Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources providing an update and summary of the work undertaken as part of the Together Gloucester Transformation Programme (Phases 1-2) and seeking Members to note that capacity has been created to support ongoing transformation work in support of the Council’s priorities and objectives.

RESOLVED that:

(1)       the information set out in the report is noted

(2)       the action taken by the Council as part of the Together Gloucester Transformation process is welcomed and endorsed

(3)       the closure of Together Gloucester Phase 2 and the incorporation of future work into ongoing “business as usual” is formally endorsed.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources that provided an update and summary of the work undertaken as part of the Together Gloucester Transformation Programme (Phases 1-2) and sought Members to note that capacity has been created to support ongoing transformation work in support of the Council’s priorities and objectives.

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources asked Cabinet to note the work of the programme and endorse the progress made and confirm the adoption of transformation being built into the day to day makeup of the authority, ensuring that it does not stagnate and that the Council could continue to respond to changing resident needs.

Within the structure of Together Gloucester there had been an opportunity to work smarter, not harder and to ensure that the revised authority footprint had improved efficiencies to ensure continued strong services to the residents of Gloucester. Although the financial savings which had been achieved as part of the programme were substantial, it was key to remember that the objectives of the programme were to also ensure that GCC was fit for the 21^st century and beyond.

The work within the Together Gloucester programme had seen many milestones many of which were summarized in the report.

The programme had been designed by officers of the authority with specialist support from Ignite, ensuring that the structure of GCC was fit for purpose for the challenges faced in the future. This had seen secondments from various GCC departments and upskilling of officers in transformation or website skills. As we moved into 2021/22 financial year, the decision to embed transformation in the DNA of the council was taken and this was now seen as a business-as-usual activity.

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources expressed her thanks to several key figures in the Together Gloucester Programme; all of the Senior Leadership Team, Service Managers, HR, Communications and Customer Services. She also thanked the Transformation and Commercialisation Manager who had worked at the forefront of the transformation journey, along with his team of business architects. 

It was noted that the My Gloucester functionality had been long promoted by the Deputy Leader of the Council within the Councillor population.  One Member had confirmed that he had become a convert and had found it much easier to track casework and to ensure that residents were receiving regular updates. In conjunction with the efficiency savings made from reducing the Here to Help emails, showed that Gloucester City were on the right pathway.

RESOLVED that:

(1)       the information set out in the report is noted

(2)       the action taken by the Council as part of the Together Gloucester Transformation process is welcomed and endorsed

(3)       the closure of Together Gloucester Phase 2 and the incorporation of future work into ongoing “business as usual” is formally endorsed.