Decision details

The Committee –

1.    Noted the additional work generated for HR by the Service Choices process and the inability for the service to deliver all of this additional work from existing resources. The professional advice and support will continue to be delivered from within existing HR resources, but there is a need to augment the administrative resources. This will be done by utilising wider Departmental funding.

2.    Noted that the additional resources can be funded from the existing 2015-16 Customer Services departmental forecast underspend, and agreed that the budget to be earmarked and the balance permitted to be carried forward to fund the additional posts for a maximum of 2 years. This will allow the HR service to support the administrative elements of the service choices process. Earmarked balances are routinely monitored and any balance no longer required would be returned to the General Fund Reserve.

3.    Agreed that the Year 2 savings of up to 25% for IHR, which involve the full implementation of service redesign, creating an integrated team that puts people at the heart of performance, are profiled for year 3 to ensure that the service has sufficient resource to support the organisation through the significant change of Service Choices in Years 1 and 2.

4.    Agreed that the Service Choices proposal set out in Appendix 2 is accelerated for immediate implementation, noting that this will put in place a transitional structure that is equipped to support the organisation through Years 1 and 2 of Service Choices.