THE leader of Harlow Council has revealed that the setting up of a new constitution has cost over £50,000.

The admission follows a question at full council from Labour leader, James Griggs.

Councillor James Griggs to Councillor Dan Swords (Leader of the Council):

To date, what are the costs involved in creating the new Harlow Council constitution, when will it be completed and at what final cost?

Reply from Councillor Dan Swords (Leader of the Council):

I have been pleased to enact the outcome under the ‘transform our council’ mission to introduce a new Constitution and governance framework. The direction for this work was set unanimously by Full Council in May, with the Vision and Purpose document agreed unanimously again in September.

Elements of the new Constitution were implemented in September following unanimous Council approval, with the remaining sections due to come into effect from 5 January, subject to Council approval this evening.

I thank all members, including the opposition, for their support in enabling a modern, clearer approach to governance that is embedded across the organisation and is already saving cost and improving efficiency.

The total cost incurred is approximately £52,000, representing exceptionally good value for money. Comparable external reviews undertaken by leading law firms are routinely quoted at significantly higher cost and typically take 12 months or longer to complete.

By contrast, this work was delivered at a lower cost and more than ten months faster than originally anticipated.

The effective rate paid is significantly lower than both published in-house local authority legal charging rates and national guideline solicitor rates, despite the work being delivered by someone with over 20 years’ post-qualification experience and multiple constitution rewrites.

In simple terms, the Council has secured senior-level expertise at a rate more commonly associated with junior legal staff.

While some opposition members argued for a longer and more expensive process, I do not believe that would have been the right approach. The route chosen ensured the work was resourced externally without disrupting business- as-usual, while benefiting from deep organisational knowledge of Harlow, its governance arrangements, officers and members.

This enabled rapid progress, avoided duplication and delay, and secured unanimous political support.

The benefits of the new Constitution are already being realised. Conservative estimates suggest tens of thousands of pounds have already been saved over the past three months through clearer, quicker and more efficient decision-making.

These savings are expected to increase further with the introduction of revised Finance and Contract Regulations. While there was a modest upfront investment, the new Constitution is already delivering returns and is expected to save the authority significant sums over the next year.

“Overall, this approach has delivered unanimous support, record speed, demonstrable savings and a modern governance framework that enables the Council to operate more efficiently, transparently and in residents’ best interests”.