Stirling Council’s Chief Executive Brian Roberts attended the meeting for the first time following agreement by Stirling Councillors in February to join the transformation programme.  

At its latest meeting on Wednesday 18 March, the Board agreed scoping documents subject to minor changes, for four projects that are part of Tranche 1: Proof of Concept. These are:

• Revenues and Benefits
• Internal Audit and Fraud
• Resilience and Emergency Planning
• Governance

The scoping documents will be shared with employees once the minor changes are made.

The scope for the Corporate Procurement project is currently being developed.

This marks an important step in the design and development phase approved by Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Councils last year. 

Scoping documents set out what each project will look at, what is in and out of scope and what information is needed to develop detailed business cases. The creation of these documents does not mean that changes are being made to services or jobs.

The work under way is focused on assessing whether closer collaboration could work in practice and whether it would improve resilience, service sustainability, reduce duplication and support long-term financial sustainability.  

As part of that approach, each project will look at current ways of working, opportunities to simplify and improve processes, possible digital or automation opportunities, workforce considerations, risks, and the costs and benefits of different options.  All of this will be set out in  the business cases which are being developed.

Alongside these service-based projects, a Governance project is also being developed. This will look at the governance arrangements needed to support any future joint working and will help shape how recommendations are considered across the wider programme.

Over the next few months, project teams will continue to gather information and develop business cases for each area. Some staff may be asked to provide information about current service delivery, take part in workshops or help test options. This is an important part of the process, helping to make sure that any future recommendations are grounded in practical experience and a clear understanding of how services currently work.

Further consideration is being given to how best to proceed with Housing, Roads and Estates, which were agreed to progress at the Board in February, to take account of other work underway in these areas within each Council.  Further updates on these will be provided following the next Board meeting and is linked to work already underway within each Council. 

The Joint Staff Forum held its first meeting on Monday 30 March. This has been set up to make sure Trade Unions are kept informed as the programme develops and to support ongoing engagement with staff.

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

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