New Regulatory Services reaches first
milestone
Worcestershire's Regulatory Service, which
brings together Trading Standards, Environmental Health and
Licensing, was officially launched today (June 1).
In March all seven Councils in Worcestershire
-Worcestershire County, Worcester City, Redditch Borough,
Bromsgrove District, Wyre Forest District, Malvern Hills District
and Wychavon District Councils – signed up to the partnership.
It sees a unified approach to delivering
Regulatory Services including Trading Standards, Environmental
Health and Licensing. The model will operate within one management
structure and will be hosted by Bromsgrove District Council and
Redditch Borough Council.
Project Executive Kevin Dicks, who is
also Chief Executive of Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough
Councils said: “The Shared Services Project which Redditch
and Bromsgrove are pursuing, made us a strong contender to host the
Regulatory Service, the model of which is believed to be the first
of its kind, nationally.”
After months of planning and preparation the
governance for the service went 'live' on June 1. Work will
continue on the project to get the systems and processes in place
ready for the service operation later this year.
Although it will take many more months for the
service to become fully operational, June 1 is a key milestone in
the programme which could save around £1.3million across all
authorities involved.
Steve Jorden, Head of Worcestershire's
Regulatory Service, said: "We want a service where
there is a strong emphasis on partnership working to
provide added value where staff are well trained, motivated
and empowered to serve our customers.
“The aim is to have a service that focuses on
local priorities and becomes an example for others to follow and a
lot of work has gone into to getting things in place.
"It is important to stress that this is the
first of many milestones on the horizon and while a key date in the
process, the service won't be fully up and running for a while yet.
Ultimately this innovative arrangement will bring many benefits and
I very much look forward to seeing the service grow and
develop."
