Capita eyes new council targets
Oct 21 2009 by Paul Dale, Birmingham Post
Outsourcing firm Capita may take responsibility for delivering another chunk of Birmingham City Council services by assuming control of parts of the local authority’s planning and regeneration functions.
The company, which has a £424 million contract to transform the council’s IT network through Service Birmingham, is understood to have held informal discussions about running some aspects of planning consultancy and building control services through its subsidiary Capita Symonds.
Capita, which posted a record £2.4 billion turnover last year, has been steadily moving into local government planning by offering to save councils millions of pounds through more efficient IT systems and back office functions.
The company recently signed a £40 million contract to take control of planning services at Breckland Council in Norfolk after promising to generate £5.7 million of savings over 15 years.
It has a £200 million contract to handle Sheffield City Council’s business transformation project and has a partnership with Salford City Council to provide planning support and expertise to 45 local authorities across the UK.
Capita’s pledge to save money appeals to local government as public finances are about to take a battering.
In Birmingham the recent departure of city regeneration director Clive Dutton, whose job has still not been advertised, could be the catalyst for a major shake-up of the development directorate, where staff sickness levels hit 16 days a year per person in the summer.
Capita Symonds has delivered the masterplanning for Birmingham’s new library and has plenty of experience in handling large regeneration projects.
A city council spokesman said: “Birmingham City Council is committed to achieving excellence and value for money for citizens. In light of the predicted decline in public sector funding, the council is undertaking a review of several services linked to planning and regeneration. Senior managers are reviewing a range of options and the remit of this work is to strengthen the delivery of services, with a clear focus on improvements.
“We have not made any decisions at this stage, and exploratory work is on-going. This exploratory work involves gathering and analysing data, volumes and cost to seek areas where the council has scope to improve performance. This work will inform decisions around the areas offering the biggest opportunities to make a difference in service improvements or value for money.”
It is believed the council is not prepared to hand control of major planning decisions to the private sector – something that would be politically explosive. However, minor applications such as house extensions could be handled externally since decisions are already taken directly by council officials acting under delegated powers.
The possibility of outsourcing a key council function does not appeal to Peter Douglas Osborn, the Tory chairman of the planning committee. Coun Osborn (Con Weoley) said: “We have got to look at alternative ways of management. There is considerable impetus from this government and will be more so from the next. However I am not anticipating the planning department to come under this particular scrutiny.”
