The City Council decided not to proceed with a Strategic Partnership for ICT and related services following a procurement process and to undertake the work in-house. No Corporate Takeover of Council Services is by Newcastle’s UNISON’s ITRS Evaluation Team assisted by the Centre for Public Services. Part 1: In-House Capacity for Change Management – makes…

This 20-page Briefing, commissioned by Northumberland, Durham and Northamptonshire UNISON branches, is a summary for elected members, staff and service users of the current evidence against SSPs and outsourcing of shared services projects. It covers finance, savings and investment; accountability and transparency of JVCs; performance; risks levels; employment and job creation; and in-house capability to…

A Database of Strategic Partnerships for local authority ICT, corporate, planning, education, property, police, fire and rescue support services, highway services and waste management in Britain. Annual reports available for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and a combined 2012-2013 report.

A highly critical assessment of the Audit Commission’s recent report, For Better, For Worse, on Strategic Service-delivery Partnerships. It finds ten fundamental flaws ranging from inadequate methodology, no evidence base, employment issues ignored, no audit of private sector investment and no comparison of an alternative in-house approach. The Commission’s claim that the information on which…

Assesses Oldham’s planned Strategic Service Delivery Partnership and shows that the project falls well short of the targets and claims made for community cohesion, regeneration and job creation.

The report is critical of: * the unprecedented degree of secrecy in a public sector project. * the continual overuse of commercial confidentiality by the ISiS project team. * the lack of public consultation and public debate. * the lack of rigorous scrutiny of the project, to ensure the protection of public services and allay…

Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane District Council signed a £400m Strategic Service-delivery Partnership contract with IBM in September 2007. The Joint Venture Company, Southwest One, is the first SSP to have a framework agreement to enable other local authorities and public bodies to obtain services bypassing the procurement process. It is also the first…

Bedfordshire County Council agreed a £267m Strategic Service-Delivery Partnership with HBS Business Services Group in June 2001 and transferred 550 staff to HBS. Bedfordshire UNISON commissioned the Centre for Public Services to undertake an evaluation of the Strategic Partnership. The study revealed that the partnership was in crisis and had failed to deliver many of…