Agenda item

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 the additional one-off and ongoing costs set out in the business case, to be incurred as a result of this decision;

c)    Both authorities be recommended to:

                 i)    agree that change, and

                ii)    authorise in principle the dissolving of the service's LGPS ghost body, insofar as it is an executive function, and recommends that subject to further investigation detailing the costs and risk, the final decision is delegated to the County Council's Assistant Director for Families, Communities and Partnerships at the County Council, and the City Council's Deputy Director for Commissioning and Transformation in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Joint Museums Committee; and

d)    The project workstream leads from both authorities be requested to proceed with the implementation plan and report back to the Joint Museums Committee.