Floods in the Charltons, a new leaf in Chard, spurious political press releases, Ofsted reports on Bridgwater & Taunton College plus Stanchester, and how not to transform a council... its all go here!
Response provided to Nigel Behan of UNITE by Councillor Theo Butt Philip:
(about the Council's transformation programme - with adverse comments by the Government-appointed auditor Grant Thornton as reported above)
"Thank you for your detailed question regarding Item 6 of the Interim External Auditor’s Annual Report for 2023/24. We appreciate your engagement, and the concerns raised on behalf of Unite the Union.
We acknowledge the critical points highlighted by Grant Thornton, particularly the timing and implementation of the workforce reduction programme. The concerns about the potential impact on the Council’s capacity to deliver services are significant and continue to warrant our careful consideration.
In response, we remain committed to addressing these concerns comprehensively. We agree with Grant Thornton’s recommendation to mitigate the risk of implementing the organisational restructure before developing the wider transformation business case. We are costing an analysis of the capacity required to deliver transformation and improvement over the next financial year. This may provide employment opportunities to defer the need for some immediate compulsory redundancies. We are taking steps to ensure a full Improvement and Transformation organisation-wide business case is developed alongside the necessary enabling work, including ICT, data, and process improvements.
This activity will build on the 2024/25 Improvement and Transformation Business Case outlining ‘A New Approach to Transformation’ and the Workforce Programme Business Case, which was initially discussed at Executive last year on 23.01.2024.
We value the input and collaboration of the Trade Unions and are committed to ensuring meaningful consultation and minimising the need for compulsory redundancies. Our goal is to maintain confidence and trust among our staff and stakeholders through transparent and strategic planning, communications and governance.
Thank you for bringing these important issues to our attention. We look forward to continuing to work closely with you and the Trade Unions to achieve our shared objectives."
Floods.
So does the 'Emergency Plan' consist of a councillor opening a local hall and asking the locals to provide food and bedding?
The climate change gravy train appears to be code for 'taxing us more, while doing less!
WASPI.
Typical of the Lib Dems, all BS, smoke and mirrors, why didn't they take issue when in Coalition with the Tories?
Response provided to Nigel Behan of UNITE by Councillor Theo Butt Philip:
(about the Council's transformation programme - with adverse comments by the Government-appointed auditor Grant Thornton as reported above)
"Thank you for your detailed question regarding Item 6 of the Interim External Auditor’s Annual Report for 2023/24. We appreciate your engagement, and the concerns raised on behalf of Unite the Union.
We acknowledge the critical points highlighted by Grant Thornton, particularly the timing and implementation of the workforce reduction programme. The concerns about the potential impact on the Council’s capacity to deliver services are significant and continue to warrant our careful consideration.
In response, we remain committed to addressing these concerns comprehensively. We agree with Grant Thornton’s recommendation to mitigate the risk of implementing the organisational restructure before developing the wider transformation business case. We are costing an analysis of the capacity required to deliver transformation and improvement over the next financial year. This may provide employment opportunities to defer the need for some immediate compulsory redundancies. We are taking steps to ensure a full Improvement and Transformation organisation-wide business case is developed alongside the necessary enabling work, including ICT, data, and process improvements.
This activity will build on the 2024/25 Improvement and Transformation Business Case outlining ‘A New Approach to Transformation’ and the Workforce Programme Business Case, which was initially discussed at Executive last year on 23.01.2024.
We value the input and collaboration of the Trade Unions and are committed to ensuring meaningful consultation and minimising the need for compulsory redundancies. Our goal is to maintain confidence and trust among our staff and stakeholders through transparent and strategic planning, communications and governance.
Thank you for bringing these important issues to our attention. We look forward to continuing to work closely with you and the Trade Unions to achieve our shared objectives."