Issue - meetings

Divisions/Wards Affected:  All

Purpose:

Monmouthshire County Council has evolved considerably over the last decade and will continue to do so. The world is changing too. The combined effect is a growth in external pressures such as Child Protection cases (up >75% in 2018 alone) and an uncertain legal landscape owing to Brexit, and internal pressure resulting from an ambitious Corporate Plan and underlying strategies that require innovation and flexibility. Despite this change, the Legal department has not evolved at the same pace, and in some areas has retreated in terms of resourcing. The team itself is good; it comprises skilled, deeply experienced individuals with a genuine commitment to their work and the County. The fact that the level of service is where it is, is due to their willingness to go above and beyond. However, there is barely the structure or capacity to cope with current demand, and the situation is such that the department is unlikely to be able to deal with what current demand should look like, and needs change to support where the Council is so clearly heading. More broadly, external legal advice across the Council is uncoordinated, unexploited and not subject to any sort of quality assurance – as much is spent on external legal advice as is on the legal department in total.

This report aims to set out what the future legal department should look like and how this will be achieved. This first step is aimed at stabilising current legal provision while seeking efficiencies through new systems and structures of work that will enable ‘true’ demand to be met, costs to be exposed and further cost rises across other departments prevented. Thereafter the aim will be to reduce costs through better coordination of pan-MCC legal advice and the upskilling of the legal department to take on more of this work in the future. Once this foundation is achieved, the opportunities of income generation can be assessed, turning elements of the legal department into fee-earners, not cost burdens, without impact on the core and statutory work already being undertaken.

Author: Matt Phillips, Head of Law and Monitoring Officer

Contact Details: matthewphillips@monmouthshire.gov.uk

To approve the introduction of a new electronic way of working through the procurement of new case management and electronic ‘bundling’ software, and access to a pre-existing legal portal already used by 8 LAs in Wales.

To approve the outcome of a job evaluation of all solicitor posts in the legal department.

To approve the confirmation as permanent of the current, short term Business Manager position.

To approve the recruitment of 2 commercially focused lawyers (contract, commercial property, planning, procurement, commercial general etc); the recruitment of a family lawyer;

To approve an initial, in-year capital cost of £23,000 is predicted for the electronic work. The anticipated first year (FY19/20) pressure incurred by this proposal above current budget is £196,028. However, anticipated savings in future years mitigate this initial cost.