Our Mission and Purpose
This page sets out the proposed governance and purpose arrangements for the development of the LATCo. As the organisation is not yet established, the availability of detailed information is limited. Nonetheless, the proposals outlined here aim to provide a foundational framework to support informed decision-making as the LATCo progresses toward formation.
1. Purpose
To safeguard the wellbeing of people and businesses, improve the environment and promote prosperity through the flexible and efficient delivery of environmental services.
2. Values
The company’s values will underpin its activities and should lead to success. Some proposed values are outlined below, however it is important for the company management team to have input into these, ensuring ownership. Therefore, these values will be discussed with the Portfolio Holder Group (PHG) to get initial feedback and will be developed further when the Managing Director and management team are in place.
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Impact: Environmental improvement
Behaviours: Collaboration
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Impact: Community benefit
Behaviours: Innovation
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Impact: Staff development
Behaviours: Teamwork
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Impact: Diversity
Behaviours: Teamwork
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Behaviours: Embrace Change
3. Strategic Objectives
To deliver services for the Council, striving for efficiency and continuous improvement
To deliver value for money, achieving the shareholder’s financial objectives
To pursue commercial strategies which provide a return for shareholders and an environmental dividend
To provide high quality employment and skills development for local people, and provides local economic benefit
To support local economic development and contribute local value
To reduce the direct environmental impact of operations and to improve indirect environmental impacts of households and businesses in the area
To provide an efficient and effective business model which can be expanded to new services, and adopted by near neighbours and future unitary authorities.
To operate in ways which support EDDCs wider missions and values
To plan and deliver services which are aligned with changing local needs and national waste policy
Company Structure
A company limited by shares is to be created on behalf of the Council.
A Company group structure will not be pursued in the short term, this can be reviewed in future years if commercial activities become significant.
Council’s Place Directorate, under the Assistant Director for Streetscene with a retained post acting as Client Contract Manager and liaising closely with the MD to monitor company performance and service direction.
The staffing structure will be based on the existing roles operated by Suez, with additional specialist staff to reflect the needs of operating the company at arm’s length from the Council. This will include functions for HR, financial management, health and safety and procurement.
The company will operate its own Finance, Accountancy and Procurement function. There will also be a Finance Director.
A Finance Director will be appointed as a paid member of staff, however this will only need to be a part time role which focuses on financial strategy, governance, legal compliance and acts as the Company Secretary. The Board of Directors is proposed to be:
Independent Non-Executive Chair
Independent Non-Executive Director x 2
Latco Managing Director
Latco Finance Director
Governance Structure
Effective control over the company is achieved through a range of governance, management and control activities which are applied both at a high strategic level and at a day-to-day low level. There must be a ’golden thread’ all the way from Council Constitution and Shareholder Agreement through to the day-to-day monitoring activities by the council’s contract management function.
The LATCo will be managed and operated as a separate organisation which is legally independent of the council and is free, within limits, to make its own decisions. A key purpose of governance is to establish these limits, along with providing it with strategic direction, monitoring performance and ensuring compliance with Teckal exemption. The Council takes on dual roles of owner and contracting party, which roles are to be clearly articulated in the shareholders agreement and waste services agreement.
Accountable to:
Council Shareholder Committee
Overview and Scrutiny Committees
Company Board of Directors
Recycling & Waste Partnership Board
Greater detail available in the document provided.
Financial Governance
Proposed annual budgeting process
It is proposed that payments to the LATCo will be controlled through a process of the LATCo proposing an operating budget, which is scrutinised and accepted. The company then aims to operate within budget throughout the year and reports any over or underspends, including a full year forecast. The company will need to propose mitigation and rectification plans for any overspends during the operating year. At the end of year, overspends will be declared as losses and a decision can be made about how to fund these.
It should be noted that commercial trading activities should result in profits which could offset any losses, but also has the potential to operate at a loss, worsening the LATCO’s financial position.
Some operating costs are difficult to forecast and may be subject to separate arrangements.