During the programme’s fourth board meeting, an update was given on the Joint Staff Forum which brought together trade union representatives, officers and Chief Executives from Clackmannanshire and Falkirk Councils. The Forum was set up before Stirling Council joined the programme and membership will now be expanded to include representation from Stirling.  

While the feedback about the work that has been carried out so far was positive, it also highlighted the importance of:

• using clear, accessible language when communicating with staff
• ensuring key updates are meaningful and timely
• continuing to involve staff as work develops

This feedback will shape how we communicate and engage with colleagues going forward.

The Board was also advised that the scoping documents for Revenue & Benefits, Internal Audit & Fraud, Emergency Planning & Resilience and Governance are all now finalised and work is progressing to develop business cases for each area.  Additional funding support for the Revenue & Benefits project was also agreed. You can view these scoping documents at the link below:  

• Revenue and Benefits
• Internal Audit & Fraud
• Emergency Planning & Resilience
• Governance

The scope of the procurement workstream has been broadened and will now also: 

• map contracts across all three councils
• explore opportunities for shared procurement and efficiencies

This will help identify where collaboration could deliver better value and reduce duplication. The scoping document will be shared once finalised.

To link with this, the Board also agreed to bring the Procurement for IT in Education project onboard.  This will consider IT contract arrangements for a range of equipment used by schools and pupils. 

The wider “deeper dive” work in Roads and Estates Management, will now be taken forward in the first instance by Clackmannanshire and Stirling Councils who will progress transitional work to support both Councils, then bring this back to the Board for discussion and consideration.

Work across all projects continues to progress well, with officers developing the information needed to assess future options.

The programme is focused on developing evidence and options to understand how services could work more effectively together in the future. No decisions have been made at this stage.

Further updates will be shared as the work develops. You can also find more information on the Transformation through Collaboration  page, including FAQs. 

Staff with questions should speak to their line manager in the first instance or email: collaboration@falkirk.gov.uk