Purpose

This report proposes Legal Services and Elections will formally disaggregate from Onesource with the mutual support of London Borough of Newham and London Borough of Havering.

This will result in the creation of a sovereign legal service for Newham.  In respect of Elections whilst the Team is already a sovereign service in Newham, it has not been formally disaggregated from Onesource

Decision

For the reasons set out in this report and its appendices, Cabinet RESOLVED to:

For the reasons set out in this report, Cabinet is recommended

i)  to authorise all necessary amendments and variations to the Agreement so as to give effect to the following:

a)  London Borough of Newham to withdraw its delegation from OneSource of the following shared services:

·  Legal and Governance

·  Elections

b)  London Borough of Newham to retain existing delegations to those functions that remain within One Source, namely:

·  Exchequer and Transactional

·  Corporate Business Systems Team

·  Print Services

(ii)   Authorise the Chief Executive in consultation with the Interim Corporate Director of Resources (Section 151 Officer) and the Interim Director of Law and Governance, to make all necessary arrangements to give effect to (i) a and b above, including but not limited to:

a)  To implement the Human Resources and other operational processes to give effect to the recommendations.

b)  To agree the dates for the withdrawal of those services listed at i (a)

c)  To agree, amend and finalise any variation or variations to the Agreement and the delegations contained therein as necessary to give effect to (i), and thereafter to sign and complete any variation on behalf of the Council.

d)  To make arrangements to receive staff into London Borough of Newham as a result of the amendments to the Agreement.

e)  To make arrangements (whether contractual or otherwise) to allow London Borough of Newham to share some of the proposed withdrawn services for a transitional period beyond the agreed date of implementation whilst permanent arrangements are put in place within London Borough of Havering.

f)  To note the budget for the Newham Legal Services structure will be addressed, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources andTransformation as part of the Budget & Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) process

g)  To delegate to the Interim Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Head of Paid Service the authority to develop ,adjust and implement the sovereign structure in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Transformation, and staff and recognised trade unions.

h)  Authority for London Borough of Newham to enter into a Collaboration Agreement with London Borough of Havering and other such arrangements that may be necessary to fully implement the disaggregation and the creation of a separate Legal Services for London Borough of Newham.

i)  To delegate authority to the interim Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer to take all necessary steps and procure supplies/services to facilitate the operation of the separate Legal Service for London Borough of Newham, subject to compliance with Contract Procedure Rules and in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Transformation, where procurement exceeds the key decision threshold

j)  To present a benefits realisation and post implementation review report to Cabinet within 12 months of the implementation of the Sovereign Legal Services, assessing performance, financial impact, service quality and governance arrangements, staffing and outcome achievements of objectives set out in this report

iii)  London Borough of Newham waives the right to any compensatory payments due under the Agreement noting that LBH will also be waiving their rights under these reciprocal arrangements.

iv)  Note that staff employed by London Borough of Newham or London Borough of Havering will return to their respective employing Authority based on their contract of employment as required under the Agreement dated 1 September 2014.

Alternatives Considered

OPTION 1 – Continue with OneSource shared Legal Services with Havering Council This option is not available following the initial mutual agreement to disaggregate OneSource Legal Services, to achieve the corporate priorities of each Council.

OPTION 2 – Externalise all legal work to an external Solicitor’s firm An increased budget will need to be set aside to address the costs that will be incurred by Newham Council should all work be undertaken by external solicitors and barristers. HR implications (to include redundancy) will also need to be addressed.

OPTION 3 – Disaggregate Legal Services from the OneSource Agreement This option is recommended to dedicate the resources to the needs of the Council and align Newham Legal Services with the corporate priorities of the Council.