20090720 md410 shared services

							REQUEST FOR MAYORAL DECISION – MD410

Title: Legal Shared Services Consultation



Executive Summary:
It is proposed to consider establishing administrative arrangements between the GLA and TfL for the
discharge by TfL of the GLA’s legal services under section 401A of the Greater London Authority
Act 1999. This MD seeks permission to consult on this proposal and to continue to develop a project.



Decision:

The Mayor’s approval of consultation with staff, Unison, TfL and BMAC on a proposal to develop a
project to:

    1. establish an administrative arrangement between the GLA and Transport for London (“TfL”)
       for the discharge by TfL of the GLA’s Legal Services; and
    2. review the associated policies and procedures.




Mayor of London
The above request has my approval.
Signature                                                       Date




                                                 1
PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE MAYOR
Decision required – supporting report


1. Introduction and background
   1.1. The GLA has a Legal and Procurement Services team currently comprising 21 staff (against an
        establishment of 19 posts). Four of these staff are due to transfer to TfL on 7 September as part
        of the Shared Services Finance and Procurement project.

   1.2. Transport for London’s (TfL) legal team is more sizable and covers the areas of law managed by
        the GLA team as well as some addition matters. This gives rise to a potential opportunity to
        implement a shared legal service through the delegation of GLA’s legal function to TfL, which
        would:
                achieve efficiencies through economies of scale;
                reduce duplication of provision across the two organisations;
                provide greater development opportunities for staff.

   1.3. The proposal is to establish administrative arrangements between the GLA and TfL for the
        discharge by TfL of the GLA’s legal services under section 401A of the Greater London
        Authority Act 1999 (“the Act”). Section 401A (3) of the Act allows GLA Group constituent
        bodies to establish such arrangements for the discharge by any one or more constituent bodies
        on behalf of any other constituent body of any functions of that other which are of an
        administrative, professional or technical nature. If the proposal is agreed, then permanent legal
        staff would transfer from the GLA to TfL, under the principles of the Transfer of Undertakings
        (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (“TUPE”). The legislation itself does not apply
        to the staff transfer, but the principles of TUPE do apply as set out in the Cabinet Office
        Statement of Practice. This applies to employees but not to temporary agency staff.
        Employees’ terms and conditions of employment would be protected. An information and
        consultation process will take place with relevant bodies (including staff, Unison, TfL and
        BMAC) on the implications of the proposal. Details of the rationale for the proposal are set out
        in section 2 of the Outline Business Case (OBC) attached.

   1.4. Consultation with staff will need to be carried out on the implications of the proposal and
        approval is sought to commence the formal consultation process and further development of the
        proposals. Consultation and engagement with staff is a key element of the change management
        process and also in situations where TUPE applies. An initial meeting has been held with all
        staff to introduce the outline of the proposal to ensure that they are informed at the earliest
        possible opportunity of the options being considered. This meeting included temporary agency
        staff, although they have no legal right to transfer to TfL under TUPE principles.

   1.5. Consultation will take the form of:
                Letters written to all staff directly affected, outlining the proposal and the implications
                 for them, should a delegation of legal services to TfL go ahead. This letter would be
                 copied to Unison;
                Ongoing updates to the staff and Unison in the areas directly and indirectly affected.


                                                     2
1.6. Affected staff and Unison will be given the opportunity to comment upon the proposals.




                                               3
   1.7. This will be supported by:
                  Communications to all staff in LONDON@work;
                  Availability of the Project and HR officers to answer any questions that staff may have.

   1.8. The Mayor has the power to approve an agreement for shared services following consultation
        with BMAC. A draft report for the 21 July meeting of BMAC is attached as Appendix 1.

2. Issues for consideration
       a)     Links to strategies and Corporate Plan
              The proposal will support the more efficient delivery of the Mayor’s Strategies. The
              consultation process is an essential part of the project.

       b)        Impact assessments and Consultation
                 Consultation with staff is a very important area. It is essential for the successful delivery
                 of the project that the organisation meets both its legal requirements and change
                 management good practice to ensure that staff and their representatives are engaged in a
                 timely and effective way. Impact assessments will be carried out as required.

       c)        Risk
                 Headline risks have been included in the business case and a full risk register will be
                 developed at a forthcoming project meeting.

3. Decisions
   3.1. The Mayor’s approval of consultation with staff, Unison, TfL and BMAC on a proposal to
        develop a project to:
              establish an administrative arrangement between the GLA and Transport for London
                 (“TfL”) for the discharge by TfL of the GLA’s Legal Services; and
              review the associated policies and procedures.

4. Financial Comments
   4.1. The financial evaluation is set out in section 5 of the attached outline business case. Subject to
        consultation and a more detailed analysis of the legal function, it is estimated that annual staff
        savings of £288,000 could be achieved. Paragraph 5.3 of the outline business case sets out
        further factors that could have a bearing on this figure.

5. Legal Comments
   5.1. Under section 401A of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (“the Act”), the Mayor may
        after consultation with the Assembly authorise the GLA and any functional body to enter into
        arrangements for the discharge by the GLA or any functional body on behalf of one or more of
        the other, of any functions of that other which are of an administrative, technical or professional
        nature.

   5.2. The power of the Assembly to consult on these matters under section 401A of the Act has been
        delegated to the Business Management and Administration Committee. This is permitted
        under section 54(1) of the Act.




                                                       4
     5.3. “Administrative, technical or professional” functions are not defined by the Act, other legislation
          or case law. However, Hansard reports on a House of Lords debate on the relevant clause in the
          Greater London Authority Bill on 14 May 2007 show that administrative, professional and
          technical services were also described as “back-office” services (this phrase is also used in the
          explanatory notes to the Act published by the Office of Public Sector Information). Examples
          were given of legal services, human resources, finance, payroll, IT, and publishing and printing
          services. Therefore, the relevant functions could be within the scope of any arrangement
          allowed by section 401A of the Act but Officers must:
        a)      seek ongoing legal advice from both the GLA team and, where appropriate, external legal
                advisers to ensure that:
                  (i)   agreed and finalised proposals for the implementation of the administrative
                        arrangements meet the requirements of section 401A of the Act;
                  (ii) all necessary documentation can be prepared for execution (if further Mayoral
                        approval to proceed is obtained – see paragraph 5.3(b) below); and
                  (iii) all employment law issues are addressed appropriately; and
        b)      (when any proposals for the administrative arrangements are agreed and finalised) seek
                further approval from the Mayor of the implementation of the same.

     5.4. As set out in section 1 above, if the proposals are agreed, permanent legal staff would transfer
          from the GLA to TfL under the principles of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of
          Employment) Regulations 2006 (“TUPE”). Regulation 3(5) of TUPE expressly excludes a
          reorganisation of administrative functions between public administrative authorities from its
          remit. However, a Cabinet Office Statement of Practice issued in January 2000 (and revised in
          2007) states, in situations such as these, public bodies should apply the principles of TUPE in
          effecting a transfer of staff between public organisations unless there are very strong reasons
          why that public body should not do so.

     5.5. The effect of applying TUPE principles would be to transfer the employment of the permanent
          legal staff, who are assigned to the legal functions transferring, to TfL on their existing terms
          and conditions of employment. A full information and consultation process will be conducted
          with relevant bodies and staff in line with TUPE principles.

6.      Background/supporting papers
        Draft BMAC Report and Outline Business Case




                                                      5
Public access to information
Information in this form is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act) and other
legislation. Part 1 of this form will be made available on the Greater London Authority website within
1 working day of approval. Any facts and advice that should not be made automatically available on
request should not be included in Part 1 but instead on the separate Part 2 form. Deferment is only
applicable where release before that date would compromise the implementation of the decision being
approved.

Is the publication of this approval to be deferred? NO

If yes, for what reason:




Until what date:
Is there a part 2 form - NO
OFFICER APPROVAL:
                                                                                Tick to indicate approval

                                                                                
Sponsoring Director: Martin Clarke
Click and insert name has reviewed the request and is satisfied it is correct
and consistent with the Mayor’s plans and priorities.                           

Mayoral Advisor: Sir Simon Milton
Click and insert name has been consulted about the proposal and agrees          
the recommendations.

Head of Law:
The Head of Law has commented on this proposal.                                 


Executive Director, Resources
I have been consulted about the proposal and confirm that Financial and Legal advice have been taken
into account in the preparation of this report.
Signature                                                           Date



Deputy Mayor, Policy and Planning
I am satisfied that this is an appropriate request to be submitted to the Mayor




                                                    6
Signature       Date




            7