THIS PAPER RELATES TO ITEM 10 ON THE AGENDA CLACKMANNANSHIRE COUNCIL Report to Clackmannanshire Council Date of Meeting: 30th June 2011 Subject: Shared Out of Hours Telephone Response Service Report by: Chief Executive 1.0 Purpose 1.1. The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval to implement a shared out of hours telephone response service, making use of the joint resources available to Forth Valley public sector partners to improve service and reduce operating costs. 2.0 Recommendations 2.1. It is recommended that: a) the Council agrees to Central Scotland Police delivering the out of hours telephone response service on behalf of Clackmannanshire Council. This is the lowest cost option and provides additional non-financial benefits such as greater back up and resilience. b) a Project Steering Group be set up to oversee implementation of this decision, involving senior managers from Clackmannanshire Council and Central Scotland Police. The Steering Group will report regularly to the Chief Executive and Chief Constable. 3.0 Background 3.1. Council gave a commitment back in June 2008 to collaborate with Stirling Council to improve service quality and achieve efficiencies, and agreed that joint working be pursued where demonstrable benefits could be achieved by each Council. 3.2 In addition, there is agreement amongst this Council, Central Scotland Police, Central Scotland Fire & Rescue Service and Stirling and Falkirk councils to explore opportunities for mutual service improvement and efficiencies. All partners are keen to ensure better value for the public pound across Forth Valley. This is particularly the case given that levels of grant funding from councils to the police have been generally maintained compared with the levels of savings which have applied to other aspects of local authority service. 201 3.3 In line with these joint working developments, a feasibility study was undertaken in summer 2010 to determine whether or not there was a case for taking forward a project to implement a shared Contact Centre model for public sector partners in Forth Valley, giving due regard to anticipated business benefits, financial savings and risk. 3.4 This study concluded that the three local authorities and Central Scotland Police's contact centre operations are operating largely in traditional, silo- based ways across common customer groupings, and we are not working in the most cost efficient manner, not just in terms of Clackmannanshire Council, but as wider public services across Forth Valley. The feasibility report highlighted opportunities to improve service and reduce operating costs through a more shared approach that makes better use of collective resources. 3.5 Since then a project team involving officers from Central Scotland Police, Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils have worked together on developing an outline business case, which has looked in greater detail at the pros and cons of different options on how the service could be delivered in future. An outline business case was presented to Chief Officers in late March 2011, making recommendations on the preferred option. Discussions have also taken place with the relevant trade unions and staff. 4.0 Considerations Forth Valley current position 4.1. Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling Councils currently operate their own daytime and out of hours telephone response services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Central Scotland Police also operates an emergency and non- emergency telephone response service from Randolphfield, 24x7. 4.2. The three local authorities and Central Scotland Police project representatives anticipate there may be longer term benefits in creating a single 24x7 Forth Valley public service contact centre. Officers agreed that, if possible, the service would benefit from being delivered out of a single building. Any new service should be better, more integrated, work across organisational boundaries and reflect industry best practice. Pooling resources through a shared approach should also bring economies of scale i.e. it should be a cheaper and better service. 4.3. Partners agreed the following objectives/purpose for any new shared service: it should deliver a better service, at a lower cost, maximising the joint resources available to partners. it should provide a new, innovative, operating model that brings together key public service partners to deliver a more joined up service for customers and communities in Forth Valley. it should deliver operational excellence, in line with industry best practice. it should improve resilience in call handling and customer service activities by adopting a partnership approach. 202 4.4. In taking this forward, partners agreed to look initially at the out of hours telephone response service. Clackmannanshire Council's current position 4.5. Clackmannanshire Council currently operates an emergency out of hours call response service from 5.30pm to 8.30am Monday to Friday and at weekends. 4.6. The service deals primarily with emergency repairs reported by tenants and 'fix it' type calls. Enquiries are then passed to standby trades staff to undertake any emergency work. Enquiries are also handed off to the roads, street lighting and social work emergency duty teams who already operate a joint out of hours response service with Stirling and Falkirk Councils. The service also provides the initial call response to the council's emergency response system. 4.7. Clackmannanshire Council always has one member of staff on duty taking calls in the evening/during the night/weekends. Overall, there is a pool of four staff to provide continuous cover. 4.8. The level of calls made to the out of hours service is low, typically 3 or 4 calls per hour in the early evening dropping down to less than 1 call per hour during the night. Weekend daytime calls are about 4 to 7 calls per hour. This results in a very high cost per call. The cost of the service in 2010/11 was £117k. 4.9. Analysis of call statistics has shown there to be a number of occasions where customers have had long waiting times, typically as a result of the one member of staff already on the phone dealing with another customer or trades staff. This situation is made worse during periods of high call volumes such as bad weather, flooding, emergency scenario, etc. Options appraisal 4.10. Three options were considered for delivering the out of hours service in future: (a) No change. (b) A single council providing the service on behalf of all three councils. (c) 'Out of hours' service provided centrally by Central Scotland Police. 4.11. The pros and cons of each option are summarised overleaf: 4.12. The level of resources needed to handle Clackmannanshire's out of hours calls has been calculated for each option. Full details are included in the Outline Business Case which has been placed in the group rooms. 203 Pros Cons 1. No Change No impact on staff High operating costs remain Removes need for Limited resilience and transfer of local backup knowledge Risk of long waiting times No on-duty senior officer Missed opportunity to use partners resources Missed opportunity to deliver more integrated service 2. Via a single council Some efficiency savings Less efficiency saving than Improved resilience option 3 Still need to hand-off enquiries to Police Missed opportunity to make full use of partner resources 3. Via Central Scotland Lowest operating cost Potential reduction in council Police Better value for the public staff establishment pound Need to transfer local Greater resilience knowledge Senior officer on duty at all times Removes need to hand- off Police-related enquires; more enquiries resolved first time Opportunity to deliver more integrated response Provides fuller picture of related situations (eg supporting an individual suffering domestic violence) Only one call needed (eg road traffic accidents, vandalism to council houses - request repair and report crime at same time) 4.13. Having assessed the strengths and weaknesses of each option, the recommendation is for Option (c) i.e. Central Scotland Police provide the out of hours telephone response service for Clackmannanshire Council. 4.14. Central Scotland Police currently have capacity within their non-emergency service centre to service more calls outwith normal office hours. An analysis has shown that the police could accommodate Clackmannanshire's volume of calls with minimal additional resources which means the Council could anticipate an indicative saving of £80k per annum. 4.15. In the first instance it is proposed that Central Scotland Police take on this Council's out of hours service, with a second phase potentially involving 204 Stirling Council's services. Further stages of the initiative might involve Central Scotland Police handling out of hours calls for Falkirk Council. 5.0 Implementation 5.1. If Council approval is given, a Project Board will be set up to oversee the implementation of phase 1 of this shared service. This will involving senior managers from Clackmannanshire Council and Central Scotland Police. 5.2. A Project Initiation Document (PID) will document the plans for Central Scotland Police taking the out of hours calls for Clackmannanshire Council. A Project Plan will outline implementation tasks and timescales and also address business continuity issues. Progress will be monitored and reported monthly to the Chief Executive and Chief Constable. 5.3. Discussions have taken place and are ongoing with staff and trade union representatives regarding the potential reduction in jobs within the council which may result from a joint service. Options are being discussed with individual members of staff, with a view to avoiding compulsory redundancies. 5.4. Given the operational importance of this service, it is vital that there is a smooth and effective transition to the new working arrangements. A phased approach is proposed to minimise risk and address detailed implementation issues. Existing staff will be actively involved in documenting current procedures and sharing whatever information or knowledge is needed by Central Scotland Police to handle telephone enquiries on our behalf.