"saving money and improving services for people in Surrey"
For many years all of the Surrey local authorities have been committed to working jointly with others in the interest of securing improved services and outcomes for residents and businesses. Following the County Council elections in May 2009, the new Leader of Surrey County Council - Councillor Andrew Povey - invited other public bodies across Surrey to come together towork more efficiently and achieve better outcomes for citizens.
The Surrey Local Government Association (SLGA) took the lead role in exploring ways of improving collaborative working
through a shared services project - known as Surrey First. The SLGA established a member-led task group, which identified five key services to be at the core of the project; Waste, HR, ICT, Assets, and Procurement. It was recognised that Surrey First must take account of already established joint working arrangements, such as the Surrey Waste Partnership. The challenge is to build on these existing partnerships for the future.
The Surrey First Task Group made great progress and reached a point where it considered that a more formal and empowered structure was needed to take the work forward. At the SLGA meeting of 3 March all twleve Surrey councils and the Surrey Police Authority agreed to form a Joint Committee to oversee the delivery of joint working in Surrey, particularly in relation to the five core workstreams. The Joint Committee met for the first time on 28 June 2010 at Woking Borough Council.Speaking after the meeting of 3 March, Councillor John Furey, Chairman of the Surrey First Task Group, explained that;
"this work is absolutely vital to ensure local authorities are able to continue to provide for Surrey's residents. However, it is not just about maintaining the current level of provision but is also about improving and increasing services. I am very pleased with the progress so far."
The Joint Committee now meets on a quarterly basis, with a focus on one workstream and other emerging issues and developments as appropriate. Broader partnership work and successes are also highlighted to provide an awareness of wider activities and to give a clear picture of progress should other authorities wish to explore these options. Please see the Forward Plan for more information on future meetings.