income generating projects is strongly divided within the service. We recognise that it is important for the Illuminations service to remain an innovative force, but with increasing competition for leisure spend it is important that all new projects have been market tested and fully costed. Although we appreciate that the laser and text bus, for instance, has evolved over time it is important that activity to innovate the Illuminations concept is appropriately planned and fully life costed (Recommendation R20). 5.12.5 We reviewed the costings for some recent external project work, e.g. the creation of a ‘wedding chapel’ for the TV programme Ripley’s Gold. Whilst these show work clearly making a contribution in terms of direct labour and materials costs, they do not take account of the management time spent in securing the work and liasing with the customer during the work. Such time can be quite considerable, and as a result the ‘profit’ reported may be misleading given time foregone on managing the in house operation etc (Recommendation R21).

Recommendation R19) Consideration should be given to relaunching the business sponsorship scheme to try and halt the decline in levels of giving. R20) New technology work and other innovations should be adequately marked tested and fully costed. R21) Consideration should be given to refining costings for new work to reflect the anticipated management time required for negotiation, site visits etc.

5.13 Financial strategy and budget monitoring 5.13.1 To some extent this is not particularly relevant at present. The immediate financial concern is removing the overspend position and capital expenditure depends on (the availability of funds to enable the move to the identified new site to go ahead). 5.13.2 Taking the recovery plan as the financial strategy for the foreseeable future we would point out the following issues: a) The overspend in 2005/6 is attributed partly to a number of one off costs. These included the break in, an unusual accident to a vehicle, a leaking derv tank and overspends on the Festival of Light and the Christmas lights. However there will invariably be ‘one offs’ in any service in any given year and budget management needs to take account of their potential budget impact. b) Tighter budget control through revised internal management framework is envisaged, but it is not clear what this will entail. c) A no win no fee sponsorship consultancy will be employed, but whilst this ensures cost exposure is limited it does not guarantee that sponsorship will be received. d) External work is envisaged but is referred to in terms of turnover rather than profitability. In some cases remedial works may lead to the initial level of profitability being eroded.

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5.13.3 Given the above critical success factors it is important that progress on the implementation of the overspending recovery plan is reported to senior management on a regular basis. To the extent that it is possible contingency plans should be developed to allow for non-delivery of elements of the recovery plan (Recommendation R22). 5.13.4 Other issues significantly affecting delivery of the budget are energy costs and infrastructure costs related to the age and condition of the depot. In terms of the energy costs we accept that much has been done to reduce energy usage, and increased costs are largely outside the control of the department. The last week of the illuminations does however enter a higher tariff charge and there may be scope for reducing the time lights are switched on for during this time (e.g. during commuting time early evening) (Recommendation R23). In terms of depot costs the requirement for significant spend to be approved by the Strategic Director is an additional control being employed at the current time. 5.13.5 Discussion with the Illuminations Manager highlighted that he considered that service managers would benefit from training on the Financial Regulations. We support this view; the Council training on this is currently dovetailed with procurement training and we also consider it would be useful for managers in the service to receive this training also (Recommendation R24).

Recommendation R22) Progress on the implementation of the overspending recovery plan should be reported to senior management on a regular basis. R23) Consideration should be given to operating reduced hours during the final week of the illuminations season. R24) Illuminations management should receive training on the Council’s financial regulations and procurement framework.

5.14 Use of asset base 5.14.1 The service has made a number of attempts to increase the use of its asset base. In addition to those referred to elsewhere in this report these include the development of an educational film to show in schools, filling the gap left by ending the Open Day arrangement. We encourage the attempts to make best use of the existing resources, but as noted elsewhere in this report recommend that this is done in a more systematic and planned way than has been the case to date so that innovative ideas generate significant income opportunities. 5.14.2 Discussion with new features management has identified that where possible they utilise existing surplus equipment to run new features if it is safe and economic to do so. The lean manufacturing approach recommends that all ‘clutter’ is removed from the workplace to increase efficiency. In implementing lean manufacturing a cost benefit analysis should be undertaken to identify which (if any) equipment may be worth retaining for future use (Recommendation R25).

Recommendation R25) A cost benefit analysis should be undertaken to identify which (if any) ‘surplus’ equipment may be worth retaining for future use when the lean manufacturing regime is introduced.

5.15 Probity and propriety

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5.15.1 Our testing found that Illuminations staff were complying with the requirement to disclose hospitality received. 5.15.2 We found no evidence of staff disclosing relevant personal interests. Approvals have apparently been received in some cases, but it is desirable for a central record to be maintained using the corporate format when this is launched (Recommendation R26).

Recommendation R26) A register of personal interests should be maintained.

5.16 Other issues - partnerships 5.16.1 As part of the value for money work the £25k overspend on the Festival of Light SRB project was considered. There are clearly differences of opinion about the cause of the overspend, and in the absence of documentation of a number of important discussions it is difficult to be clear what was and was not agreed. Spending on the project appears to have been accurately recorded. In terms of future partnership working of this nature it is important that all agreements about allocations of staff and other key resources are fully documented in service level agreements to ensure that funding allocations are not exceeded and the requirements of funding bodies are met (Recommendation R27).

Recommendation R27) Future collaborative projects like the Festival of Light should include written and signed service level agreements for the allocation of Illuminations service resources.

6. Information and advice

6.1 Further information about this report, or general advice on internal management control, may be obtained from Stephen Dunstan, telephone number 478560.

7. Action Plan

Recommendation Agreed Action Target Date

R1 A service plan should be agreed that Agreed. Implemented includes the Illuminations Service, May 2006 referring to how the service meets corporate objectives.

R2 A bespoke illuminations business plan Agreed. July 2006 should be developed, with progress on the identified actions reported regularly to senior management and members.

R3 Regular team meetings and process Agreed. July 2006 improvement sessions should be held.

R4 Headline performance indicators for the Agreed. July 2006 service should be developed and

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Recommendation Agreed Action Target Date

reported to line management on a regular basis.

R5 Local performance indicators should be Agreed. July 2006 set for each section within Illuminations to enable the Illuminations Manager to be assured that value for money is being obtained in all operations.

R6 Consideration should be given to Agreed. December improving the methodology for the 2006 design of the Illuminations to increase efficiency.

R7 Consideration should be given to The costs and benefits of July 2006 establishing stock inventory systems to improved stock control will be control and monitor issue of higher investigated to establish if value stock lines. tighter controls would be cost-effective.

R8 Consideration should be given to Agreed, use of mobile phones Immediate reducing the amount of mobile calls will be curtailed and an audit made and using landlines or e-mail for trail for any private usage non-urgent communications. element developed.

R9 Consideration should be given to Monitoring will be tightened to Immediate increasing controls over private assess whether further telephone usage within the depot, or controls are required. increasing monitoring to ensure that such usage is fully reimbursed.

R10 Up to date training records should be Agreed. July 2006 maintained at a central point.

R11 Illuminations should provide the Agreed. Implemented procurement team with the information required to enable central contracts to be drawn up for purchasing.

R12 To the extent not already addressed This is being addressed in the Ongoing version control should be developed to lean manufacturing exercise ensure that wastage from design provided by the version control weaknesses is Manufacturing Advisory minimised. Service.

R13 A workforce plan should be developed Agreed. July 2006 to identify how the benefits that will arise from the depot move and introduction of lean manufacturing will be utilised.

R14 Consideration should be given to Agreed. December reviewing the deputy arrangements for 2006 the role of Illuminations Manager so that they take account of the need for financial and staff management expertise.

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Recommendation Agreed Action Target Date

R15 Consideration should be given to Agreed, training will be July 2006 providing additional management provided where identified training. from IPA interviews.

R16 The appropriateness of switch on and This will be addressed by the Corporate clocking on bonuses should be job evaluation exercise. timetable reviewed as part of the upcoming job evaluation exercise.

R17 Recruitment policies and payment Agreed. April 2007 structures should be made consistent for illuminations and business sponsorship collections, and the methodology for collection processes reviewed as appropriate.

R18 Current work on process benchmarking Agreed. October 2006 should be further developed.

R19 Consideration should be given to Agreed. December relaunching the business sponsorship 2006 scheme to try and halt the decline in levels of giving.

R20 New technology work and other Agreed. Immediate. innovations should be adequately marked tested and full costed.

R21 Consideration should be given to Methodologies for achieving December refining costings for new work to reflect this will be explored. 2006 the anticipated management time required for negotiation, site visits etc.

R22 Progress on the implementation of the Agreed. June 2006 overspending recovery plan should be reported to senior management on a regular basis.

R23 Consideration should be given to Agreed, options will be December operating reduced hours during the reviewed. 2006 final week of the illuminations season.

R24 Illuminations management should Agreed December receive training on the Council’s 2006 financial regulations and procurement framework.

R25 A cost benefit analysis should be Agreed. April 2007 undertaken to identify which (if any) ‘surplus’ equipment may be worth retaining for future use when the lean manufacturing regime is introduced.

R26 A register of personal interests should Agreed, will use corporate June 2006 be maintained. format when developed.

R27 Future collaborative projects like the Agreed. Immediate. Festival of Light should include written

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Recommendation Agreed Action Target Date

and signed service level agreements for the allocation of Illuminations service resources.

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