Legal and Democratic Services Business & Improvement Plan 2025-2028

This BIP sets out the main actions that Legal & Regulatory Services intends to carry out over the period of 2025 to 2028 to deliver core priorities and the related objectives of the Local Outcome Improvement Plan and the Strategic Planning & Performance Framework.

Legal & Regulatory Services provides support to all services of the Council in relation to strategic commissioning in support of the Health & social Care Partnership; strategic and operational procurement activities including e-Procurement and Accounts Payable; the Governance of the Council; Decision making & Elected Members; the administration of Elections; Civil Contingencies and Resilience; the Legal Interests of the Council; and Information Management including Records Management, Data Protection and Freedom of Information.  

In carrying out these services, Legal & Regulatory Services aims to meet statutory obligations, current best practice, a strategic approach aligned with pragmatism and provide a responsive and quality service to both internal customers and external stakeholders.  The Strategic Grouping contributes to the corporate governance of the Council through the statutory roles of the Monitoring Officer and the Service’s focus on supporting and strengthening controls and monitoring legislative compliance.

Strategic Priorities

For the period 2025-28 the Strategic Group has identified the following Strategic Priorities:

• Embedding Procurement Governance and best practice across all Service areas through established principles, monitoring and reporting protocols.
• Effectively managing the contract management stages of the procurement process to challenge in the context of best value and possible efficiencies.
• Continually improving service delivery and the performance of Procurement whilst minimising financial, reputational, and commercial risk.
• Supporting the HSCP to make informed strategic and financial decisions regarding commissioned services and support and/or progress implementation of agreed budget savings .
• Supporting the commissioned market to develop innovative and flexible service delivery models that build resilience and strengthen the market’s longer-term sustainability and viability, whilst delivering cost effective services. 
• Building upon and strengthening a collaborative commissioning approach across the market 
• Reviewing Third Sector spend with a view to delivering a commissioned landscape which is fully integrated, financially sustainable, works collaboratively and delivers value for money 
• Ensuring that the Council’s Governance arrangements and mechanisms remain up to date and structure the Council’s relationships with partners
• Ensuring continued compliance with the Council’s Governance Structures
• Ensuring that the Council’s decision-making arrangements continue to be robust and meet the required governance standards of a modern local authority
• Ensuring that the Council’s electoral administration arrangements remain up to date and robust, as well as ready to deploy and scale up/down with minimal notice
• Ensuring that the Council’s Civil Contingencies arrangements are up to date and enable it to continue to meet its responsibilities as a Category 1 Responder in relation to national, regional and local events in association with strategic partners
• Ensuring the best representation of the Council Legal Interests – including all aspects of contracts, planning & conveyancing, litigation & licensing, supporting the governance and decision-making functions of the Council and providing advice and guidance to all Council services including supporting the delivery of priority projects including school and housing projects
• Ensuring that the Council complies with best practice in relation to all aspects of Records Management including Freedom of Information, Data Protection matters, GDPR and all aspects of Information Management incorporated in the Council’s Records Management Plan.

In meeting our legal obligations, we will:

• Continually review advice, practice and guidance to ensure legislative compliance and response.
• Ensure compliance to Procurement legislative requirements whilst supporting the achievement of Best Value
• Ensure the assessed needs and outcomes of the most vulnerable in our local communities are met .
• Support Services and the wider Council in a way which is compliant with legal obligations but is underpinned by pragmatism.

Work of the Teams

Corporate Governance

The Corporate Governance Service provides Democratic Services, Technical Support for Registration Services, Elected Members Support and SLT Support services on an on-going basis, Civil Contingencies and Corporate Information and Records Management services to the prescribed standard across all areas.  In addition, Democratic Services delivers the successful management of all electoral events in East Dunbartonshire and regularly reviews the alignment of polling districts to constituency and ward boundaries as required by the Boundary Commission for Scotland and Local Government Boundary Commission.  The work of the team contributes to the delivery of the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP), ensuring that the Council has appropriate systems and controls through which it seeks to deliver its Vision and Local Outcomes.  Specific activities in support of the overall objectives include:

• Management and administration of the Council’s decision-making bodies.
• Election Management, Planning & Delivery.
• Provision of direction and technical support to the Council’s Registration Function.
• Development of corporate and strategic Civil Contingency Plans and arrangements with partners at national, regional and local resilience levels.
• Civil contingencies – Strategic and operational multi-agency framework for responding to, and recovering from, emergencies in the UK.
• Information & Records Management
  • Records Management Plan and Publication Schemes
  • FOI, Data Protection & GDPR management
  • Efficient and cost-effective Mail Services
  • Central Print Functions.

Corporate Procurement

The Technical Procurement Team supports the delivery of Procurement related legislative requirements, best practice, Transformation and Capital programme delivery (including the City Deal), to meet legal Procurement obligations and deliver strategic priorities. This includes providing guidance, advice, training and skill development to ensure an embedded procurement governance approach.

Annual Procurement Strategies and reports, in line with the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act, are facilitated by the Procurement Team, ensuring alignment to organisational objectives, national policy, and legislative drivers. These set out how the Council intends to carry out its regulated procurements and retrospectively how it complied. Publication is driven by completion of internal reporting and governance processes.

Wider strategic support for projects and longer-term capital and City Deal procurement workstreams are key deliverables and involve the Procurement Team working in partnership and delivering significant outcomes and investment. 

Procurement plays a key role in building capacity and skills within procurement activity across the Council, increasing internal and external collaboration, engaging proactively to support wider council transformation objectives and the local economy.

Working in partnership with other Services, Procurement will support the Corporate Contract and Supplier Management approach, identifying, securing and maximising contract opportunities to deliver better outcomes.

The Procurement Support Team is responsible for the transactional elements of invoice processing and systems support for day-to-day Procurement and purchasing activities in accordance with established Council Financial and structural approvals. The embedded financial controls and authorisation processes within Fusion are also governed by the Procurement Support team, with the Technical Procurement team maintaining key contract information, reviewing essential spend, and directing contracted spend.

Legal Services

Legal Services provides legal support to the Council and its various decision making bodies; provides key professional support services incorporating projects and procurements, contracts, conveyancing and land matters, supporting the Council’s City Region Deal projects, general advice on statutory functions including planning, community protection, social work and education, regulatory matters including liquor and civic government licensing, and litigation conducted in courts and tribunals. Legal Services delivers advice and support to a variety of Council committees, quasi-judicial Boards and the Licensing Board. The Service provides legal advice in relation to the Council’s compliance with freedom of information, data protection and related information management legislation and undertakes formal reviews of FOI requests as required. The Team also advises in relation to compliance with human rights and equality. Further, it provides advice and support across the Council and its decision-making bodies on issues of vires and legal compliance in general.

Specific activities in support of the overall objectives include:

• Always ensuring that the Council acts within its statutory and common law duties and powers
• Enabling other Council services to deliver priorities by providing timeous and appropriate legal advice and support
• Enabling the Council to protect vulnerable individuals
• Enabling key projects and strategies including major transformational projects by the provision of appropriate advice in relation to governance and legal matters
• Ensuring all opportunities for the Council’s growth and functionality can be realised
• Identifying key savings and revenue for the Council within legal limits
• Securing capital receipts and revenue income to assist with the maintenance of the Council’s revenue and the development of the local economy
• Assisting with improving the safety of East Dunbartonshire with regulatory work including licensing
• Assisting with ensuring that the Council complies with Best Value requirements.

Strategic Commissioning

The Strategic Commissioning Team’s primary function is to support the HSCP to develop and deliver its strategic and financial priorities.   Support to the HSCP is provided within the context of strategic commissioning activities that align strategic, financial, and operational functions.  This includes: market facilitation – intervening across the market to ensure there is a diverse, appropriate and affordable provision to meet local needs; strategic & financial planning & decision making, procuring services via appropriate routes, improving and modernising support models to achieve better outcomes and financial efficiency; project management application to support & progress strategic reviews, risk management of the market and providers to determine service and financial risk along with mitigation actions, strengthening the commissioning collaborative approach via underpinning legislation that supports and encourages service solutions co-designed and co-produced with the Third and Independent sectors, contract management, monitoring, compliance and audit /assurance activity, delivering value for money & greater efficiencies via more innovative service delivery models including digital solutions, and establishing local and national networks and key interfaces including: HSCP, Council, Providers, Care Inspectorate, Health Improvement Scotland, Scotland Excel, CoSLA and other related agencies 

Set t against a backdrop of increasing demand and expectations, cost of living crisis, unprecedented financial challenges and uncontrollable market forces, the commissioned market was forced to make a marked shift from a position of pandemic recovery to one of financial sustainability and protecting current services and service  levels. In response, the Strategic Commissioning Team has been instrumental in supporting the HSCP to take stock and re-calibrate its priorities by providing enhanced technical commissioning, commercial and project management expertise underpinned by a risk-based approach. This support ensures the HSCP remains best placed to make informed strategic and financial decisions about where to invest and disinvest across services whilst delivering a balanced budget .      

Inextricably linked, the shift in the market necessitates a shift in resources and skill base across the Strategic Commissioning Team.  Whilst this is being addressed via a revised structure, the SCT continue to pool limited resources and skill base to respond to daily demands, intervene across the market as/when required and provide on-going essential support to the HSCP.  

• Information Records Management Strategy – continued development of effective and robust records management practices to reflect changing work patterns and locations.
• Information Records Management – FOI Toolkit – continued development to ensure consistent, effective and efficient response to FOI Data Protection Enquiries.
• Information Records Management – Managed Print Contract – Upgrade existing fleet of copiers to a new leaner more efficient fleet which reduces overall printing volumes as per the Council’s Print Reduction strategy and provides more detailed and dynamic reporting mechanisms.
• Self Service Arrangements – identify opportunities for the introduction of arrangements to support Services and improve efficiency.
• Digital Transformation/IT Skills Development for Elected Members – various up-skilling to assist Members in adapting to and making the most of Digital Transformation.
• Full implementation of the Fusion financial management system and planned Redwood upgrade.
• Review structures and processes across the strategic grouping to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and support the ever-changing needs of the Council and its communities.
• Support the HSCP to identify where to invest and disinvest across commissioned services and implement with support from Legal and Procurement services.
• Implement annual Scottish Living Wage and National Care Home contract uplifts.