I voted against

Here is the decision on outsourcing at tonights meeting. 

I voted against

Cllr Lisa Northover

Mouchel Partnership set to commence on 1^st December

Tonight (Wednesday 10^th November), Full Council approved the award of an Incremental Partnership Contract to Mouchel, for an initial period of 10 years, with a proposed contract start date of 1 December 2010.

The partnership is made up of three key aspects:

1. A Council-wide structured change programme, known as Transformation.  This will create the capacity for the Council to save up to 40% of its revenue budget over the next ten years, with a series of business cases being developed over the course of the contract.  The Council will have final decision on which changes to proceed with.
2. Delivery of four initial services – ICT, Revenues, Benefits and Facilities Management.  Mouchel will continue to base these jobs in Bournemouth.  The partnership will see the standards for these services improved to be within the best 25% in the country by 2013, whilst also saving 5.9% a year on their running costs.
3. Developing the local economy including the creation of up to 650 new, private-sector jobs in Bournemouth, with 350 jobs of these guaranteed contractually by Mouchel.  These will be created in the emerging field of carbon management, through the creation of a national Centre for Excellence, and the regional provision of support services (such as IT and facilities management) to other public sector organisations.

Assurances were given at Council by Mouchel as to their financial position and ability to deliver the contract as offered.

Cllr Peter Charon, Leader of the Council, said, “This is probably the most significant decision Council has taken for many years and it is not something that a single Member has considered lightly.  In a series of four meetings over three days, the Business Case has been scrutinised, debated and ultimately, this evening, accepted.”  He added, “It is the combination of service improvement, cost reduction, council-wide transformation, a flexible contract that lets us maintain control, and added benefit to the wider economy that make this a once in a generation opportunity.” 

After a required ‘cooling off’ period, it is expected that contracts will be signed by 30^thNovember.

Cllr John Beesley, Cabinet Member for Resources said, “This has been many years in the planning, and demonstrates Bournemouth’s ability to plan ahead, predict the difficult times and prepare effectively for them.  I am confident that working with Mouchel gives us the best possible opportunity of responding to the announced Government funding cuts, whilst allowing us the flexibility to respond to circumstances that are as yet unknown, such as future legislation or further changes to our funding regime.”

ENDS

For further comment / broadcast interview, please call:

Media Office: 01202 454668

Cllr Peter Charon 01202 304317

Cllr John Beesley 07860 391219

Editor’s Notes:

Timeline: reaching tonight’s decision:

·         October 2008 – Cabinet considered an Options Appraisal which provided a high level assessment of potential efficiencies.

·         February 2009 – Cabinet approved the Detailed Case for Change to procure a potential partner.

·         June 2009 – The Scope of Services was confirmed (ICT< Facilities Management, Benefits, Revenues) and procurement commenced following approval by Cabinet.

·         July 2009 – The notice advertising the Partnership opportunity was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

·         September 2009 – 4 bidders (Serco, Capita, Mouchel, BT/Balfour Beatty) were shortlisted from Pre Qualification Responses.

·         December 2009 – Capita and Mouchel were shortlisted to participate in detailed Dialogue with the Council with a view to submitting Final Tenders.

·         July 2010 - A Business Case was been developed for approval by Council. A number of recommendations were made by Overview and Scrutiny Management Panel to improve the Business Case.

·         July-October 2010 –recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Panel on 5 July 2010 are addressed

Selecting Mouchel as Preferred Bidder:

Both Mouchel and Capita’s final bids were assessed on:

(i) Price – achievement of the Council’s affordability requirements, minimisation of exposure and access to funding.

(ii) Quality – technical approach, robustness and risk management, service management and plans for innovation and service improvement.

(iii) Staff – retaining jobs locally and demonstration of staff welfare and development of skills.

(iv) Broader Strategic Contribution – supporting broader change across the Council and the local economy as a whole.