Driving Improvement and Efficiency in Culture Services Joint Portfolio Holders and Directors of Culture Network Meeting

1. Driving Improvement and Efficiency in Culture ServicesJoint Portfolio Holders and Directors of Culture Network Meeting – 15th February 2011 Sheffield 15th February 2011

2. 1. Welcome and Introductions Project supported by:

3. 2. Structure of the Workshop Session 1: 3. Overview of the Driving Improvement & Efficiency in Culture Services project 4. Challenges and Opportunities facing Culture Services 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery 6. Questions Session 2: 7. Emerging examples of practice 8. Practical considerations 9. Leading the change 10. Questions Next Steps and Close

4. Session 1

5. 3. Driving Improvement & Efficiency in Culture Services project Project Remit: To drive the improvement and efficiency agenda; To increase understanding and demonstration of the value of culture services; To identify long term improvements in culture services and cost reductions; To research and share good practice and solutions for long-term improvements; and To identify quick wins, long-term improvements and opportunities for joined-up service delivery.

6. 3. Driving Improvement & Efficiency in Culture Services project Exploring: Establishing shared museum services Establishing shared library services Establishing shared arts services Establishing or extending a leisure trust

7. 3. Driving Improvement & Efficiency in Culture Services project Progress: Update consultation with councils on their priorities and aspirations for culture services Research on national emerging practice and models Workshop for councils held in January 2011 Bespoke assignments with a number of councils, including: East Riding (shared museum services) Calderdale (sport and active recreation) Yorkshire Libraries and Information (shared library services) Trust workshop to be held on 17th March 2011 Sharing good practice

8. 4. Challenges & Opportunities facing Culture Services ‘Local government is faced with making sense of deep contradictions: more freedom to make choices but less real scope to do so; greater financial flexibility but a central objective to freeze council tax; strengthened localism but a drive to work across boundaries… Councils are being given new responsibilities and a more complex strategic role at the same time as being forced to find huge savings and innovative ways of maintaining frontline services’. Adrian Bradley, the Leisure Review, October 2010

9. The Landscape in Yorkshire and Humber Awaiting confirmation of budgets Ongoing feasibility studies and service reviews Benchmarking practice CAA red flags: Health inequalities Outcomes for children and young people Earnings 4. Challenges & Opportunities facing Culture Services

10. Redefining the role of customers/users Devolution to councils Dismantling of national performance framework Reshaping NDPB funding and support Opportunity for local political and managerial leadership Technology and changing consumer behaviour 4. Challenges & Opportunities facing Culture Services

11. Collaborative working Contribution of the sector to priority outcomes through commissioning both internal and external. Public Health White Paper / Health and Wellbeing Boards Schools White Paper / Curriculum reform Welfare Reform White Paper Economic Development/ Local Enterprise Partnerships Big Society / Localism Bill / Community Budgeting New models of service delivery and innovation 4. Challenges & Opportunities facing Culture Services

12. Collaborative Working Sharing skills and expertise across councils Sharing skills and expertise within councils (cross-portfolio working) Opportunities: Cross boundary programming Cross boundary marketing and promotion Cross boundary audience development 4. Challenges & Opportunities facing Culture Services

13. Benefits of Collaborative Working Shared services that are centred around customer needs and the customer journey Shared services reduce duplicated spend on infrastructure and offer economies of scale Shared services can be more streamlined and efficient to manage on a day to day basis Shared services enable staff to work more effectively Shared service can help to protect frontline delivery 4. Challenges & Opportunities facing Culture Services

14. Commissioning Income generation / Budget cuts Culture services facilitating efficiency savings for other services Avoidable customer contact Asset / Estate strategy Signposting to services / user targeting Learning and skills outcomes (e.g. adult literacy, NEETS) Social inclusion / cohesion outcomes Social care outcomes 4. Challenges & Opportunities facing Culture Services

15. What are the models? What do we mean by sharing? Who can we share delivery with? What are the potential benefits? Are there current examples? 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

16. Existing Sector Practice? Outsourcing of leisure services to private sector or Trusts Shift of arts facilities to Trusts Libraries, museums, arts development and sports development in-house 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

17. What are the models? In-house local authority managed services Partially externalised service Fully externalised service Hybrid model Independent voluntary trust Worker co-operatives Shared service model 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

18. What are the models? In-house local authority managed services Partially externalised service- some aspects of a service are contracted out to a private contractor or trust (e.g. single arts venue or leisure centre) Fully externalised service- all culture and sport provision is transferred to a private contractor or trust at one go. This can include buildings and assets as well as services such as sports development and arts development. 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

19. What are the models? Hybrid model- formation of a trust who then partially or fully contract out the service to an external management company for an agreed contract period. Independent voluntary trust- similar to partially/fully externalised service but may focus on managing and delivering services and projects rather than a building Worker co-operatives (emerging)- existing staff take control of a facility or service through a leasehold arrangement or a full scale asset transfer. 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

20. What do we mean by sharing? Two or more councils jointly running or managing culture or leisure services together Can be delivered in two ways: Informal: two services are independent but there is joint working and some sort of partnership framework or agreement Formal: single service serving two or more different councils Approach can be service specific (i.e. just arts or museum service) Potential to develop much quicker and cheaper than developing a new leisure trust 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

21. Who can we share delivery with? Local Councils (not restricted to immediate neighbours) Private contractor or Trust Community and voluntary sector organisations Volunteers 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

22. What are the potential benefits? Reduction in operating costs Protection of frontline services Improvement in service standards and delivery of outcomes Sharing risk (e.g. investment, procurement & employment) Scale of cuts necessitate more fundamental review of service delivery model- shared service delivery provides an alternative approach Some benefits will take longer to realise 5. Service innovation and new models of delivery

23. 6. Questions?

24. Session 2

25. Existing council practice Contracting out Street services and environmental management HR Fleet management Commissioning third sector organisations to deliver youth provision/services Joint Director of Public Health (PCT & Local Authority) Shared procurement 7. Existing and Emerging practice

26. Emerging examples outside the Culture sector ‘Commissioning Council’- Charnwood District Council Transfer to ‘service delivery vehicle’- Selby District Council Full integration- Adur District Council & Worthing Borough Council Shared Chief Executive, Senior Management and Service Teams Service integration- London Boroughs of Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham Includes environmental, family and children’s services and planning 7. Existing and Emerging practice

27. Culture and Sport sector examples SPINE Project (Library)- sharing IT, bibliographic Services and technical functions Greenwich Leisure Limited (Leisure)- partnership with 13 London Boroughs, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and Reading Borough Council Tees Valley Unitary Authorities exploring a single museums structure ARTS CONNECT- Regional Shared Arts in Wales 7. Existing and Emerging practice

28. SPINE Project- Shared Library Service The seven partner councils in East of England are Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Southend, Suffolk and Thurrock. The vision is that by sharing services, current and future partners will be able to improve the efficiency of service delivery by reducing costs whilst maintaining or improving standards of service to the customer. Total budget baseline for SPINE partnership is £76.8 million (2010/11 budget figures) Resources fund for books and information materials has been taken out of scope for all the options (£10million). 7. Existing and Emerging practice

29. SPINE Project- Shared Library Service The appraisal assesses each of the options against a set of critical success factors as follows: Releasing the maximum savings - requires the potential to achieve at least 25% savings over 3 years. Achievable with in time scale – if not established by 1st April 2011 then any agreement must be sufficiently advanced that it will deliver significant savings over the next 3 years. Satisfy legal and statutory requirements. Manageable risks. Transferable and scalable to other authorities. Attractive to all stakeholders. 7. Existing and Emerging practice

30. SPINE Project- Options Appraisal Option 1-Sharing of back office and support functions. This option covers the smallest % of the overall budget in terms of its scope, with a lead authority acting as a host which provides identified services to the other partners. The case for this option suggests that there is a good return on investment. Option provides a 71% saving on the budget for services which are in scope, equating to 4% of the total budget over a four year period. Option 2- Creation of a single library service (Separate legal entity). The option sees sharing of all services, including the frontline operational delivery, but excludes corporate and indirect costs. A 14% saving on the budget for services which are in scope is predicted. 7. Existing and Emerging practice

31. SPINE Project- Options Appraisal Option 3-Creation of a single library service (Separate legal entity). Corporate and support costs are included. This option covers the largest portion of the overall budget. Significant savings identified from corporate and support costs amounting to £11 million. Concerns about the administrative and financial implications for the wider organisations in which library services sit and the political appetite for this option given the implications for corporate services. A 26% saving on the baseline budget is predicted for this option over four years. Preferred Option 1-Sharing of back office and support functions. Estimated cashable saving of £0.8 – £1.5 million over 4 years across 5 SPINE partners (Hertfordshire and Norfolk withdrew). However represents a starting point. 7. Existing and Emerging practice

32. ARTS CONNECT- Scope 8 Unitary Authorities arts services Covers population of 951,281 9 theatres and 2 craft centre galleries Arts Development Officers 80 FTEs Gross Expenditure £5.2m 7. Existing and Emerging practice

33. ARTS CONNECT- Current Status Partners’ in principle commitment Agreed efficiency target of 10% Established net baseline of £3.2m Development of Business Case 7. Existing and Emerging practice

34. ARTS CONNECT- Benefits Improved arts provision for users Wider arts officer experience Avoids duplication No more competition Economies of scale 7. Existing and Emerging practice

35. ARTS CONNECT- Issues Change of emphasis and new way of working Efficiency targets Timescales Governance structures HR 7. Existing and Emerging practice

36. Other Examples? Numerous examples of culture supporting corporate or other service priorities Specific examples of supporting target audiences Children and Young People Older age groups Disadvantaged communities Disability groups Opportunities to do these collaboratively? Shared programming Appointing lead council for specialist services 7. Existing and Emerging practice

37. Where do I find out more? Communities of Practice, www.communities.idea.gov.uk MLA Research and Evidence database, http://research.mla.gov.uk/case-studies/ Arts Council case studies, www.artscouncil.org.uk/browse/?content=casestudy Yorkshire and Humber Improvement and Efficiency Partnership, www.yohrspace.org.uk/ From each other….. 7. Existing and Emerging practice

38. 7. Existing and Emerging practice

39. 8. Practical considerations Maintain a focus on customers / users To date shared services has tended to focus on back office functions as opposed to frontline Be realistic about timescales Be realistic about the budgets Embrace innovation and pilot approaches Recognise the need for ‘harmonisation’ Requires political and managerial buy-in Share the vision with staff

40. What is required? Recognition of the pressures and decision making challenges facing senior elected members; An understanding that 30% cuts cannot be achieved through trimming; A structured change management programme; An understanding of the outlook, skills and expectations of staff working in culture services; Wider local authority understanding of the importance of social capital and the contribution made by culture; A need to continue to build officer and member trust across boundaries in order to underpin improved cooperation. 9. Leading the change

41. 10. Questions?

42. 11. Next Steps Scoping projects with a selection of councils to explore shared service models Production of guidance documents Trust Workshop on 17th March in Doncaster Sharing of practice, skills and expertise across the region Other?

43. Contact Details Andy Parkinson Colin Mitchell ERS Transforming Culture Milburn House 1 Ayton Court, Bedlington, Dean Street Northumberland Newcastle upon Tyne NE22 6NS NE1 1LE Tel: 0191 244 6103 Tel: 01670 827598 E-mail: aparkinson@ers.org.ukE-mail:colin@transformingculture.co.uk www.ers.org.ukwww.transformingculture.co.uk