The value to Birmingham City Council of its £1 billion contract with Capita has been called into question again after the local authority was quoted £20,000 for a “simple” computer programme change to be implemented.
Managers at the Fleet and Waste depot were forced to drop plans to charge residents for removing asbestos because the cost of installing a different programme at the council’s call centre was too great, a scrutiny committee meeting was told.
Assistant Fleet and Waste Management director Kevin Mitchell told the scrutiny committee the Capita-controlled Service Birmingham, which runs the call centre, had the right under its council contract to charge for any alterations to the existing IT system.
Computer programmes used by call centre operatives to instruct refuse crews would have had to be altered to process charging for asbestos removal.
But Mr Mitchell said the plan had to be dropped because the £20,000 cost was far more than the income that could be raised from charges.
He added: “Making what appear to be the simplest of changes has become a time consuming and expensive process.
“We have no option but to ask Service Birmingham to make these changes, so there is a question of whether we receive best value for money.”
The disclosure was the latest in a series of embarrassing claims about Service Birmingham’s performance heard by the main scrutiny committee this year.
Last month an independent review by accountants Grant Thornton found that the performance of Service Birmingham was driven by “commercial considerations” with little sign of any “strong, focused” management by the council.
The scrutiny committee’s investigations have produced several critical reports, including one which hit out at “numerous failings” at the contact centre.
Councillors were concerned at a “naive” contract clause allowing Capita to be paid up to £4 per call dealt with – an arrangement which, it was alleged, encouraged Service Birmingham to maximise the number of repeat calls in order to boost profits.
Mr Mitchell went on to tell the scrutiny committee meeting that “human error” at the call centre was proving costly to the council.
Call centre staff were pressing the “wrong computer buttons”, sending bin crews on pointless missions across Birmingham.
Operators have been entering incorrect codes when responding to callers complaining about refuse sacks not being picked up, Mr Mitchell said.
Refuse teams have been sent to collect one bag because jobs were incorrectly recorded as whole streets missing a collection.
Vans capable only of collecting newspapers for recycling have been sent to pick up green garden refuse bins.