Agenda item

(1) Motion by Councillor J D Hough

 

It was moved, and seconded that

 

This council is seriously dismayed about the problems that have occurred and continue to happen with the new back office outsourcing being delivered – or not delivered - by Serco.

Since April 1^st when the new contract began there have been thousands of delays, errors and mistakes in wages paid or not paid to employees, in unpaid bills to suppliers and in the provision of information and new systems.

This disastrous performance has

·         affected the ability of the County Council to carry out its own functions

·         had a major impact on the county’s schools trying to use the Agresso system

·         failed to deliver new IT systems for front line services.

 

The council notes that a great deal of work has been done both by the council and by the supplier to try and sort out the shambles that has been created and Serco has made a commitment that the problems will be sorted in the next few months.

However there have been numerous reports of teachers still not being paid properly and schools having problems with non – payment of bills.

Schools have been unable to access reliable information about their spending for this year and at a time of financial strain this means they can’t plan for next year either. Their reputation in their own communities as a good employer and purchaser of local goods and services will take years to regain.

The failures of the new system are also preventing the implementation of improvements in the front line for social workers who instead of having an IT system fit for purpose from 1^st April this year will have to wait at least a year before having it up and running.

Overall, the handling of the new contract has been a disaster for both schools and the council. The combination of a new contractor together with a new IT system that Serco had no experience of setting up was always going to be high risk, it could be argued foolhardy.

This is another failure of proper scrutiny of a major new contract and a dash for outsourcing at the cheapest price regardless of quality and the likely impact on the council, its services and on schools. The council notes that what happened could have been prevented if those councillors on scrutiny who expressed concerns had been listened to.

The Council therefore calls on the executive to:

1. Issue a public apology to all the schools, to all the employees, and to all the suppliers who have been affected by this,

2. Ensure that a full investigation is carried out into

a) what went wrong with the awarding of the contract and

b) why eight and a half months after Serco was supposed to take over these functions the contract as agreed is still not being properly implemented as expected,

3. Set up a task force to work with all the local authority schools to support them in their dealings with Serco,

4. Ensure that schools and staff are properly and fully compensated for stress suffered and for the additional work that they have had to do. While waiting for the level of compensation for schools to be agreed by Serco, the first call on the money the Council has already received from Serco due to contract failures should be to provide funds to schools to ensure none of them or their staff are out of pocket due to this disaster.

An amendment by Councillor M J Hill OBE was moved and seconded as follows:

 

This council is seriously concerned about problems which have occurred and continue to happen with the new back office outsourcing being delivered by Serco.

 

The council notes that a great deal of work has been done both by the Council and by the supplier to rectify the situation and Serco has made a commitment that the problems will be sorted out in the next months.

 

We also note the progress made and the fact that Serco have invested considerably to resolve the issue and the progress made so far.   The council does expect costs to be recovered from Serco which has received a positive response.

 

It is the intention of the Executive to undertake a review once Serco have ensured that the new systems are working correctly which will review lessons learnt from the award of the contract and its commencement.

 

In the interim a cross-party Recovery Board has already been set up which will monitor progress and advise the executive and management.

 

There is now considerable support and communication to schools to help then deal with local issues and an enhanced help desk arrangement for them and suppliers with particular problems.

 

The contract was awarded following a rigorous tendering process which was fully compliant with EU legislation and will engender around £14million of savings for the council for its duration.  This will be in addition to the 20% savings achieved when back office services were first outsourced in 2000.

 

It is proposed that the Motion relating to Serco is amended to read as follows:

 

This Council:

 

(1)  notes that Serco have issued an apology relating to the performance of new systems;

(2)  notes that the Executive intends to commission a full investigation once systems are working correctly, which will include:

a)    any lessons that may be learnt about the award of the contract; and

b)    why eight and a half months after Serco was supposed to take over various functions, the contract as agreed is still not being properly implemented

(3)  notes that the Executive has already established a Recovery Group to monitor the implementation of Serco's contract;

(4)  notes that schools and staff have had additional work and pressures as a result of system; and requests the Executive to seek recovery of additional costs from Serco.

 

A vote was taken on the amendment, and upon being put to the vote, was carried.  This then became the substantive motion.

 

The motion, on being put to the vote was carried.  Therefore it was

 

RESOLVED

 

This Council:

 

(1) notes that Serco have issued an apology relating to the performance of     new systems;

(2) notes that the Executive intends to commission a full investigation once    systems are working correctly, which will include:

a)    any lessons that may be learnt about the award of the contract; and

b)    why eight and a half months after Serco was supposed to take over various functions, the contract as agreed is still not being properly implemented

(3)  notes that the Executive has already established a Recovery Group to monitor the implementation of Serco's contract;

(4)  notes that schools and staff have had additional work and pressures as a result of system; and requests the Executive to seek recovery of additional costs from Serco.

 

 

(2) Motion by Councillor Mrs M J Overton MBE

 

It was moved and seconded that

 

Europe was set up originally as a trade partnership, so European companies bid for our services on an equal basis. Now our government’s representatives in Europe are promoting a Trans Atlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) which will widen it to include the USA, so companies based from the USA are equal bidders for English contracts, as well as companies from the EU. Conflicting figures have been mentioned regarding the financial gain or loss to our country. There is no clarity, the government describing it as “impossible to model”.

 

TTIP itself does not open our services to competitive tender from the USA, but we have the Localism act. As Lincolnshire found to our cost in the courts, the “Community right to bid” to take over the running of Council services, is wider than the “local community”. It includes any company in the UK.  With TTIP, it would have to include any American company as well. Opening it up to companies operating from America would be an added unwanted step to further globalization, possibly without payment of some British taxes. This could give them an unfair advantage over British businesses. Worse, if our government wanted to make changes in legislation that affected their business, they could demand compensation for loss of profits from a confidential tribunal.

 

This Council calls on the Minister for Trade and Commerce and our Prime Minister to ensure

a)    That the TTIP proposals in detail are published this year, to give a chance of better public involvement

b)    That all public services will be excluded

c)    That standards in food safety are raised not lowered

d)    That disputes are taken through judicial courts held in public, not a tribunal in secret

e)    That any final agreements come back through our own parliament before any agreement is made

 

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was lost