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How does an ‘excellent' rated district council prepare for its merger into a unitary council? Geoff Paul explains Over the past year, Blyth Valley BC has been celebrating its 35th anniversary... and its exit from the local government scene. On the 1st of April, it will formally cease to exist, and will make way for the new Northumberland Unitary Council. Blyth Valley is one of six district councils in the county which will disappear. It is a proud council that has a reputation for delivering real outcomes for local residents. It achieved an ‘excellent' rating under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment regime, and managed to achieve this at the same time as having to make a 15% cut in annual expenditure – an experience many organisations might well gain from, given the current economic climate. So, how exactly does an excellent council manage its own demise? It's all down to organisational culture and having an environment where people can work to their full potential. It's been a major balancing act and staff have reacted superbly. On the one hand, we have a commitment to ensuring Blyth Valley BC continues to deliver high-quality services up until 31st March, and at the same time, we have a responsibility to support the transition to the new council. Overall, I think we have got the balance right. The council made a decision in late 2007 that it wanted to be very clear on what its priorities would be during its final 12 months. Projects which had a long lead-in period were dropped, and it was recognised that staffing resources would reduce over the year, as more and more people became involved in the planning and setting up of the new authority. We really tightened up on our performance-management process during the year, but that has resulted in almost 100% of our plans being delivered. The final ‘direction of travel' assessment has recognised that we succeeded in delivering our priorities and, at the same time, have made a positive contribution to setting up the new council. Over the past 12 months, Blyth Valley opened a new £3.5m market in Blyth, completed construction of 20 beach chalets to supplement its £4m investment in the seafront and beach areas, and celebrated its success in being on the ‘best councils to work for' list, which recognised the contribution staff made to the council's overall success. When we close the doors for the last time as Blyth Valley BC, we will have 131 staff who have been with us for more than 20 years, and we have seven employees who have been with the council since its formation in April 1974. It is important to the council that we commemorate this fantastic loyalty and commitment, and the mayor will be hosting an informal event to celebrate. There has been some criticism about the role of district councils in supporting the process in Northumberland, but I reject this. The fact is, all six district councils, including Blyth Valley, have worked hard to support our colleagues in forming the new council. There have been some tensions, but that was always to be expected during a complex and controversial transformation. Blyth Valley alone has allocated almost £1m in staffing resources over the past 12 months, and the deputy chief executive and two other heads of service have been working full time at County Hall. From a financial perspective, the council has worked within the nationally-imposed transitional guidelines on spending and has also taken steps to create as much underspend within agreed budgets in the year in order to increase the level of anticipated reserves being transferred to the new council. We genuinely wish the new council well, and we know it is facing some significant financial challenges as it plans to deliver the promises made in the unitary council bid to the Government. From a personal perspective, I am taking the opportunity that reorganisation brings to leave local government, but I am keen to use my skills to support organisations in the public sector which are committed to continuous improvement. In Blyth Valley, I know the culture of our organisation was central to making improvements. Having a great place for employees to work and supporting all staff to be creative was the key driver to our success. Geoff Paul is chief executive at Blyth Valley BC

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WHITEHALL

Blyth spirit as district prepares for unitary takeover

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