Agenda item

That this Council:-

(a)      believes that it is this Council’s duty to seek best value for the people of Sheffield, especially given the current financial challenges faced by the Council;

(b)      believes the people of Sheffield want to see services delivered efficiently and effectively both in performance and price;

(c)      notes that a Labour Government introduced Best Value in the Local Government Act of 1999 stating it was to “make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way an authority exercises its functions, having regard to a combination of factors, including economy, efficiency and effectiveness”;

(d)      believes that the principles set out in the Local Government Act of 1999 could have been better fulfilled by this Council in a number of circumstances, for example:-

          (i) the Housing Repairs Service, where there have been dramatic increases in the waiting list for repairs over the last few years, increasing to over 5,000 currently, with an average waiting time of over 21 days;

          (ii) the average amount of time houses are left empty for, after residents move out, in recent years has increased to 12 weeks, far above the target of six weeks; and

          (iii) youth services which has failed to deliver as the people of Sheffield would want and need, despite additional funding of £2m in both 2020/21 and 2021/22, none of which was spent on youth service delivery;

(e)      notes that despite the Children, Young People and Families Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee twice recommending the decision on youth services to be revisited in 2020, the second time unanimously, Cabinet, on further consideration, progressed the decision;

(f)       believes that for decisions to progress with service changes that involve staff transfers, much more consideration needs to be given to the impact for the workforce and employer arising from the transfer of employment;

(g)      believes that Policy Committees are best placed to determine which of their areas should be prioritised to demand continuous improvement in both delivery and financial performance; and

(h)      therefore believes that this Council should look to implement the following:-

(i)       examine where other councils have adopted different models for service provision and look at comparative performance;

(ii)       establishment of internal service providers with the relevant council function being the budget holders;

(iii)      benchmarking of services with other providers, no matter which area they operate in; and

(iv)      clear, unambiguous performance measures which demonstrate ongoing improvement in service delivery.