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Commissioning (Virtual) Councils - are they the way forward?

COMMISSIONING (VIRTUAL) COUNCILS – ARE THEY THE WAY FORWARD?

Southampton City Council has recently announced that they are considering becoming a “commissioning council” but what does this mean?


A commissioning council tries to ensure there is flexibility for cultural change whilst guaranteeing a healthy public sector into the future and maintaining efficiency.


The general public are usually unconcerned about who provides their services as long as they are high quality, consistent and delivered in an efficient and effective manner. It is no longer necessary for existing councils to provide the services themselves and they should look to see whether it would be beneficial to outsource some services to the private sector. In certain circumstances outsourcing will not be the correct way forward but councils should consider the private, public and third sectors to see which can provide each of the services they require at best value for their constituents.
Southampton City Council’s decision to involve outsourcing firm Capita in discussions about becoming a commissioning council by 2015 have been criticised by Unite the Union as they believe this will have a significant effect on the services that are provided as well as the employment conditions and pensions of existing council workers.


The Council leader, Councillor Royston Smith, denies that working with private companies such as Capita would lead to residents receiving “an inferior standard of service”. He believes that by working with companies such as Capita they can provide an even better service to residents whilst finding the necessary savings required in these difficult times.


As with all debates about the benefits of the public and private services there are good and bad points made by each side. The unions should embrace the prospect of working with the private sector, which will in many circumstances improve their members’ conditions and prospects. The council should also recognise the important part that their existing staff play in the services that are provided and not automatically assume that private sector companies can perform the work better than their existing staff.


In the legal sector, for example, it would be foolhardy to completely do away with a legal department, as a number of the areas which local government have to deal with are best left in-house. There are, however, numerous areas of law where the use of external firms such as Nockolds LLP can be of significant benefit to the councils. For example, outsourcing employment law issues can help ensure that the relations between the council and the union (which often break down when these are dealt with in-house) remain convivial.


Each council must decide how best to run the services they provide to the public but outsourcing some services whilst keeping others in house may (in the long run) be the best solution.

Ivan Moody (profile) Ivan Moody Thursday 12th January 2012
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