Council defers decision on sharing legal and other senior management roles
Councillors at South Ribble Borough Council have deferred a decision on implementing a proposed management restructure that would see the local authority share a number of senior legal and other roles with Chorley Borough Council.
Chorley had already backed the arrangements and South Ribble was due to vote on the plans on Wednesday.
However, councillors chose to defer a decision until their next meeting on 22 November “to give them chance to look at them in greater detail”.
A cross-party working group will be formed to examine the proposals. There will also be learning sessions held to ensure all councillors are engaged in the process, South Ribble said.
Under the plans the two authorities would share a Director of Legal & Democratic Services (Monitoring Officer) and an Assistant Director of Legal Service (Deputy Monitoring Officer).
They would also share the following posts: Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Shared Service Resources and Transformation); Director of Finance and Assurance Services (s151 Officer); Assistant Director of Finance and Assurance Services (Deputy s151 Officer); and Director of Policy, Human Resources and Communications.
Cllr Peter Mullineaux, Leader of South Ribble, said: “We welcomed the report from the Chief Executive at the meeting and fully support the re-structure proposals.
“All local councils are facing challenging times and it is vital that we look at the way we operate to continue to deliver the very best services and value for money for our residents.
“This is a big decision for the council and our staff and we are absolutely committed to getting it right.”
Cllr Paul Foster, Leader of the Opposition, said: “We are fully supportive that a re-structure is required at the Council.
“We are also fully committed to shared services and totally dedicated to the wellbeing of all staff.”
South Ribble has estimated a saving of £400,000 if the plans are implemented, while Chorley believes it could save £600,000.