Agenda and minutes

The Members had before them:

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated); and

B.    The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2017 (previously circulated).

To receive details of any member nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the Committee.

Mr A T Amos substituted for Ms K J May.

To invite any member to declare any interest in any items on the Agenda.

An apology was received from Ms K J May.

Mrs L Denham declared an interest as Chair of the Friends of Fort Royal Hill and Commandery Gardens.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2017 (previously circulated – pink pages)

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2017 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Joint Committee considered the switch of the joint service hosting arrangements from Worcestershire County Council to Worcester City Council.

The Joint Committee received a presentation from Debbie Birch setting out the business case for the switch of hosting.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         It was important to note the achievements of the County Council as the host authority and to understand that the County Council would remain a partner in the joint service. The separation of the arrangements for Hartlebury Museum from the switch of hosting was welcomed. Debbie Birch added that it was important not to lose the important links to Council services following the switch

·         The rationale for the proposed switch was queried. In response it was commented that the switch had been proposed by the City Council to maximise the synergies with its Corporate Plan objectives in relation to tourism/heritage

·         Had all the elements of the business case been thoroughly examined? Debbie Birch confirmed that all the relevant costs had been set out in great detail in the business case

·         The original intention of the joint service was to incorporate other museum services but this had not materialised. The switch would have no impact on any other museums services as the governance arrangements remained unchanged and the partnership approach would be maintained. If the City Council's heritage approach was successful it might attract other museums services to join the joint service

·         In response to a query, Debbie Birch indicated that the relevant pension scheme of the joint service was the Local Government Pension Scheme. Philippa Tinsley advised that a number of other joint services had reviewed their pooled pension schemes

·         In response to a query about the cost of the switch to the City Council, Debbie Birch advised that the most significant part of one off cost of the switch related to ICT with other costs being de minimus. The cost would be part offset by the end of the hosting fee. David Sutton added that the support service administration costs had been absorbed by both Councils 

·         The public would not notice any change to the service as a result of the switch of hosting arrangements

·         Officers should be congratulated for the detailed work undertaken to identify the costs of the switch

·         In response to a query, Philippa Tinsley indicated that staff had been consulted and aside from practical questions about the proposed arrangements, no concerns had been expressed

·         Assuming the switch was agreed, was the recovery of VAT worth pursuing? The Museums General Manager responded that it was not possible to recover VAT through the cultural exemption however there were other ways in which this matter could be pursued

·         Updates on the work on the implementation plan should be brought back to the Joint Committee.

RESOLVED that:

a)    The switch of hosting of the Joint Museums Service from Worcestershire County Council to Worcester City Council be agreed;

b)    Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council be requested to fund  ...  view the full minutes text for item 343.

The Joint Committee considered the Finance Report.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         Although income from Admissions had increased, it was disappointing that the income from sales had decreased. Philippa Tinsley responded that the performance of the shops differed across the three museums sites dependent on the stage in their development. Shop sales at the Commandery had increased as a result of the improved offer and merchandise. The current work in progress at Hartlebury had had a negative impact on shop sales. Sales at the Museum and Art Gallery had slowed and the offer needed to be reviewed in the future

·         The Museum and Art Gallery shop was a hidden gem and would benefit from a more imaginative approach to marketing. Helen Large commented that the problem was that custom fluctuated depending upon whether there was an exhibition taking place. If the right offer was in place then sales could improve in the shop

·         There was no mention of charging in the draft budget for 2018/19. Caroline Brand responded that charging was dealt with by each council individually. Any variance would be reported to the Joint Committee. Philippa Tinsley agreed to include charges in future finance reports to the Joint Committee.

RESOLVED that the financial position of the Joint Museums Service as detailed in the report be noted.

RESOLVED that pursuant to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public shall be excluded from the meeting during item 5 on the grounds that there would be disclosure to them of information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding the information) and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Summary of the proceedings of the meeting during which the public and press were excluded. (This is a fair summary of the proceedings and there are no exempt minutes)

The Joint Committee considered changes to the operations at Hartlebury Castle.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         Philippa Tinsley confirmed that it was intended to have a soft opening of the Hartlebury Museum in April followed by the formal opening in May

·         Was Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust happy with the proposed arrangements for the museum? Philippa Tinsley confirmed that the arrangements had been made in partnership with the Trust and all sides were satisfied with the outcome

·         In response to a query, Philippa Tinsley advised that the new admission charges reflected the significant improvement in the offer at Hartlebury. The charges had been benchmarked against a number of local National Trust properties

·         In response to a query, Philippa Tinsley indicated that the Museum was operating with an overspend at present. Hannah Needham added that the proposals for the Museum were aimed at bringing the service back within budget. This was separate to a future requirement for £30K savings

·         What were the main aspects of the restructure of the operations at the Museum? Philippa Tinsley commented that the proposals included a reduction in unnecessary costs, more efficient rotas, better use of part-time staff on site, and a request to staff to work a 47 week year

·         Would posts at the Museum remain attractive and viable to applicants after the review? Philippa Tinsley responded that experience suggested that part-time work remained an attractive proposition to applicants

·         Concern was expressed about the allocation of £49k from the Joint Museums Service's reserve given that the County Council, not the Joint Service would benefit from the savings accrued. It was agreed that an allocation of the Joint Museum Reserve, of no greater than 39% of the total reserve value, and reflective of a theoretical pro rata apportionment of the reserve between the partners, be made available to fund the changes in the event of any redundancies if required.  

RESOLVED: that

a)    the admission charges for 2018-19 proposed by Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust board of trustees be approved;

b)    the proposed changes to annual opening hours for Worcestershire County Museum be approved for 2018-19;

c)    the principles of the proposed restructure of the Worcestershire County Museum operations team be approved;

d)    an allocation of the Joint Museum Reserve, of no greater than 39% of the total reserve value, and reflective of a theoretical pro rata apportionment of the reserve between the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 345.

An urgent item of business was raised in relation to the proposed extension of the period of the secondment of the Interim Museums General Manager to the end of the calendar year 2018 to enable her to oversee the running of the joint service in the initial period following the switch of the hosting arrangements and the restructure of Hartlebury Museum operations.

RESOLVED that the secondment of the Interim Museums General Manager be extended to the end of the calendar year 2018.