Shared services project
abandoned by Rushcliffe
At its meeting on 13 January, the Borough Council's Cabinet decided to abandon the Shared Services project, following the failure of first Liberata and then Capita to provide the necessary assurances and financial guarantees. £302,000 has been wasted by Rushcliffe on the project (equivalent to £7 on the council tax), without anything to show for it.
The project would have transferred many back-office functions, such as council tax collection, benefit payments, human resources and information technology to a private company. The "credit crunch" and financial crisis have convincingly shown that it is best to keep these operations in the public sector.
The management structure of the Council is now being re-aligned so as to absorb the staff and functions back into the main structure.
I am very relieved for the sake of the staff and the local taxpayers that the Council has seen sense at last, after all the kowtowing to political dogma and the siren calls of the private sector and its ever-demanding shareholders.
