A review of the Shared Legal Service following report JOS/17/2 on 18 December 2017
Emily Yule, Assistant Director – Law and Governance
Minutes:
7.1 The Assistant Director – Law and Governance forwarded an apology on behalf of Councillor Suzie Morley, Lead Member for Organisational Communications and Organisational Delivery.
7.2 She then introduced the report and pointed to the list of recommendations made by the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee in December 2017. The report included responses to the points made by the Committee in December and data on the progress on workloads, case management and arrangements for instructing the legal team.
7.3 A new intranet page and reinforcement of the Business Partner arrangements had also been implemented. There were still some challenges for the team such as staff recruitment and retention, which was being addressed.
7.4 Members asked questions in relation to paragraph 11.6, page 73 and Appendix 2, page 81 and queried the variance between the figures. It was agreed that an Information Bulleting for Appendix 2 be provided to the Committee.
7.5 Further questions were raised in relation to Paragraph 11.16, page 75, and that any contact could result in an expenditure. Members expected that relevant information received would be linked to the appropriate cases before an expenditure could be raised. The response was that the Shared Legal Service officers maintained a record for the time they spent on individual cases. This was not recorded as an expenditure, but keep on record for possible future use. The cost of the Service was split 60% to West Suffolk District Council and 40% to Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council.
7.6 Questioning continued, and officers responded that all officers at the Shared Legal Service had access to the Case Management System and could update on the progress status on all cases. However, it was possible to lock down access to individual cases, such as confidential and covert cases.
7.7 Members ask for clarification on how the cost was allocated for cases won or cases lost. Council would receive any costs in connection with won cases and the department who raised the case would be allocated the cost for cases lost.
7.8 The split of the cost between the Councils was questioned further and although it was possible in the future to allocated specific costs for individual cases but it was not currently a cost-effective method of allocating costing.
7.9 Members asked about the key performance indicators and how long it took for cases to be completed as there was a difference between the two Councils. This was explained as due to the judicial reviews currently being undertaken by both Councils.
7.10 Councillor Davies felt that the service for the Shared Legal Service had improved, and that the Website for the Service was a good indicator of this improvement.
7.11 The Service Manager for the Shared Legal Service said that the new management system was efficient, and the Service would be able to deal with the increasing case load and provide progress reports. The system would also enable officers to maintain detailed records and to provide information to Members in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation on individual cases. It was also possible to gather date for future analysis and she referred Members to Appendix 3, page 83.
7.12 It was generally felt by Members that Appendix 3 contained too much data and required further analysis. It was therefore agreed that a recommendation should be included for this purpose.
7.13 The Chair enquired about the Client Portal and how this would work. The officers responded that it was an Application that currently was on test with high level officers in West Suffolk District Council. The aim was to use this application to improve the service to Clients and enable access to cases, along with controls in place to secure confidentiality if needed.
7.14 Members generally felt that the Shared Legal Service had responded to the recommendations made in December 2017 and that the Service was improving the Service it provided to clients.
7.15 Members agreed that an Information Bulleting should be provided by the Financial Department to explain the figures in Appendix 2 and that the data provided in Appendix 3 should be analysed and clarified to the Committee.
By a unanimous vote
It was RESOLVED: -
1.1 That the contents of the report and presentation to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted.
1.2 That an Information Bulleting be provided by the Finance Department to clarify Appendix 2 of the report and be presented to the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee 19 November 2018.
1.3 That the data in Appendix 3 of the report be analysed and clarified and presented to the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 19 November 2018.
Supporting documents: