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Devon Unitary Item 3 Executive Summary 1 The Boundary Committee published its proposal for the future of local government in

Devon on 7 July 2008. The publication of the proposal was followed by the issue of

financial workbooks for each of the proposals to specified lead S151 financial officers.

The lead financial officer for the single unitary proposal is the Director of Finance, IT and

Trading of Devon County Council. The deadline for return of the workbooks to the

Boundary Committee is 12 September 2008.

2 The overriding purpose of the affordability study is to demonstrate that accumulated

savings in excess of total initial costs can be achieved between lead up year 1 (2008/09)

and year 4 (2013/13) of a unitary pattern of local government.

3 The benefits that will come from unitary local government cannot be measured simply in

financial terms. The criteria that the Secretary of State has specified to measure

proposals for unitary local government require that strategic leadership is effective,

accountable and can improve the way in which people are involved in decisions affecting

the places in which they live and the services they receive.

4 The timescale for this exercise is short. It is not possible, given this constraint, to

determine the detailed structures and precise costs and savings that would underpin a

working budget. The estimates and projections used have been designed to set a

reasonable base against which to measure the effect of transitional costs. The modelled

position results from applying robust assumptions to the budgeted expenditure for all the

contributing authorities where significant change is anticipated as a result of the

proposal.

5 A number of assumptions have been made. The key assumptions are that:

• The existing County Council will be a continuing authority for employment purposes

• Changes to the formula grant regime, the impact of changes to the national

distribution of formula grant from this proposal and other current reorganisations have

not been taken into account

• Demographic changes, inflationary pressures and policy changes reflected in budgets

since 2007/08 have not been recognised


• Only general fund services have been considered (it is acknowledged that there are

implications for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as a result of the proposals but

that these will generally be accommodated from ring fenced HRA balances)

• Staff related costs and savings are estimated and may not reflect the actual cost of

adding or deleting posts

• Other costs and savings relating to the change in staffing levels have been derived

from average unit costs.

6 These assumptions have been applied to areas of review where significant change is

anticipated as a result of the proposal. Reviews have been completed for the following

service elements:

• Democratic arrangements

• Management structure

• Environmental and trading standards

• Waste management

• Planning services

• Revenues and benefits

• Housing services (GF)

• ICT services, and

• Procurement services.

7 The affordability study demonstrates that by year five of operation annual savings will be

£29m and ongoing costs £10m. Of this £10m nearly £8m relates to new investment for

city and community boards to strengthen working at a local level by the new Unitary

Council. Initial one off transition costs are high. Redundancy costs of £20m and pay

harmonisation of £11m have been included. Redundancy costs predominantly fall in the

first year of operation.

8 Costs in the lead up years and first year of operation exceed savings. In order to manage

this imbalance reserves of £9m have been applied. The application of £6m from general

reserves allows council tax to be equalised at a level below the average council tax in

the first year and to the lowest level of council tax from year two when measured at

2007/08 levels. Thereafter, the level of ongoing savings is sufficient to allow for further

Council Tax reductions and/or further investment in services.

9 The financial health of the authority will be maintained throughout the period. Balances

although used to equalise council tax in the first year of unitary operation will be


maintained at £22m, significantly in excess of and proportionately greater than those

held by the existing County Council.

The approach to this study and the risks attached to the process that has been followed

has been independently evaluated by consultants. The conclusions drawn are that:

The submissions to the Boundary Committee

a) Given the nature of the exercise, in our opinion, the level of accuracy for the financial workbooks achieved should be sufficient for the Boundary Committee’s purpose.

The overall robustness of the financial workbooks

b) We have formed the view that a reasonable approach has been adopted and that the assessment of costs and cost reductions in the future are not inappropriate.

c) The workbook for the rural county is, in our opinion, sufficiently robust for its purpose,

even though its sensitivity for error is greater than the whole County approach, which we judge to be more robust.

Management of risks

d) We consider that the risk registers attached to the submissions to the Boundary Committee identify significant risks, record the actions that will be taken to mitigate the risk and identifies who is responsible for their control.

Implementation planning and contingency planning

e) DCC has identified the key issues that will be relevant to the implementation of each option. However, planning has not yet progressed to the next level, which will need to demonstrate that the plans can be achieved to the timetable without any adverse impact upon affordability.

Savings and costs

f) Our conclusion is that, whilst not all risks of misjudgement can be eliminated, DCC has made reasonable efforts to identify and assess the costs and savings attributable to the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals, with any bias being to overstate cost estimates and understate savings.

Budget disaggregation

g) There is a risk that the disaggregation may be sensitive to some revisions, however. Based upon our assessment, the exercise has been carried out with regard to the agreed principles determined by the Devon Section 151 officers group and, in overall terms, the allocated budget for the two unitary option should be within acceptable parameters of accuracy.

Formula grant allocations

h) The principal risk is that, where judgement has been exercised, that a material error in the split of the grant between the two unitaries would arise. It is our view that the accuracy of the split is reasonable, given the nature of the exercise. LGF carried out the formula grant disaggregation on behalf of DCC and Exeter City Council.


10 A move to unitary local government will save money. It will remove duplication, allow

easier integration of related services and deliver savings in management, administration

and democratic costs. The business case demonstrates that although there are

significant transitional costs, these are more than offset by savings. The net costs can be

met locally and sustain a decrease in council tax to the lowest council tax level as

measured by 2007/08 levels.


Business Case Introduction 1 Purpose 1.1 This business case for a single unitary authority in Devon based on existing boundaries

is in response to the proposal of the Boundary Committee made in July 2008. It should

be read in conjunction with the completed financial workbook issued by the Boundary

Committee which details the financial impact of restructuring.

1.2 A move to unitary local government will save money. It will remove duplication, allow

easier integration of related services and deliver savings in management,

administration and democratic costs. There will be transition costs to meet though. The

business case demonstrates that although there are significant transitional costs, these

are more than offset by savings. The net costs can be met locally without increasing

Council tax for the specific purpose of meeting transition costs

1.3 The benefits that will come from unitary local government cannot be measured simply

in financial terms. The criteria that the Secretary of State has specified to measure

proposals for unitary local government require that strategic leadership is effective,

accountable and can improve the way in which people are involved in decisions

affecting the places in which they live and the services they receive.

1.4 The purpose of this business case is to demonstrate that all of the Secretary of State’s

criteria are satisfied and that the cost of achieving them is more than offset by savings

that will continue to benefit the Council tax payers of Devon into the future.

2 Consultation with stakeholders

2.1 During the period since the Boundary Committee published its draft proposal the

County Council has worked with local partners to begin the further development of the

concepts underpinning that proposal. Specifically, an early meeting was convened with

District Councils, on 18 July, to discuss initial views about future service design,

organisation structure and planning for transition.

2.2 The issue of the role of Town and Parish Councils in any new structure and further

development of the Community Board concept has been taken forward jointly with the

Devon Association of Parish Councils, who nominated 2 Parish and 2 Town Council

representatives to work with us on the detailed development of these aspects of the


proposal. This work has also involved other stakeholders including Devon and Cornwall

Police.

2.3 Discussions have also taken place with a range of stakeholders in Exeter to help

develop a response to the questions about the role and place of the City in a new

Unitary Devon structure which would include Exeter and the associated community

governance arrangements.

3 Consideration of the Secretary of State’s Criteria 3.1 Must be supported by a broad cross section of partners and stakeholders

3.1.1 Since the structural review process began, Devon County Council has worked hard to

engage with its local communities, residents and stakeholders. The County Council

has held over seventy consultation meetings with Devon residents, District, Town and

Parish Councils, MPs, Devon business leaders and public sector partners.

3.1.2 Many partners believe that the move to a single unitary form of local government in

Devon will increase clarity and simplicity and remove duplication. Key public sector

partners have indicated their desire to have a single authority to capitalise on the

advances that have already been made in integrated working.

3.1.3 An initial single unitary concept was submitted by the County Council under the joint

signature of the Leader and shadow Leader who, between them represent 56 of the

County Council’s 62 elected members. There is strong support at all levels of the

County Council for the single unitary concept.

3.1.4 Through a series of consultation events we have engaged local stakeholders,

including Town and Parish Councils, in the development of the details around some

of the proposals within the concept. A good cross section of Town and Parish

Councils has immediately been enthusiastic. When there has been an opportunity to

discuss in depth and address any misunderstanding, particularly around local

governance arrangements and Community Boards, those Parish and Town Councils

who were initially sceptical have become more receptive. There appear to be very

few Town and Parish Councils that strongly oppose the concept and many believe

that if unitary government is required in Devon a single unitary excluding Plymouth

and Torbay is the solution.


3.1.5 Devon County Council is the only proponent to have consulted over the whole area

subject to review and, the single unitary concept has to date, received more support

across Devon than the Committee’s alternative idea of a two unitary authority pattern.

3.2 Must provide strong, effective and accountable strategic leadership

3.2.1 The basis of the single unitary concept for Devon is the creation of a robust

community and neighbourhood platform which will enhance leadership at the local

level and provide a direct route to strategic leadership in a revised structure.

• A single unitary authority Council made up of about 100 elected members will join

local visibility with clear strategic leadership. Within the new authority a Leader

elected by the Council will be supported by an Executive made up of 10 members.

There will be extensive delegation to individual portfolio holders leaving the Executive

free to concentrate on strategic decision making. Through discussion with Lead

members of a new single unitary authority the following portfolios could be developed

to marry the need for democratic accountability for service delivery with policy,

strategy and resources, and strategic challenge:

• Policy, strategy and performance

• Resources

• Children, young people and families

• Adult services and health

• Housing

• Environment, sustainability and public realm

• Highways and Transport

• Economy, regeneration and spatial planning

• Communities, Culture and Customer Services

• Community Safety and Resilience

3.2.2 A single Council Leader for Devon will have the strength and the mandate to speak

for Devon at a regional, national and international level. The single Leader and

Executive for Devon will be subject to robust community, public, partner and

stakeholder scrutiny and will also be able to lead across partner bodies and hold

others to account.

3.2.3 Unitary Councillors at the local level, operating in single member wards, will provide

clear and accountable local leadership. Local members will be supported in their role


as leaders of place and will need to develop strong links with relevant Town and

Parish Councils together with other local neighbourhood and community bodies. This

will be a demanding but highly visible and rewarding role which will require members

to work across the representative and participatory structures at the local level.

3.2.4 Partnership planning, development and delivery in the mainstream of the single

authority will enhance its strategic capability. There will be strong and visible

Executive leadership in both the single unitary authority and in work with external

partners, stakeholders and communities opening up the new Council to external

influences.

3.2.5 The Leader will play a key role on the Devon Strategic Partnership with Executive

members having similar roles on relevant partnerships and Strategic Boards.

3.2.6 Creation of a single unitary authority will strengthen strategic leadership, protect the

capacity to assist others and enable Devon, Plymouth and Torbay to punch their

weight at a regional, national and international level. The creation of a single unitary

authority for Devon will provide focused leadership, which is clear and visible across

the County.

3.3 Must deliver genuine opportunities for neighbourhood flexibility and empowerment

3.3.1 This criterion was the start point for the County Council’s initial concept document

and is the foundation stone on which a new locally focused, strategically led authority

will be based. A move to a single unitary authority will serve to simplify opportunities

for community and neighbourhood engagement and empowerment.

3.3.2 A reduction in the number of Councillors representing the same local area will be a

result of a move to new unitary structures. A single unitary authority will have the

resource and capacity available to support local Councillors enabling them to perform

an enhanced community leadership and advocacy role.

3.3.3 Parish and Town Councils will also benefit from the capacity of a single unitary

authority. The capacity will support and develop the Town and Parish sector to work

as effectively as possible as the first tier of democratic representation.

3.3.4 The creation of Community Boards will, together with a Board for Exeter, offer

powerful, inclusive locality governance operating within an existing core but with the

flexibility necessary to reflect local difference. Each Community Board will be


accountable for establishing arrangements to ensure effective community

engagement and representation across the whole of that area.

3.3.5 The underlying concept behind an Exeter City Board is consistent with the model for

the Community Boards but, will have a wider set of accountabilities, stewardship of a

greater set of resources and different membership to reflect Exeter’s economic, social

and cultural influence.

3.3.6 Exeter has an impact on, and relies upon, a wide area of the County. This manifests

itself most obviously in the interaction between the economy, skills, housing,

transport, planning and communications. This wider impact will be recognised and

supported through the work of the Spatial and Economic Board.

3.3.7 Viewed from a resident’s perspective there are a number of well established

neighbourhoods within the City. A community governance review together with

support for the unitary Councillors for the City in strengthening links with existing

neighbourhood bodies and establishing that infrastructure where it does not already

exist would enable effective community engagement and empowerment..

3.4 Must deliver value for money and equity in public services 3.4.1 A move to unitary local government will save money. It will remove duplication, allow

the integration of related services and deliver savings in management, administration

and democratic costs.

3.4.2 A Devon unitary authority will allow for efficiencies of scale, rationalisation of systems

and assets, the capacity necessary to maximise savings on commissioning and

procurement and, provide a platform for easier integration with major partners. It will

protect the capacity of strategic and specialised services. . A single unitary authority

will result in less competition for skilled staff of high calibre and protect the capacity

necessary to ensure the maintenance of specialist services.

3.4.3 The potential for making savings and minimising transition costs is greater the fewer

new authorities that are created. A single unitary authority for Devon will complement

the current boundaries of the Devon Primary Care Trust and the Police Basic

Command Unit which covers Devon and Torbay. Our experience is that this co-

terminosity has accelerated our ability to take forward joint projects and integrate

services.


3.4.4 A single unitary authority will not require the dismantling of services and will

strengthen existing integrated arrangements, in particular with the PCT.

3.4.5 The creation of a single unitary authority for Devon will reduce the fixed and variable

costs of transition, will maximise continuity and reduce as far as possible risks to

delivery of key service areas of national importance and will keep timing and overall

costs within the control of one authority.

3.4.6 The transition to a single unitary authority will be easier the two-unitary pattern which

would require the simultaneous disaggregation and amalgamation of services.

3.5 Be affordable – the change itself both represents value for money and can be

met from Councils existing resource envelope (transition costs must be more than offset over a 5 year period)

Detailed affordability considerations 4 Approach 4.1 The Boundary Committee published its proposal for the future of local government in

Devon on 7 July 2008. The publication of the proposal was followed by the issue of

financial workbooks for each of the proposals to specified lead S151 financial officers.

The lead financial officer for the single unitary proposal is the Director of Finance, IT

and Trading of Devon County Council. The deadline for return of the workbooks to the

Boundary Committee is 12 September 2008.

4.2 The overriding purpose of the affordability study is to demonstrate that accumulated

savings in excess of total initial costs can be achieved within four years of the start of a

unitary pattern of local government.

4.3 The timescale for this exercise is short. It is not possible, given this constraint, to

determine the detailed structures and precise costs and savings that will underpin a

working budget. The estimates and projections used have been designed to set a

reasonable base against which to measure the effect of transitional costs. The

modelled position results from applying robust assumptions to the budgeted

expenditure for all the contributing authorities where significant change is anticipated

as a result of the proposal.

5 Assumptions 5.1 A number of assumptions have been made. The key assumptions are that:


• For employment purposes the existing County Council will be a continuing authority

• Changes to the formula grant regime, the impact of changes to the national

distribution of formula grant from this proposal and other current reorganisations have

not been taken into account

• Demographic changes, inflationary pressures and policy changes reflected in budgets

since 2007/08 have not been recognised

• Only general fund services have been considered (it is acknowledged that there are

implications for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as a result of the proposals but

that these will generally be accommodated from ring fenced HRA balances)

• Staff related costs and savings are estimated and may not reflect the actual cost of

adding or deleting posts

• Other costs and savings relating to the change in staffing levels have been derived

from average unit costs

5.2 A more detailed analysis of assumptions and calculations that are significant to the

model are listed in Item 2 of this pack.

5.3 These assumptions have been applied to areas of review where significant change is

anticipated as a result of the proposal. Reviews have been completed for the following

service elements:

• Democratic arrangements

• Management structure

• Environmental and trading standards

• Waste management

• Planning services

• Revenues and benefits

• Housing services (GF)

• ICT services, and

• Procurement services

5.4 The transitional costs, ongoing costs and savings resulting from this analysis are

reflected in the workbook. Implications for reserve balances and council tax levels are

derived from the aggregated position and are discussed later in this analysis.

5.5 The approach outlined will provide a basis for determining the balance between

transitional costs and savings. There are inherent limitations. The analysis is static and

does not attempt to model all of the variables that will need to be brought together to

reflect the dynamics of changes in policy, the grant regime, cost pressures or changes


in tax bases in years beyond 2007/08. Interpretation of future Council tax levels will be

needed. Levels of Council tax for the proposed unitary Council in 2010/11 will not be

easily reconciled to those in the workbook.

6 Aggregation

The base data provided in the workbooks has been checked for accuracy. No changes

have been made to the data. The aggregated figures have been used without

amendment.

7 Detailed considerations

The areas where significant change is anticipated as a result of the proposal have been

identified earlier. A consideration of the costs and benefits for each of these is

summarised below. Detailed information relating to costs and savings is included in Item

2 of this pack.

8 Democratic arrangements 8.1 Member support 8.2 The creation of the Unitary Council will have a significant impact on the costs and

structure of democratic arrangements. The main implications of unitary government will

be the establishment of around 100 unitary Councillors and the provision of City and

Community Boards to provide leadership and responsiveness at a local level. Savings

from District Council members’ allowances will be made.

8.3 Elections to the Unitary Council will not take place until May 2010. In the period prior to

this an Implementation Executive for the unitary Council will exist.

9 Other democratic core costs

A total of £18.3m is spent on corporate and democratic core costs. Of this £14.2m is

generated by District Councils. Corporate and democratic core costs relate to democratic

representation and corporate management. Both are activities which provide for public

accountability and are a part of the infrastructure for providing services. These costs will

no longer be generated by District Councils when unitary government begins. Immediate

and ongoing savings will be made. Some interaction with members will continue

concerning local functions formerly carried out by District Councils. Not all the costs will

be lost and an allowance for continued professional support for local issues has been

retained. The costs are predominantly but not exclusively staffing costs and it is

recognised that compensation payments will be required for strategic officers who

support this activity. These costs are considered further below.


10 City and Community Boards

10.1 A commitment to strengthen community engagement is made in the concept ‘Strong

Leadership and Local Focus’. In practice City and Community Boards will be supported

by a team led by a senior officer who will ensure the logistics of the Board are

managed and provide a link to the service delivery structures of the unitary Council. It

is estimated that these arrangements will cost £1.8m pa and require 38 officers. The

officers needed to make these arrangements work will be deployed from the combined

workforce. This redeployment will reduce the potential level of severance payments.

10.2 In addition to officer support the Boards will receive an annual development budget.

For all Boards this will be approximately £6m each year.

11 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs

0

Ongoing costs (per annum) City and Community Boards

7.8

Ongoing savings (per annum) Members Allowances

1.8

12 Structure of Management Board and Support Costs

The structure of strategic board has been considered by the Corporate Management

Board and financial provision to reflect the scale of operations made. This management

structure will replace the existing County and District strategic management Boards

across all authorities and result in a net reduction of about 40 officers. Commensurate

severance costs to the reduction in the number of senior officers will be incurred.

13 Support services 13.1 The methodology for the theme reviews which have identified savings included in the

affordability study focuses predominantly on management structure. At this level of

review the majority of client facing jobs currently undertaken for district services have

been unaffected and the affordability study has assumed that they will continue.


13.2 Back office support functions that are not client facing will be affected by the

introduction of corporate procedures and systems. The staffing required to operate

these systems will reduce and savings will be made.

13.3 The approach taken to derive the savings included in the business case has been to

review staff for all existing Councils including the County Council. Modelled savings are

based on the nature of support provided not on location. Some allowance has been

made for skills to be retained where there are acknowledged pressures and where

shortages have been experienced in other reconfigured County areas. Accountants,

Human Resource and legal staff have been subject to lower reductions than other

support staff given that the City and Community Boards and other client focussed

initiatives will require enhanced support services if they are to deliver the improvements

in governance and services envisaged by the concept document.

13.4 In modelling the savings it has been assumed that 2.5% of posts will be lost. It is

unrealistic to assume that the posts can all be shed at the 1 April 2010 and only a

proportion of savings has been assumed over the first three years as follows; 75%

2010/11, 85% 2011/12 and 100% 2012/13. It is recognised that natural wastage and

normal retirement will increase the potential savings over and above these figures but

no assumption about the financial impact of this has been taken into account.

14 Summary of costs and benefits

Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (total) Redundancy Early Retirement & Pensions Retraining

10.38.80.2

Ongoing costs (per annum)

0.1 Ongoing savings (per annum) Support Staff Senior Staff

6.73.6

15 Regulatory Services 15.1 The arrangements designed by unitary authorities for these services vary significantly.

It is proposed that trading standards, environmental health, licensing and related

services are combined into a single service.

15.2 A single management structure will be created. Delivery will maintain its local focus but

will be directed through three area managers. The primary role of these managers will


be to take responsibility for service delivery within their geographic area and integration

of teams to focus on key service priorities rather than functional outputs. They will also

provide a direct link to central strategic operations and planning.

15.3 Initially, specialism will be maintained for existing disciplines and specialists will act as

a focal point for coordination of that area of work leaving management and

performance monitoring to the area managers. Eventually it is envisaged that other

flexible patterns of working could be developed to deliver objectives in key priority

areas. Significant savings arise from this approach and these are set out in the

following table.

16 Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)


Ongoing savings (per annum)

1.9

17 Waste management 17.1 Under a single Unitary Devon the existing management of the disposal function, the

recycling centre network and aftercare of redundant sites will remain intact as the

current operation in Devon County Council covers the geographic area of Unitary

Devon. A single Unitary Devon will enable the aggregation of all the existing waste

collection management teams into a single unit. The initial thinking is that this will be

organised into an operations and strategy team with four area based operational teams

dispersed around the County and related to the disposal facilities these area teams will

utilise. This arrangement will enable some efficiencies in the management structure for

waste collection services.

17.2 The management savings are set out in the table below.

18 Waste collection and disposal

Amalgamation of waste collection and disposal management teams for a single Unitary

Devon, using a unified HQ Management team with four area based operational teams,

will produce savings of £240,000 from staffing efficiencies. This represents a saving of

approximately 10% of existing management costs.



Ongoing costs

Ongoing savings (per annum) 0.2

20 Planning services 20.1 Within a Unitary Devon, it is envisaged that there will continue to be an Executive

Director and Director supported by a Head of Policy and Head of Development

Management, the latter supported by up to four senior managers dealing with

development control delivery. The Head of Policy may also require three senior

managers leading different aspects of planning policy development.

20.2 Within Unitary Devon, there will be a single Local Development Framework (LDF) core

strategy and a series of Area Action Plans and other policy documents. This will

require an enhanced LDF team of fifteen. Including administration managers, twenty

nine staff will be employed excluding front line development control, building control

and specialist staff.

Further Analysis

In addition to the outline above, there are a number of ancillary services in place to support

the planning function, not least conservation officers, enforcement officers, landscape officers

etc who currently advise Districts on a individual or shared basis. In a Unitary Devon

structure, these support services could potentially be delivered more effectively and efficiently

with consequent savings.

Summary of costs and benefits Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)



21 Revenues and benefits 21.1 Housing benefit administration and revenue collection services together are the single

most significant group of services provided by District Councils. These services reach

all Council taxpayers and businesses in the Council’s area as well as many of the most

disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the community. The ability to generate


immediate savings from rationalising these services has been measured against the

risk of failing to provide them effectively and the harm that this will cause.

21.2 Although housing benefit payments are approaching £200m each year, these represent

transfer payments and cannot form part of the assessment for ongoing savings. The

only element of housing benefit related expenditure that has been reviewed is

administrative support. This element of cost is supported by housing benefit

administration grant. It is anticipated that any saving on administration costs will be

reduced by a reduction in grant.

21.3 A phased approach to managing the transition to common platforms and software is

proposed. This approach will release duplicated management costs as it progresses.

This phased approach is reflected in the savings that are achieved. It is estimated that

by 2013/14 annual savings, net of lost grant, will be £0.72m each year and 25 posts will

be saved. Further efficiencies may be forthcoming over time, however, this will remain

uncertain until platforms and software transition is complete.




23 Housing 23.1 Housing services are provided by each of the District Councils. Three of the Councils

retain ownership of their housing stock and maintain housing revenue accounts, the

remainder have undertaken Large Scale Voluntary Transfers to Registered Social

Landlords. There is some variation in the services offered at a local level.

23.2 Organisationally the Councils undertake their housing responsibilities very differently.

Some split housing functions over more than one directorate; some link housing

services with planning, some with environmental health and some with wider social and

community functions. One authority delivers some housing services within its revenues

and benefits directorate.

23.3 A single housing division is proposed for the unitary authority. A management structure

has been designed which will rationalise existing structures and reduce cost. It is

assumed at this stage that staff at lower levels will remain in place for the time being.

Further structural design will take place should the Secretary of State give approval to


unitary local government. Further savings may be identified when this work is

completed.




25 Streetscene and car parking 25.1 A single management structure for Streetscene management will be created. Savings

will arise from rationalising management structures and from streamlining contract

administration. Further efficiencies will be derived from combining existing County and

District functions for lengthsmen. For example litter picking activities currently

undertaken by district staff can be combined with other activities to generate savings.

Combining contracts for grounds maintenance, weed control and tree management will

produce further efficiencies.

25.2 Car parking management can be streamlined around a three area structure with

savings resulting from the replacement of individual district management structures.

Some costs will be incurred in relation to ancillary costs but these are less than £0.2m.

There will be a reduction in back office costs and the service encountered will be the

same for everyone, driving up customer satisfaction.


0.2



27 ICT services 27.1 A strategic review of ICT infrastructure has taken place. The objective of the review is

to recognise the economies of scale that can be achieved by moving to common

systems and standards. It is recognised that the ability to rationalise major systems and

functions for ICT purposes may not coincide with the ability to manage change

elsewhere in the organisation. Where absorption of district processing can be arranged

for the 1 April 2010, this will be programmed. It is envisaged, for example, that the

payrolls of all demising bodies will be incorporated into one payroll from that date.


27.2 This is not the case with all client facing systems. Revenue and benefit systems are

considered at greater length above. It is acknowledged that the rationalisation of these

systems will need to be progressive and cannot be accomplished without unacceptable

risk immediately the unitary authority is formed. The costs and savings included in the

summarised figures reflect this.

27.3 The review has concluded that there is sufficient capacity to maintain the main

accounting system for several years after reorganisation. It is recommended that during

the transition period only those enhancements needed to manage an enlarged chart of

account and an increased level of transactions are made.

27.4 To achieve any savings there is an initial investment to be made. Among the most

significant initial investments is that needed to ensure that all personal computers

operate to the same standards. To achieve this it is intended to enter an enterprise

agreement with the software manufacturer as early as March 2009. The agreement

needs to be in place at the start of the second lead up year to allow work to be

undertaken and systems standardised before 1 April 2010 so that communication

difficulties are avoided.

27.5 The purchase of this software licence can be capitalised and the intangible asset

written down over the five years of its life. The capital cost can be minimised in the lead

up years by negotiating an end loaded agreement with the manufacturer. There is

sufficient flexibility in the capital programme to fund this purchase from usable capital

receipts. This method of financing incurs no ongoing revenue financing.

27.6 It is anticipated that some savings will be achieved in the first year of unitary status.

Transition costs are front loaded and occur typically in the second lead up year and the

first year of operation. This is reflected in the workbook financial analysis. Significant

savings will accrue thereafter reaching £5.6m pa in 2013/14 and beyond.

28 Summary of costs and benefits

Costs £m Benefits £mTransitional costs (Total)

3.4


0.7 Ongoing savings (per annum) 6.2

Capital costs (Total)

3.3


29 Procurement 29.1 The procurement team have reviewed all of the standard procurement categories and

identified minimum and maximum anticipated savings for each. The savings included

within the affordability workbook are toward the minimum anticipated and include high

volume, high value supplies such as agency staff, waste collection, printing and

copying. Estimated savings of £2.5m per annum have been included.

29.2 Significant efficiency savings are anticipated from year 1 onwards by rolling out the use

of, for example, Devon eBiz (an electronic purchase to pay system), and Devon

Tenders. These savings have not been included within the workbook.




31 Other costs and savings 31.1 Closedown 31.1.1 Responsibility for closure of District Council 2009/10 accounts will rest with the S151

officer of the successor unitary authority. It is envisaged that existing District Council

staff including the head of finance for each District will remain in place for the six

month period ending 30 September 2010 in order to prepare the statement of account

and whole of government accounts return and to respond to the requirements of the

external auditor. To achieve this the main accounting system of each District will need

to remain open for at least this period.

31.1.2 Coinciding with the beginning of the 2010/11 financial year it is proposed that

International Financial Reporting Standards will apply to local authority accounts for

the first time. The time available to the accountancy staff of each District should be

sufficient to deal with both the final accounts audit process and to convert financial

reports to the revised format in the period running up to 30 September 2010. The

converted reports for each District can then be consolidated for the new unitary

authority opening balance sheet in a cost effective manner.

31.1.3 Closedown is not limited to financial reporting. The payroll system for each District

Council will need to produce year end returns and individual P60 declarations for staff

employed up to 31 March 2010. It is proposed that the system will be maintained until


30 May 2010 to allow this to happen. Sales ledgers and purchase ledger processing

will still be required. For the period that staff are retained to close the accounts

invoices received for goods and services prior to 31 March 2010 can be paid and

similarly income can be posted against accruals for the previous year. This will allow

a reduced number of outstanding transactions for the previous financial year to be

taken into the corporate systems of the unitary authority and minimise the opportunity

for invoices to remain unpaid and income uncollected.

31.1.4 The costs of achieving this will be in the region of £0.5m. The cost has been included

in the financial appraisal that accompanies this business case.

32 Redundancy 32.1 The costs of severance and redundancy are significant. There will be opportunity for

both existing County and District staff to apply to fill positions in the management

structure of the unitary authority. The reduction in the number of posts available for

staff at senior positions will mean that some existing staff will be displaced. This study

has identified that management will need to be rationalised and refocused across the

authority. The themes that have been considered in modelling the financial impact

which are considered above have almost without exception reduced senior and middle

management posts.

32.2 Some reductions are inevitable at other levels within the organisation to reduce

duplication and its attendant cost. It has not been the purpose of this study to attempt

to determine every opportunity to do this, however, it is recognised that in any change

of this magnitude a continuing provision to meet the costs of redundancy will be

required. A sum of £2.5m has been included in the overall costs submitted for the

second, third and fourth years of unitary Council operation.

32.3 Not all posts that become redundant will result in redundancy costs. Some post holders

will transfer to posts in the unitary structure. Other posts will fall vacant and result in no

severance costs at all. Where vacancies in the unitary structure occur or there are new

posts to fill, for example in relation to City and Community Board support roles,

redeployment will reduce the need for severance and redundancy and reduce the total

amount to be set aside for this purpose.

32.4 It is not possible to know with certainty the proportion of redundant posts that will

require severance payments. The transition costs calculated are based on the

assumption that 25% of posts will not carry a financial cost due to natural wastage and

redeployment.


32.5 Approximately £19m has been provided to meet severance costs and pension fund

strain payments. This figure is based on an assessment of recent redundancies which

have occurred at the County Council. The uncertainty due to different severance and

early retirement policies has been acknowledged by adding £4.5m to the calculated

figures. Changes to the local government pension fund regulations from 1st April 2010

suggest that this estimate is prudent. The costs include both an element for severance

and pension fund strain payments where the terms and conditions for individuals will

allow for this. It is not possible to form a judgement about either the number of

individuals for which early retirement may be a possibility, or conversely, those that will

have much smaller redundancy costs due to having been employed for a much shorter

period without knowing exactly which individuals will be released and when. The

provision is intended to provide reasonable cover for redundancy and compensation

payments taking into account the range and profile of costs that will be generated.

33 Pay harmonisation

33.1 It is difficult to estimate the revenue impact of integration without detailed information

about the District schemes and the extent of duplication where roles are common to all

Councils. It is not possible in the timescale available for this exercise to complete this

comparison. Without this information it will be prudent to allow a contingency figure of

£1.5m per annum. This is based on the assumption that City and District staff will be

integrated into the County’s pay and grading structure and that there may be

consequent impact of £1.5m per annum on the pay bill.

33.2 Significant costs are attached to administering pay harmonisation reviews and appeals.

£2.4m has been included within the costing to provide for this.

34 Recruitment and selection

34.1 Chief Officer posts and their deputies will all be filled by an open, externally run,

competitive process. This includes the Chief Executive, Executive Directors, Directors

and some Heads of Service.

34.2 This process will result in additional one off costs that will fall, if the senior management

is to be in place by 1 April 2010, mostly prior to the first full year of operation. The

financial appraisal recognises the timing of this cost. An amount of £1.3m has been

included.


35 Relocation costs

35.1 The customer focussed approach adopted in considering the way in which the unitary

authority operates requires that for many client facing services, particularly those

provided by District Councils, there will still need to be provision at a local level. It is

envisaged that these services will continue to have customer service access points

where they are now. For the overwhelming number of officers relocation is not a

consideration.

35.2 It is noted that some officers may be appointed to posts from other parts of the country

or which are located in a different part of the County from that in which they are

currently working. Limited relocation costs have always been found from within existing

budgetary provision and in these limited cases this practice will continue. The policies

of the County Council encourage home working where this is possible and minimise

travel costs by using high speed IT links which facilitate remote working and are

designed to minimise avoidable travel. The limited number of cases where existing

District or County employees may need to relocate can be managed by these modern

working practices.

35.3 Significant relocation is not envisaged. Where this may be necessary for some

individuals existing budget provision and the application of modern working practices

will minimise the call on resources and cost. Additional costs are deemed to be minimal

and only a small financial provision has been made.

36 Accommodation

36.1 The combined estate of the County Council and District Councils is considerable. The

management of the combined estate will provide opportunities for rationalisation. It is

difficult to predict the exact shape of the estate without detailed appraisal of both the

pattern of services delivery adopted by the unitary authority and the exact location of

staff which will provide those services.

36.2 Nonetheless a reduction in the number of staff, largely due to reducing duplication as

discussed earlier, will release office space. For the purposes of the business case the

saving from the released space has been calculated by estimating the cost of space

occupied by an employee and multiplying that by the reduction in the number of staff.

The aggregate saving has been calculated at £0.5m. Given the cost of running the

estate as a whole this is a marginal saving.


36.3 The impact of this level of saving on the location of offices and whether some will be

released or surplus space sub-let is unclear and will depend on the location of

accommodation required and its proximity to other available facilities. It is not difficult to

envisage a situation where smaller and expensive accommodation is either sold if it is

owned or does not have its lease renewed if it is rented releasing greater savings than

those calculated. Where surplus accommodation is available in larger buildings sub-

letting to related organisations will provide an income stream and enhance existing

partnership working.

37 Contracts 37.1 Contracts that will require immediate review and affect the amalgamation and

rationalisation of support services are few. Two District Councils have contracts with

external providers for internal audit services. The combined value of these contracts is

less then £100,000. It is envisaged that these contracts will be terminated. The

combined internal audit service will generate internal efficiencies that will allow any

residual audit work to be adequately staffed. Contract termination costs are anticipated

to be very small.

37.2 One District Council has let a contract for housing benefit services. This contract is due

to expire on 31 March 2011. It is understood that the District Council concerned is

evaluating whether the service should be brought in house. The phased rationalisation

of housing benefit and revenue services onto common software will allow for this

contract to run down without need of early termination. There will be no financial

impact.

37.3 Contract for other services will be allowed to run down and no financial penalty will be

incurred. Rationalisation of services will occur when they expire if this is appropriate.

Given the complexity of determining how services, such as leisure, will be organised

should the unitary proposal proceed, no attempt to model savings has been made.

38 Transition Team 38.1 In order to achieve transition arrangements a focussed transition strategy is required.

Effective project management will only be achieved if the programme director and

programme managers can operate at the highest levels within the authority and to

exacting standards and timescales. A balance of project management and process re-

engineering with a detailed knowledge of service requirements needs to be achieved.


38.2 The proposed transition team will number 45 and cost £2.8m in a full year if all costs

were additional to existing budgets. Appointments to the team are unlikely to begin until

after the Secretary of State’s announcement in the first quarter of 2009 which means

that a realistic start date for the team is April 2009. For the financial consequences to

be determined it has been assumed that not all of the team will be appointed at the

same time, although it is anticipated that senior appointments will be made promptly. It

has been decided that for existing staff appointments, their substantive posts in the

unitary structure will not be backfilled during their secondment and therefore the costs

of the team to the authority will be approximately 50% less than the headline budget.

The cost of the team to the authority will be £0.9m in the year immediately preceding the 1

April 2010 and £1.4m in the first year of unitary local government.

38.3 An outline Transition Plan has been prepared and is shown as Item11 within this pack.

39 Capital Programme 39.1 The transition cost on the capital programme is relatively minor. The County Council’s

capital programme is currently running at approximately £190m annually. The

proposed capital investment as a result of transition is in the region of £3m. The

expenditure begins in the first lead up year 2008/09 and is phased over three years.

The early funding relates primarily to the Enterprise Agreement for computer systems

that will be required to ensure that all computers operate to the same standard. It is

also the largest individual element of expenditure.

39.2 In relative terms the additional expenditure is small. Capital programme management is

dynamic and financing decisions are based on available resources at the time the

expenditure is made. It is envisaged that sufficient flexibility exists to fund this

expenditure without incurring additional borrowing costs. There is no impact on

revenue costs as a result.

39.3 The existing capital programme is currently fully funded. Reference to the Medium

Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) confirms this. A link to the MTFS is contained in the

section on reserves and balances later in this document.

40 Reserves and balances

40.1 Reserves


40.1.1 The existing policy of Devon County Council is to manage demand and cost

uncertainties through robust budget management. Anticipation of future and major

cost pressures relating to significant policy changes or known and material financial

liabilities has been managed by establishing earmarked reserves and drawing them

down as need requires. This policy has been successful to the extent that no call has

been made on balances for a number of years even though the gross revenue

spending of the authority is now in excess of £1bn.

40.1.2 Reserves are earmarked for specific purposes with well defined short term timescales

and some with longer term policy objectives in mind. The planned addition to

earmarked reserves is £8.4m in 2008/09 with further contributions of £14.6m and

£12.6m planned for 2009/10 and 2010/11 respectively. Existing reserves have some

degree of flexibility and are not immediately required to support policy initiatives or

significant financial liabilities. In particular the Service Development Reserve is only

partially committed. A combination of this flexibility and the re-prioritisation of planned

additions will allow the flexibility needed to meet transitional costs in 2009/10 and

2010/11. It is envisaged that the outturn for 2008/09 and the budget for 2009/10 will

be used to establish a transition reserve to finance additional costs.

40.1.3 The level of reserves reported in the County Council’s Statement of Accounts is

£52.2m for 2006/07 and £59.8m for 2007/08. The availability of reserves at this level

provides a significant level of assurance over the authority’s financial health.

40.1.4 It is accepted that the earmarked reserves of the District Councils have been

established for similarly well defined reasons that will play out either before

reorganisation or in the years immediately following it. This principle of financial

management in relation to earmarked reserves is well established and the various

judgements of S151 officers mean that these reserves are not available to meet any

of the cost of transition.

40.1.5 Funding transitional costs in lead up year two and in the first operational year will be

challenging: lead up year 2 (2009/10) because there is no opportunity to secure

additional funding through taxation or reductions in spending that has already been

planned, the first operational year (2010/11) because set up costs will be high in

relation to cost savings that will not be fully established until the second and

subsequent years of operation.

40.1.6 Transition costs in 2009/10 of £4.3m will be entirely supported from uncommitted

earmarked reserves. The remainder of the uncommitted figure will be used to support


£4.7m of costs in 2010/11. The financial case that has been constructed recognises

that the developments relating to transition and organisational change will require

some support from earmarked reserves. It is envisaged that the outturn for 2008/09

and the budget setting for 2009/10 will afford the opportunity to establish an

earmarked reserve specifically to manage the costs of transition in LUY2 and Year 1

of operation. The significant flexibility afforded to an organisation of the County

Council’s size will be an enabler in making these arrangements.

40.2 Balances

40.2.1 The free balances of the existing County Council stand at £14.2m. This represents

3.4% of the existing County Council’s net revenue expenditure. This level of balances

is required to manage risk over and above that mitigated by earmarked reserves. The

nature and extent of these risks are summarised in the MTFS.

40.2.2 Aggregated balances for the combined unitary at the 1 April 2010 are projected to be

£28.9m. This is a substantial increase on those held by the County Council and

represent 5.5% of the estimated unitary authority’s net revenue expenditure. A

judgement has been made which assesses risk and conservatively requires balances

of £20m to be held. This provides some flexibility to support spending in 2010/11

when investment costs are high and savings streams are still to be fully established.

£6.0m has been used in 2010/11 to fund the cost of Transition. Balances are still at a

level that is above that required by the risk being carried when modelled on the

existing a County Council approach to risk assessment.

40.2.3 The MTFS demonstrating the County Council’s level of reserves and balances can be

reviewed by following the link provided.

http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/democracycommunities/decision_making/cma/cma_document.htm?cmadoc=agenda_dcc_20080214.html 41 Council Tax Equalisation

41.1 The costs and savings in the foregoing have been added to the base data, reserve and

balance movements to match spending to reserves in the first year of the unitary

authority. The indicative Council tax level for a Band D property in year 1 is £1,175.

41.2 Council tax levels will reduce to £1,164 in the following years. This will mean that the

council tax for the unitary authority from Year 2 will be equivalent to the lowest council

tax level of district councils prior to reorganisation.

http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/democracycommunities/decision_making/cma/cma_document.htm?cmadoc=agenda_dcc_20080214.html

http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/democracycommunities/decision_making/cma/cma_document.htm?cmadoc=agenda_dcc_20080214.html


41.3 [As the Boundary Committee’s workbook includes parish council tax the council tax

levels quoted include £30.46 for the average parish council tax for the County

calculated from the Finance and General Statistics 2007-08 published by CIPFA].

42 Contingency

42.1 The affordability study has concentrated on management and essentially only looked at

management and support service costs to determine potential savings. The greater

part of any future budget has not been scrutinised for other potential savings. This

gives a significant inbuilt safety valve against which to manage financial risk. When

detailed structures are prepared and costs calculated it is likely that further savings to

those declared will be achievable.

42.2 Our view is that if the Secretary of State approves the proposal the issue becomes one

of budget management. This management is in two principal parts. Budget setting:

recognising budget pressures from growth in costs or shortfall in grant. The

mechanisms that have allowed the authority to set prudent and achievable budgets in

the past will continue to operate. In year budget management: where budget

overspending occurs our monitoring procedures allow this to be identified early in the

year. Management action to contain costs can be taken.

42.3 Because of its prudent approach to budget setting the authority has not been required

to set a formal recovery plan to manage material overspending. If there are persistent

pressures earmarked reserves are applied. At year end directorate over and under

spending are considered and both can be carried forward as circumstances require. As

outlined earlier financial uncertainty will continue to be managed through the use of

earmarked reserves.

43 Pay back

The aggregated gross savings for the period until the 31 March 2014 are £102.3m. Costs

including those in the lead up years, 2008/09 and 2009/10 amount to £74.3m. Savings,

therefore, exceed costs by £28m. Pay back occurs 3 years and 8 months after 1 April 2009.

44 Risk assessment

44.1 The business case has been based on 2007/08 budgets. The result is a snapshot

which is designed to demonstrate affordability if all factors had remained the same. For

this purpose the approach is valid. The business case does not attempt to model


changes to policies, real spending patterns and decisions made by each of the

authorities since the budgets were set. Neither does the study attempt to reflect

changes in the national economy and international economic pressures. Delivery of the

first budget of the unitary authority and the consequent Council tax decision will reflect

the costs and savings discussed here but will not reflect the real world changes and

pressures that will have occurred subsequently. The result will look very different from

the model presented here.

44.2 A conservative approach to estimating savings has been followed. Savings have been

calculated for major service themes only. Predominantly reviews have concentrated on

management costs. Savings from client facing activities have generally not been

considered due to the impact this may have on the customer focused vision the

authority is developing. This approach leads to low risk of misstating savings and limits

their impact in sensitivity analyses.

44.3 Costs have been calculated on the basis of the best information available. The

following highlight estimated costs that may be subject to volatility and comments on

the potential impact on the business case that has been prepared.

45 ICT

The detailed analysis that has been undertaken has revealed significant savings after

initial transition costs have been incurred. The nature of the review suggests that it is

unlikely that business critical systems have been missed. Each system or system

component in the ICT review has been subject to the same rigorous examination

resulting in cost and savings estimates. This suggests a low risk of significant cost or

saving misstatement.

46 Pay harmonisation

46.1 There is considerable risk attached to estimates of future pay equalisation costs

resulting from unifying job evaluation arrangements for the unitary authority. Each of

the districts are implementing their own agreement. The extent to which there will be

appeals or dispute is unknown. Accounting principles, however, require that liabilities

attached to the harmonisation undertaken by each district in terms of back pay and

appeals should either have been already settled or recognised by appropriate accruals

in the accounts of that district prior to the start of unitary government. These costs

should fall on the new unitary authority only to the extent that provision has been made

and should not be a significant liability that remains to be funded.


46.2 Harmonising the district agreements will result in additional cost. Determining what

should be provided is problematic without a significant amount of detailed work which

will take a considerable period to complete. The sums included in the business case

represent the best estimate available but the estimate carries some degree of

uncertainty with it.

47 Redundancy

Assumptions have been made as set out above. There is uncertainty about a number of

factors, the proportion of early retirements, the level of natural wastage and deployment

that will occur that will reduce costs and the estimate of the cost of individual retirements.

48 Risk register

48.1 High level risks are set out in the risk register at Item 9 within this pack. Although risks

with financial impact are of importance to the financial assessment, the business of the

proposed unitary needs to recognise and manage all of these risks if it is to function

effectively.

48.2 The County Council has encountered in one form or another many of these risks and is

managing them successfully in the current two tier system of local government. This

has influenced the view about likelihood and impact shown in the register.

49 Sensitivity analysis

49.1 The impact of underachieving savings and underestimating costs will be the most

difficult situation to manage particularly in the first year of the unitary authority. In

practice some of the costs, particularly around City and Community Boards are

determined by decision and are controllable. The costs of pay equalisation,

redundancy, and to a lesser degree ICT costs are not.

49.2 An independent external evaluation has been undertaken of our procedures behind the

workbooks. The report concludes that even in the worse case scenario reserves and

balances are sufficient to absorb the financial impact of the assessed risks.. 49.3 It should be noted that the costs of redundancy will have less of an impact after the first

year of operation and management action can be taken if cost pressures persist to

reduce their impact on aggregate costs. The combined value of balances and

earmarked reserves will allow the impact to be addressed.


49.4 The coincidence of increased costs and lower levels of savings are unlikely to happen.

The approach to assessing savings as outlined above will suggest that if they were to

vary from the anticipated levels it is likely that they will increase, limiting the risk of

increased costs before recourse to other corrective measures.

50 Briefing S151 Officers 50.1 It is a requirement set down by the Boundary Committee that S151 officers of the

participating District Councils are fully briefed about the impact these proposals will

have. Liaison with them has been on a monthly basis since the original meeting with

Boundary Committee representatives and S151 officers in April.

50.2 As work has progressed toward a conclusion additional meetings have been arranged

to share more detail about assumptions and outcomes. The detailed programme for

these meetings is described in Appendix 1 to this document.

50.3 The Director of Finance, IT and Trading for Devon County Council has arranged

meetings with District Council S151 officers and members to discuss the approach

taken and to answer questions about the business case and workbook. These

arrangements are deemed to meet the requirements of the Boundary Committee for

briefing and consultation.


Appendices to this document:

1. S151 officer briefing


APPENDIX 1 S151 Officers Briefing Content of the meetings and further consultation arrangements The meetings outlined below are for S151 Officers of authorities which have contributed data to the workbooks being completed for the unitary proposal and for the Devon unitary in the 2 unitary pattern. The main focus of the meetings will be to discuss the progress made toward workbook and business case completion of the proposal and alternative option for which John Mills is the lead S151 Officer and to develop consultation arrangements that will allow S151 certification to take place by 11 September. In outline our intention is as follows: Consultation - first stage 22 August 2008 This meeting is intended to be the first stage in our consultation process. There are limitations to what we can give you at this stage because our work will very much be ‘work in progress’, however we intend to:

• discuss the disaggregation process • provide information on the process being followed for completion of the workbooks • provide base data either included in the workbook by the Boundary Committee or

provided subsequently for you to take away and check for accuracy • outline the major assumptions we have adopted • give an update on progress to date and where possible exemplify this with costs and

implications • outline the basis for our planning finance related services including revenue and

benefit services both during the transition (closedown of 2009/10 accounts etc) and for the future management of the services

• engage in discussion about balances and earmarked reserves • send to you after the meeting a copy of the presentation.

It will not be possible to give an accurate indication of the calculated overall costs and savings of either the proposal or option because the work will not be complete. Until the overall costs and savings are known the implications for Council tax levels cannot be determined. There will be opportunity for you to question us about the work to date and to raise any concerns that you feel need to be addressed. At the meeting we will agree with you the arrangements for further consultation. At the moment it is our intention to hold a meeting either on Friday 5 September or early in the following week. Consultation – second stage 5 September 2008 This is the second meeting in our consultation process. At this meeting it is intended to provide the following:


• final drafts of workbooks and business cases for both the unitary proposal and the Devon unitary in the 2 unitary pattern

• identify any significant changes we have made to the approach taken to complete the workbooks

• share the additional information we will provide to the Boundary Committee in support of the workbooks

• outline the approach adopted to the use of balances and reserves and the implication for Council tax

• identify any areas which are still to be finalised and the implications for S151 certification.

• send to you after the meeting a copy of the presentation. There will be opportunity for you to question us about the final draft workbooks to date and to raise any concerns that you feel need to be addressed. Consultation – third stage The final draft workbooks, outline business cases and presentations from the consultation meetings will enable you to draw conclusions about the robustness of the work we have undertaken There should be two or three days for you to consider this material and make a certification in line with Boundary Committee requirements.

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