Local Authorities

NLC invited MainStreet to lead a strategic review of its Facilities Support Services (FSS). The purpose of the review was to ensure that FSS delivers a modern, efficient service to its customers, and is positioned well for the challenges of the next five years. Those challenges include a need for savings and/or increased income, as well as maintaining good quality standards of delivery.

We worked closely with FSS to inform decision-making on budgeting and subsequent transformation. These included:

• Designing ‘clustering’ arrangements for janitorial, cleaning and school cross patrol resources around schools
• Detailed sensitivity analysis on school meal prices in primary and secondary schools, including identifying good practice on increasing uptake
• Exploring enhancements and improvements to internal business processes and underpinning technologies.

Implementing the joint MainStreet/FSS recommendations should release financial benefits approaching £2.0m by FY2020/21, requiring significant programme management and benefits realisation work. We supported FSS staff to develop an associated programme plan for that period.

MainStreet Consulting supported Renfrewshire Council (RC) by undertaking research into potential options, relating to vehicle maintenance, the use of buses and taxis, and school catering, that the Council could undertake to realise efficiency savings.

This work was carried out at short notice, to tight timescales. Our research gave RC the necessary financial, organisational and best practice details. MainStreet also assessed the options and made recommendations on the best options for RC to progress.

RC has a fleet of 461 HGVs and LGVs, which it maintains from its Underwood Road depot facility. The majority of our work centred on establishing if an outline business case (OBC) existed for RC to share a vehicle maintenance facility with a partner in a new depot location.

Emerging locations meant we had to procure and co-ordinate the work of property consultants, architects and quantity surveyors that had expertise in vehicle maintenance facilities to assess the practicality, costs and operational impact of these options.

To support the OBC, we also developed a detailed bespoke financial model that calculated a ten-year income and expenditure position based on each of the possible options. RC finance officers validated all the assumptions, status quo figures and workings.

The work concluded with an Outline Business Case (OBC) which set out the implications for all partners. Thereafter, we were asked to model, analyse and develop further options identified by the client. This has included assessments of a complete (HGV and LGV) outsource to another public sector partner, a partial outsource (just HGV) and a variety of possible internal and external workshop locations.

Giffnock Community Council (GCC) appointed MainStreet Consulting, via East Renfrewshire Council, to deliver a feasibility study, which considered the need and demand for a centrally located community hub providing a range of facilities for all residents in the area.

Interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders to understand from their perspective the level of need for a community hub in Giffnock. Additionally, to explore what other have achieved, the project team spoke with other local community focused organisations. Our work also involved articulating the accommodation requirements and identifying the range of activities which could be provided from within a hub, defining the resourcing and operational requirements for the facility and detailing the financial implications via a financial model. A comprehensive report was developed and delivered for GCC’s deliberation.

Stirling Council (SC) commissioned MainStreet to undertake a service review in the areas of Facilities Management (FM), Landlord Services, Technical Services and Strategic Asset Management.  In common with all local authorities, SC was under significant financial pressures and, at that time, had savings targets of £25 – £30m.  Within these services, senior staff believed there was significant duplication of effort and resource.

Within the context of a wider transformation programme and a priority based budgeting approach, the council wanted to not only achieve savings but, importantly, also, to enhance service delivery so it would be more responsive to its customers’ needs.

MainStreet’s support covered the hierarchy of asset related services from strategic asset management down to specific FM services including janitorial services, school catering, school crossing, and cleaning of Council buildings.  Specific tasks included mapping of the current services, identification of good practice, development of an optimised structure for current and future service delivery, an assessment of digital opportunities through the potential offered by different systems, and through offering a wider number of the services online, the identification, quantification and prioritisation of service redesign opportunities, and the development of a new integrated FM operating model.  This model showed how an integrated FM service could be provided that would offer more effective service for customers whilst also being more efficient for SC with over £3m of savings identified.

Clackmannanshire appointed MainStreet Consulting to provide specialised support to its service review of its Vehicle Maintenance & Fleet Services (VMFS).

The work involved Identifying service user requirements, identifying suitability and effective use of workshop and other facilities in medium and long-term, determining inter-service and external income opportunities, consideration of the optimal procurement arrangements for heavy and light fleet, and designing an optimised structure for current and future service delivery, including associated costs, benefits and risks. Our work also helped the Council ascertain its investment strategy for its existing depot facilities and its options for shared services with public sector and commercial partners regionally.

MainStreet supported the Scottish Borders CPP with a unique, area-wide review of community and passenger transport. Our work spanned provision by the Council, NHS, College, three large RSLs and community organisations locally (on which £15m is spent annually, with over 2.5m journeys made by 25,000 users via 120 local assets) and it identified strong support for enhanced planning, commissioning & coordinating transport at a CPP-level.

The outputs of our work then included: the establishment of a Strategic Transport Board (STB) for the whole area, the development of a ‘new ways of working project’ for transport in two specific localities and the creation of a unique CPP-wide joint procurement framework for transport.

In 2020, Stirling Council commissioned MainStreet to undertake a review of its Learning & Employability (L&E) services. Our work was to assess the extent to which the Council’s activities, capacity and capability align to address current and future economic opportunities and maximise outcomes for its priority groups – and especially, to consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn.

Our work included:

• A comprehensive review of performance, financial & staffing metrics, service plans, and user feedback
• Determining how, where, when and by whom services are delivered
• Interviewing relevant stakeholders from wider Council teams in assessing current service delivery and likely future challenges
• Working with L&E staff on action planning for the immediate, short and medium terms.

A summary of L&E’s position in late 2020 would note:

• considerable success since the establishment of the service: in increasing job outcomes; securing significant external funds from the EU, UK and Scottish Governments; and performing well in multiple indicators
• it faces significant challenges in the coming 12-18 months:
• a complex environment – multiple referrers, funders and programmes, wide range of performance measures, a mix of permanent and temporary staff
• significant funding and resourcing uncertainty internally (budget reductions) and externally (ESF, SDS and national government grants) for L&E
• ensuring proportionate and visible focus on priority groups
• COVID19 as a transformative event.

Our recommendations were that L&E should focus largely on two areas:

1. Its ‘Response’ to immediate challenges of COVID19 and recession: reorienting L&E resources (temporarily) to tackle increases in unemployment/underemployment into 2021
2. Designing ‘Recovery’ locally: via assessing new priorities and LEP capacity in the short to medium term, and developing a new Employability Strategy & Action Plan. A key element of that is in leveraging strengths and resources across Council, CPP and partners regionally – for delivery and creating training and employment opportunities.

In supporting the Council in identifying next steps for L&E locally and regionally, MainStreet has also drafted an outline implementation plan for the next 36 months.

MainStreet supported Stirling Council staff to review its Advice Services provision in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown and subsequent economic downturn resulted in increased demand for client support in debt and welfare advice, income maximisation – and particularly in already vulnerable communities in the area. Consequently, officers wanted an external examination of service delivery to inform subsequent development of more sustainable, efficient and effective services.

Our work included:

• Determined how, where & by whom ‘advice services’ are delivered
• Interviewed relevant stakeholders from across the Economic Development & Communities, Housing and Social Care functions
• Supported workshop sessions to develop thoughts on future developments of ‘advice services’ in Stirling.

Consultation and discussion with key stakeholders highlight some significant issues for the Council including:

• A relatively complicated ‘advice services’ environment for clients – with multiple access points across several services
• Limited medium-term capacity in core Advice Services team
• Anticipated increases in demand for ‘advice services’ given COVID19 and subsequent economic implications
• Appetite across most internal stakeholders (even if a temporary post-COVID19 responses) to develop more holistic, coordinated ‘advice services’ cover, with common insights, priorities and consistent processes.

In an outline action plan, we set out proposals that the Council (and its partners):

• In the immediate term: resolve capacity fragility across Advice Services to accommodate increased & increasing demand
• In the short term: accelerate development of a more consistent cross-Council ‘financial advisory’ offer involving Advice Services, Housing, Revs & Bens, Social Care and Customer First
• In the medium term: develop CPP-wide ‘advice services’ model based on ‘Promotion, Prevention & Intervention’ approach (aligned with other place-based service delivery consideration

East Ayrshire Council (EAC) engaged MainStreet to undertake a review of the support available to those at risk of homelessness, those who are homeless, and those that have been homeless and need support to help sustain their tenancies.

Fundamentally, East Ayrshire has a very good housing support infrastructure provided by several EAC services, East Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership (EAHSCP) and third sector groups, some of which are commissioned by EAC to provide more intensive support.

The review included interviews with 62 EAC staff, partners and service users and the findings can be summarised as follows:

• East Ayrshire provides a very good spectrum of homelessness support with some areas of excellence

• The teams providing support are caring and compassionate, many going above and beyond to provide person-centric trauma informed support

• EAC’s commissioned service providers are very well regarded, providing excellent services and offering value for money. There is potential to expand their provision in East Ayrshire as per neighbouring authorities

• Whilst there is much good joint working, there are some gaps, some areas for improvement and some opportunities to innovate

• There are also opportunities to expand Housing First (HF) provision to, or above, the national average, to meet demand and, potentially, to save money for the public sector.