During a meeting held in Penrith at Voreda House on Friday (21st June) Councillors from both Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council demanded to know the true cost of the disaggregation of hosted services following the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Cumbria last year when two new unitary authorities were formed to replace the seven former councils – Cumbria county, Carlisle city, Allerdale, Copeland, Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland.
Officers at both Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness are currently working on the division of hosted services between them.
Members of the joint overview and scrutiny committee, which is made from councillors from both unitary authorities, received a progress report on the progress of disaggregation of hosted services.
Members of the joint overview and scrutiny committee were asked to note the contents of the report Cumberland councillor Roger Dobson asked if they would be told of the total cost of the disaggregation process because it represented a “huge amount of work”.
Jo Atkinson, Cumberland Council’s director of business, transformation and change, said he had made an accurate observation and the matter would be taken back to each council’s chief executives and finance officers with a formal report brought back in September.
Cumberland councillor Carni McCarron-Holmes said that the decision to create two unitary authorities, instead of just one, by central government was “remiss” and added: “Cost should have been high on the agenda.”
Cumberland councillor Mike Hawkins said it had been pursued for “political reasons” and cllr Dobson said that the intervention by the government had been “unwelcome”. He added: “Disaggregation took away the benefits and we should understand the true costs.”
A number of services remain shared across both councils including finance, digital infrastructure, Human Resources and payroll alongside the delivery of the functions previously delivered by Cumbria Lep both councils agreed to take on with Cumberland council acting as the host council for delivery.
Committee chairman, Westmorland & Furness councillor Mark Rudhall, asked about the County ICT disaggregation which was predicted to be by at least March 31 2025.
He highlighted the issue of cyber-attacks and added: “They need to be disaggregated when we have a robust system. Is it set in stone or can it be put off?”
Mrs Atkinson pointed out that it was the only hosted service with an “at least” deadline and added: “All of our accreditations are up to date.”
She told members that a lead officer for cyber security had been appointed for both Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness and she gave the example of a cyber-attack on Redcar and Cleveland. She said: “It took them offline for months and months and months.”
contribution included in this article by Ian Duncan, Local Democracy Reporter Service.
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