Agenda item

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sought approval for the establishment of a revised structure and remit for senior management posts within Central Support Services for the Education, Culture and Sport Directorate.

The report advised that the Council had agreed savings of £792,000 from the 2010/2011 Education, Culture and Sport budget and that these would be achieved through the restructuring of the Directorate’s Central Support functions.   It was noted that the restructuring proposals contained within the report before Committee for consideration would contribute greatly to the achievement of the agreed savings.  

There were currently 23 Senior Managers in Education, Culture and Sport and it was proposed that these posts be dis-established and 16 new Senior Manager posts created, leading to a minimum full year saving of £391,196.   It was noted that there would be limited one-off costs in relation to potential severance costs resulting from any redundancies made as a result of the new structure, but that these could not be clarified at present until the specific circumstances of the individual concerns were known.  

It was proposed that the 16 new Senior Manager posts would be filled in line with the Council’s job matching policy, with the completion of this process by the end of June, 2010.  

The report noted the restructuring of senior management posts within Central Support services would allow the Education, Culture and Sport Directorate to achieve Best Value, with the achievement of agreed revenue budget savings, and would also ensure that there was clarity in relation to officer accountability and responsibility.  

Further to the restructure outlined above, the report sought delegated authority for the Director of Education, Culture and Sport to implement additional restructuring across the Directorate in line with the agreed 2010/2011 budget savings.

Proposed structure charts and job descriptions and person specifications outlining the proposed duties for each new post were appended to the report.  

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       agree to the proposals to establish 9 new Manager and 7 new Quality Improvement Officer posts as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report;

(b)       note the arrangements to fill the new posts through the Council’s job matching process; 

(c)        agree to the disestablishment of all the existing Service Manager, Strategist, Education Officer, Operational Support Manager and Manager – Communications and Administration posts within the Education, Culture and Sport Directorate;

(d)       agree to provide delegated authority to the Director of Education, Culture and Sport to implement further restructuring across the Directorate, and in accordance with Council policies and procedures for Trade Union consultation and managing organisational restructuring, thereby enabling delivery of the agreed 2010/2011 budget savings;  and

(e)       otherwise note the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to amend recommendation (iv) to “agrees to provide delegated authority to the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, in conjunction with the Convener of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, to implement further restructuring across the Directorate, and in accordance with Council policies and procedures for Trade Union consultation and managing organisational restructuring, thereby enabling delivery of the agreed 2010/2011 budget savings.”, and to approve this recommendation;

(ii)        to approve the remaining recommendations contained in the report.