Agenda item

1.            Mr Hill explained that he had fought to protect the service, praising the consultation process which provided the opportunity for the public, local councils and partner agencies to give their views on how valuable the Wardens were.  The feedback in the consultation provided the evidence needed to justify challenging the proposed redesign of the service.

2.            Mr Hill explained that the new proposal, supported by Cabinet, was to maintain the Wardens at their current staffing levels.  This left savings still to be identified but some had been offset by reviewing the Warden back office functions.  While this left further savings to be found, the value of the Wardens had prompted Cabinet to agree to find them elsewhere within KCC.

3.            Mr Beaumont provided background to the process, explaining that the original proposal was to reduce the staffing establishment by 50%, though only 72 Wardens were in post at the time of the review.  The new proposal maintained the current staffing level with a fresh review of the Warden management structure.  Practical changes were required to achieve a sustainable model which has included redistributing staff across the county to address geographic imbalances.  It was expected that this may lead to vacancies arising and recruitment was planned for once the new model had been implemented.  It was clarified that all Parish Councils that currently had access to Community Warden would continue to have access but that the Wardens may have to split their time across a larger area of the county and that their resourcing would be based on demand.

4.            Mr Beaumont also highlighted the fact that the Consultation had raised the issue that many respondents were supportive of the development of a cadre of volunteers supporting the work of the Community Wardens.  A working group had been set up to consider how best this could be implemented, considering the need for personal protection equipment and similar practical issues.  Pilots were being planned across the county to assist in the development of the Volunteer programme.  A follow up paper was planned to confirm the roll out of the programme in 2016.

5.            Mr Parris explained that the implementation of the new model is progressing.  Less balancing of staff was required in the West and it was expected that approximately ten Wardens would need to be recruited to replace those that chose to leave the service as changes were made, though he commented that the process for rebalancing was still in development.  The previous twelve managers has been reduced to six team leaders who will also have operational duties, resulting in staffing levels that provide five or six Wardens per District.

6.            Mr Parris summarised the consultation responses as follows:

·         960 individual community responses

·         101 Parish Council responses

·         123 responses from organisations

·         4000+ signature petition from the community

7.            Mr Stepney commented that the Force recognised the value of the Community Wardens and that the Police and Crime Commissioner supported them from a Localism perspective.

8.            Mr Hill commented that he was very happy that it had been possible to amend the proposed reduction in light of the consultation feedback.  Given the financial situation, it was always very difficult to protect discretionary services such as the Wardens when it was already challenging finding ways to continue statutory services in their current form.  Mr Hill hoped that the volunteer programme delivered positive results and that the Districts and Parish Councils appreciated the continued support of the Community Wardens.

RESOLVED that the committee note the report.