Purpose

1.   
This report recommends that the Joint Executive and the respective
Councils agree to Waverley Borough Council discharging Finance
functions on behalf of Guildford Borough Council. This will enable
a shared service to be put in place within the current budget to
both authorities.
 

2.   
A shared service will provide greater resilience, capacity and
capability for both authorities. It will fully support the
authorities' strategic priorities offering best value for our
residents and furthering the collaboration. This should result in a
positive organisational reputation and improved staff morale.
 

3.   
It will contribute to the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR),
with the Government announcing its decision on 28 October to create
two unitaries in Surrey (East and West), with both Guildford and
Waverley councils being in the West Surrey Unitary along with
Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath and Woking councils plus Surrey
County Council.

Content

RESOLVED that:
 

1.   
Waverley Borough Council discharge on behalf of Guildford Borough
Council such of its Finance functions which are Executive
functions, with effect from 1 April 2026 is AGREED.
 

2.   
The creation of new joint posts to deliver Finance Services to both
Waverley Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council and delegate
authority to the Joint Assistant Director for Finance to implement
a joint staffing structure within the approved budget is
AGREED.
 

3.   
Waverley Borough Council discharge on behalf of Guildford Borough
Council such of its Finance functions which are Council functions
as set out in paragraph 12.2.3 with effect from 1 April 2026 is
REQUESTED.
 

4.   
Guildford Borough Council request that Waverley Borough Council
discharge on behalf of Guildford Borough Council such of its
Finance functions which are Council functions as set out in
paragraph 12.2.3 with effect from 1 April 2026 is
ACCEPTED.
 

5.   
The joint staffing structure for delivery of Finance functions will
consist of staff transferred from Guildford Borough Council on 1
April 2026 and Waverley Borough Council staff is NOTED.
 

6.   
The Strategic Director of Democracy, Law and People in consultation
with the co-Chairs of the Joint Governance Committee to update the
Inter-Authority Agreement to include provisions that ensure all
decisions in relation to the arrangements are made by both
Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council is
AUTHORISED.
 

Reasons for the decision

1.   
To enable Finance functions to operate in an efficient and
cost[1]effective way,
making use of the resources available and sharing experience and
knowledge with the opportunity to provide more specialist skills
across both authorities, leading to increased efficiency, improved
performance and service delivery with an expansion of knowledge for
individuals and sharing of best practice.
 

2.   
To provide increased resilience, capacity and capability in the
provision of statutory financial services as there will be a more
flexible pool of officers delivering the services across both
Waverley Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council. The current
structure has many single points of failure when staff go on agreed
leave of absence. An outcome of this puts serious strain on the
resources that remain to cover and increases the risk of service
delivery failure. This new structure will provide additional
resilience to cover sickness absence, annual leave, vacancies or
increased workload should this be required.
 

3.   
The shared Finance service is within the approved budget. Increased
capacity and collaborative working through standardised processes
and procedures should see improvements in the collection of income
and in the service response to our external customers, ensuring
backlogs in the provision of Housing Benefits and Revenues and
Benefits services are minimised.
 

4.   
To ensure that joint working is undertaken in a consistent manner
and in accordance with existing HR policies for such posts and the
Inter-Authority Agreement between the two authorities for the
sharing of staff.  
 

5.   
To reduce dependency on external resources and further implement
succession planning and career development which will provide
opportunities for an increase in internal promotion appointments
for existing staff to vacant posts

Alternative options considered

As set out in section 11 of the report