Admin, Management and Support

 Back Office Efficiencies (Adult and Community Services)

This proposal will focus on ensuring that Finance and Business Support functions within Adults and Community Services have the capability to reduce the size and cost of the Back Office.

 Adult Social Care Restructure

This project is a review of management staffing across all services within Adult Social Care.

 Carers Unit

It is proposed to review the funding stream for the Carers Unit and future provision of the service.

 Review of Base Budget (Adult and Community Services)

This is a complete review of base budget expenditure including an examination of current spending profiles to highlight areas for potential budget reductions.

 Therapy Staff (Adult and Community Services)

This project will review the funding for therapy staff based in resource centres with a view to transferring the funding responsibility from Worcestershire County Council to the NHS.

 Older Adult Mental Health Team

This project will realise savings from more efficient ways of working and through the deletion of existing vacant posts.

 Back Office and Support Functions (Children's Services)

This project will realise savings through Centralising functions that are currently delivered in different parts of the Directorate, management restructuring, reviewing property use, maximise use of ICT and ensuring back office functions are working as efficiently as possible.

 Review of Public Information (Children's Services)

This project will develop high profile directorate Information Advice and Assistance functions to be consolidated into one place, so that there is one specialist outward-facing service for information, advice and assistance for children, young people, (prospective) parents and carers.

 Efficiencies in Highways Maintenance

Through contract re-negotiation this project aims to secure further cost reductions in relation to the highways maintenance contract with no reduction to service provision.

 Scientific Services

This project will review how Scientific Services is funded and administered in order to ensure that maximum efficiency and value for money are being achieved through becoming a traded service.

 Streamlining Planning, Economy and Performance Directorate

This project aims to reduce costs across the Directorate through; reviews and restructures to produce efficiencies and income generation.

 Customer Payments

This project will establish a clear, single strategy for customer payments, focusing on encouraging the use of the most efficient methods of payment whilst retaining the element of choice and ensuring payments are handled in the most efficient way by standardising payment channels.

 Customer Focus

This project will improve customer service further whilst also delivering additional savings for the organisation through;

• Expanding the range of services for which the Worcestershire Hub is the first point of contact
• Improving existing processes to transform services
• Reducing unnecessary and avoidable customer contact
• Increasing the use of self service and promoting these channels to customers as appropriate

 Better Use of Property

The Council owns or leases 262 (non-school) buildings. This project will review all of these buildings with the main aim to reduce the total number of buildings whilst retaining those that provide the best mix of flexibility, condition and access.

 Performance Management

This project proposes to ensur e performance management is delivered “efficiently” (at least cost) and “effectively” (that the processes make the most positive difference to achieving the organisation's priorities and objectives, and meets the national, regional and local reporting and inspection regimes).

 Marketing and Communications

This project aims to remodel the current marketing and communications service to ensure it is fit for purpose to support the future of the organisation and provide efficiencies.

 Streamlining Resources Directorate

Resources Directorate has identified a number of opportunities to streamline its services through:

• Doing things better
• Responding to a volume reduction;
• Stopping doing things that are no longer a priority

 People Initiatives

This project will review options for reducing workforce costs through changes to employment terms and conditions.

 Flexible and Mobile Environments

This project’s aim is to deliver a step-change increase in FAME working and in particular remote working, with a view to delivering the associated benefits for individual employees, the County Council and the environment.

 Better Use of Technology

The purpose of this project is to make some stepped changes in better utilisation of the County Council’s use and development of ICT in order to support improved service delivery and reduce costs.

 Opportunities for Improving Procurement

This project focuses on four key themes to improve procurement across the Council:-

• Supporting the delivery of cost efficiencies
• Supporting the modernisation of services
• Supporting the shaping of markets
• Supporting process efficiencies

 Streamlining Financial Transactions

The project is an enabling project, supporting Directorates to deliver change to their back office, financial administration.

 Charging Policy

This project will establish a set of principles in relation to charging policy, monitor the impact of charging against key and vulnerable groups to ensure that no one is unfairly disadvantaged, ensure that all potential avenues are identified and explored and provide a link to other Local Authorities undergoing similar reviews in order to share and learn from their experiences.

 Design and Print

The purpose of this project is to remodel Design and Print functions. This will be achieved by externalising print work, restructuring Design and Print roles and working to reduce print volume by 50%.

 Support Services

This project will review key support services across the Council such as Human Resources and Finance. This will identify services that would benefit from a more standardised approach and support them to identify more cost efficient and effective use of their resources.

 Business Miles

Business Mileage refers specifically to the miles claimed by staff travelling for business purposes in their own private vehicles and was commenced following suggestions from staff. The aim of the project is to reduce the miles claimed by staff through raising awareness with staff and managers so they can advise and encourage staff to adopt alternatives to face-to-face meetings.

 External Meeting Rooms and Hospitality

This project was initiated following numerous suggestions received from staff which highlighted refreshments were being ordered via the catering contractors for internal meetings. Also, that a significant number of meetings were being held in commercial venues, when cheaper alternatives are available.