Executive 23rd June 2010 Agenda Item No. Title Customer Access in Leamington For further information about this report Susie Drummond please contact Service Area Customer & Information Services Wards of the District directly affected All Is the report private and confidential and not No for publication by virtue of a paragraph of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, following the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 Date and meeting when issue was last Executive 10th June 2009; considered and relevant minute number Background Papers Executive 4th February 2009; Contrary to the policy framework: Yes/No Contrary to the budgetary framework: Yes/No Key Decision? Yes/No Included within the Forward Plan? (If yes include reference number) Yes/No Officer/Councillor Approval With regard to officer approval all reports must be approved by the report author’s relevant Deputy Chief Executive, Finance, Legal Services and the relevant Portfolio Holder(s). Officer Approval Date Name Relevant Deputy Chief 28/05/2010 Andrew Jones Executive Chief Executive 28/05/2010 Chris Elliott CMT 28/05/2010 Bill Hunt Section 151 Officer 28/05/2010 Mike Snow Legal N/A N/A Finance 28/05/2010 Mike Snow Portfolio Holder(s) 28/05/2010 Les Caborn Consultation Undertaken Please insert details of any consultation undertaken with regard to this report. Warwickshire County Council – Customer Access, Registrars. Final Decision? Yes/No Suggested next steps (if not final decision please set out below) Report back to Executive with final Business Case 1. SUMMARY 1.1 The report requests member approval for officers to develop a business case for the development of a One Stop Shop at the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa. Preliminary work has suggested that there are possible revenue savings and significant customer service improvements to be gained from reviewing Warwick District Council (WDC) and Warwickshire County Council (WCC) service provision. There is already funding within the capital budget for building changes and any design will need to take account of the allocated budget. 1.2 The project to refurbish Riverside House to provide a One Stop Shop is currently on hold. A number of areas are complete, including staff consultation and training. This has resulted in £35,000 of savings being achieved. A formal tender process resulted in an “Intent to Award” although building work has not yet started. A review of the future of Riverside House was approved by Executive in April 2010. 2. RECOMMENDATION(S) 2.1 Members agree to close the project to create a One Stop Shop at Riverside House. 2.2 Members agree that a business case for the development of a One Stop Shop at the Royal Pump Rooms be developed and reported to a future Executive. 2.3 Members agree that the following principles are utilized in the design of the services delivered via the Royal Pump Rooms: Reduced duplication of Customer enquiries; Integrated WDC and WCC Staffing; Opportunities taken to maximise the use of space in the Royal Pump Rooms; Encourage customers to use local library and other facilities within the Royal Pump Rooms; Service design will be based on Lean Systems principles. 2.4 Members agree that the capital sum of £322, 500 (consisting of £300k for One Stop Shop and £22.5k for reception) currently allocated to the capital programme for the OSS be earmarked for potential future work at the Royal Pump Rooms pending agreement of the business case in 2.2. 2.5 Members note that officers are in discussions with Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and Warwickshire Race Equality Partnership (WREP) regarding their relocation from Hamilton Terrace to the Town Hall in Leamington, which will produce a saving in Business Rates. 3. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION(S) 3.1 The council undertook a Best Value Review of customer access in 2003/2004 and the vast majority of the recommendations have been implemented: The council has introduced a customer service centre; significantly enhanced the website; expanded the payment channels available to customers; centralised the processing of post in and out; opened a number of One Stop Shops; and relocated the Customer Service Centre to Shire Hall. 3.2 The remaining action was to create a fifth One Stop Shop. After discussions with WCC in 2008, the decision was reached to initiate a project to refurbish Riverside House and train the existing teams to deliver joined up services. The staff consultation is complete and training is nearing completion. A tender process resulted in an “Intent to Award” being agreed on, although no award has yet been made. The refurbishment of Riverside House was put on hold until after the Election, to minimize the risk of issues caused by moving the Members’ Services team. 3.3 Officers still consider that a One Stop Shop approach to customer enquiries is the way forward and the success of Kenilworth, Whitnash, Lillington and Warwick One Stop Shops demonstrates this. The recent events resulting in the closure of the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) and the planned installation of self-service facilities at the Library provide an opportunity for officers to examine the case for a One Stop Shop at the Royal Pump Rooms. WCC are in agreement that we review the provision of customer access services at the Royal Pump Rooms. 3.4 The review of the building in partnership with WCC may result in changes to the way we deliver Customer Access services or enhancing the services we deliver from the Royal Pump Rooms. A detailed plan and business case will need to be developed in consultation with all partners, including Cultural Services and Economic Development. It will include potential risks, costs and savings. Current work across the Council uses Lean Systems methods to focus our services on maximizing value for Customers and minimizing waste within the current systems. This approach has already produced measurable service improvements and the potential for cashable savings. The review will use Lean Systems methods to focus our service delivery on value for Customers. 3.5 WDC and WCC are currently undertaking work on an Integrated Staffing model, which will combine staff roles within Libraries and One Stop Shops. This will ensure that Customer Service levels are preserved while reducing excessive staffing levels. A key point for operation of One Stop Shops is having a Hub approach to enable staff to work in any One Stop Shop in Warwick District as required. 3.6 A review of the services delivered could bring savings or generate income. Possible options include the provision of Post Office facilities, transforming the Tourist Information and visitor economy provision, providing a contact point for Police Community Support Officers (PCSO), and reviewing the catering provision. The current catering contract is up for renewal in December 2011, and initial discussions have recently commenced. 3.7 The Citizens’ Advice Bureau and Warwickshire Race Equality Partnership were scheduled to move into part of the refurbished space in Riverside House. They are now planned to move into the Town Hall. This would allow for closer working with the Council as well as freeing up space in Hamilton Terrace to generate letting income or a capital receipt. If the Riverside House OSS refurbishment does not go ahead, the space planned for CAB, WREP and Committee Rooms will be available. These is the potential to make this space available for letting and hence income generation. 4. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED 4.1 The option to do nothing and retain the current customer enquiry points at Riverside House was considered. This approach does not allow the residents of Leamington to benefit from the One Stop Shop facility enjoyed by other parts of the district. It will also involve additional costs, if we are to ensure a fully joined-up service for Customers. ICT costs to install technology for staff to deliver WCC services will be approximately £15k. It also makes the opportunity of realising revenue savings more difficult as enabling staff to work generically will not be as practical. The provision of a Bus Route to improve access to Riverside House is likely to cost in the region of £30k to £50k. 4.2 The option to continue the project to refurbish Riverside House was also considered. Previous reviews of Customer Access have acknowledged that Riverside House is not in the most convenient or accessible site for our customers. It is also acknowledged that the Executive approved a recommendation in April 2010 to review the future of Riverside House. Spending capital budgets on refurbishing Riverside House while its future is being reviewed would not seem to be a prudent investment. The provision of a Bus Route to improve access to Riverside House is likely to cost in the region of £30k to £50k. 4.3 The option to move the One Stop Shop to the Leamington Town Hall was considered. Although the Town Hall is in a convenient site for our customers there are a number of drawbacks. The key to improving services while minimising costs is working with WCC to integrate our services and staff. This opportunity would not be available at the Town Hall, since Library provision is at the Royal Pump Rooms. WCC will also be contributing to costs at the RPR, but would not do so for the Town Hall. The Town Hall would need to revise opening hours to ensure we deliver customer services outside standard business hours. RPR currently opens outside standard working hours, including weekends, for the library and museum provision. Finally, in order to deliver a friendly, efficient and affective service to our customers, the layout of the One Stop Shop needs to be open and welcoming.