Agenda item

Members considered details of the Thames Valley Transactional Service Centre progress report for the period April to November 2015.

Julian Rice, arvato Site Director outlined details of the report. Performance for all services in scope for the first three quarters continued to be on track for a positive outturn, despite a weaker than expected start to the commencement of Contract Year 4 in April 2015. Key collection targets were positively on track to exceed 14/15’s record performance whilst significant investment had been made by the Council in the IT estate which would provide considerable benefits for both staff and residents. 

In addition to the Contract deliverables arvato continued to support, lead and engage on a number of key strategic projects.  These included the set up of Slough Children Services Trust, the implementation of the Council’s new ERP platform coupled with the extensive Accommodation Strategy for the Council.

Logistics, Transactional Finance and Transactional HR all continued to demonstrate particularly strong performance with the consistently high levels of efficiency.  Key Performance Indicators relating to these service areas were highlighted. It was highlighted that the Council’s decision to replace its financial system had resulted in combining finance, procurement, human resources and payroll functions by integrating business processes and utilising a single database for multiple purposes across the Council. This would enable a simple and accurate manner of reporting across the whole organisation, contributing to initiation efficiencies and serving as a platform for later transformation to drive further savings. 

Supporting the community remained a key strategic aim for arvato. Sponsoring the Slough Business Awards continued to support the Council’s campaign to improve Slough’s reputation as a place to live and do business.

A number of issues were raised in the ensuing discussion, including:

·  Number of apprenticeships and destination of leavers. It was noted that at this stage in the partnership, the target was to have recruited 27 apprentices. Following the addition of 11 apprentices in September, the total number was currently 30 and arvato were on track to exceed their contractual obligation of employing 117 apprentices during the life of the contract. It was agreed that future reports would include details relating to whether apprentices continued to be employed by arvato following the end of their apprenticeship scheme. 

·  Clarification regarding KPI statistics. Responding to monthly discrepancies within the KPI statistics provided, it was explained that the KPI targets defined within the report were annual targets and that there were inevitable peaks and troughs in service demand throughout the year. It was noted that the next committee report would include the annual KPI figures. Members were informed that the current KPI targets were in the process of being reviewed and agreed for the 2016/17 financial year and that these would also be included in the July Committee report. 

·  Aged Debt. A Member requested details regarding the amount of monies that were owed and the time period that was being considered. It was explained that an amount of £10.9 million over a ten year period was being examined. 

·  Profit Sharing Mechanism. It was brought to Members attention that arvato had had a number of meetings with Councils looking at outsourcing as part of their future delivery model and were currently engaged in the bidding process for a number of local authority contracts. Following a number of Member questions and responses, it was agreed that details in relation to the profit sharing mechanism within the contract between the Council and arvato would be detailed in the July Committee report.

·  Customer Service feedback. Details were sought regarding customer feedback. The Committee were informed that a survey had been carried out in the revenue/benefits section regarding customer satisfaction, the findings which would be reported to the July Committee meeting. 

·  Members congratulated arvato for having successfully collected an additional £2 million in business rates on behalf of the Council.

Resolved – That the progress made within the period April 2015 to November 2015 be noted.