Somerset partnership investigated

Partnership logo

• Increase image
• View all images

Somerset CC's ground-breaking shared services venture with IBM faces new questions over its legality amid rising concern about secrecy.

Unison has called for the Audit Commission to investigate allegations of a lack of transparency in the Southwest One 10-year deal signed last year between the council, Avon & Somerset Constabulary and Taunton Deane DC, which could be joined by dozens of other local authorities.

Meanwhile, Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger (Con) has reported the 10-year joint venture - expected to save Somerset £1.7m annually - to both the Standards Board for England and the Serious Fraud Office.

Simon Watson, Unison national officer, claimed its members in the council were frustrated at the lack of consultation and detail on the joint venture contract to outsource back office services.

He said research indicated that 60-70% of strategic delivery partnerships were unsuccessful and the potential scale of failure involved would be huge if the further 33 councils who could join Southwest One  chose to do so.

"Private companies view them as hard-nosed enterprises, whereas councils view them as cosy partnerships," he said.

"Somebody needs to come in from the outside and take a look at what they are doing, and we think that should be the Audit Commission."

Somerset chief executive Alan Jones insisted that residents and staff had been fully consulted on the proposals before Southwest One was given the council's backing, and that commercial confidentiality issues should not be confused with secrecy.

"The unions are concerned that what we've done has broken the mould and that this is the model that is being considered by Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire," he said.

Ed Boyle, a researcher for MP Mr Liddell-Grainger, said that while there was a case to be made for confidentiality before a joint-venture partnership had been finalised, the argument could not be made
afterwards.

An Audit Commission spokesman said a new report on Southwest One was due to be delivered to Somerset by the autumn.

He said part of the motivation for the report was routine Use of Resources inspections, but that external concerns expressed would also be taken into consideration.