Purpose

To update the Executive on aspects of service configuration including the detail on proportionate splits for disaggregating services and hosting locations for hosted services.

Decision

Resolved that

i)              the recommended host authority for those services that were previously authority agnostic, as set out in Appendix 1, section 2a; subject to a similar resolution being made by the East Surrey Shadow Authority be agreed;

ii)             that agreed service configurations and hosting arrangements will be considered within the wider strategic and financial planning process for 2027/28 be noted;

iii)           the Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) will provide the mechanism for operational management and oversight, governance, financial and risk arrangements, performance management, escalation, review and exit arrangements for all hosted arrangements between East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council be noted;

iv)           the disaggregation of the Children’s Single Point of Access service (C-SPA) at Vesting Day, which follows the provision of additional information to the Executive be agreed;

v)            the host authority for the Children's Emergency Duty Team be amended from West Surrey to East Surrey be agreed; and

vi)           the host authority for the Surrey Online School be amended from East Surrey to West Surrey be agreed.

Reason for decision

The September service configuration decisions taken by the Executive establish which services will disaggregate, aggregate, be hosted, remain whole or transfer to another arrangement, as set out in Appendix 1. The recommendations in this report complete the next layer of decision-making by determining where previously authority agnostic interim hosted services should be hosted. Authority agnostic describes an interim hosted service for which the initial service configuration work identified no overriding operational reason for the host to be East Surrey or West Surrey.

Agreement on host authority is required for these remaining interim hosted services so that detailed implementation can proceed with sufficient clarity and at the pace required for Vesting Day. Delay or unresolved recommendations would compress workforce and TUPE activity, impede budget setting and Section 16 preparation, prolong uncertainty for staff, and increase the risk of rework across systems, data, contracts, governance and blueprint planning.