One Barnet - Barnet Council believes program is not a concern to the public

Yet another dodgy DPR being snuck through today. This one is dealing with the transformation (ie Outsourcing of the revenues and benefits department of Barnet Council.

Here is the link

http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s5245/1770%20-%20Transformation%20of%20the%20Revenue%20and%20Benefits%20service%20and%20transfer%20of%20staff%20to%20the%20Customer%20Contact%20Centre.pdf

The most interesting section is the Risk Management Issues in section 3. Here is what it says

3. RISK MANAGEMENT ISSUES

3.1 Failure to implement the proposed transfer of these services will have a significant impact on the successful delivery of the One Barnet programme’s overarching aim, to create a customer-centric council and deliver a fiscal saving.

3.2 To mitigate the risk presented through the outsource of a service that is not appropriately resourced, the proposed change will enable the establishing of a stable service, realising improved performance and financial savings pre transfer and presenting a suitable platform for the strategic partner to make agreed further improvements post transfer.

3.3 Careful consideration has been given to whether this transfer is likely to raise significant levels of public concern or comment or give rise to policy considerations. It is not anticipated that any concern or comment will be raised or that the transfer gives rise to policy consideration.

3.4 The transformation of the Revenue & Benefits operating design, including the realignment of resource and improvement in process, presents significant risk to mid term recovery rates. This risk will be mitigated through the retention of management resource in the form of a Transition Team (as set out below). This team will be made up of the four displaced senior managers who will project manage the transition process over the mid term to ensure sustained improvement can take place.

This is a wonderful piece of Barnet Council Doublespeak. They say in section 3.4 that the transfer is highly risky, with potentially a potentially disasterous impact on "mid term revenues" if it goes wrong. In section 3.3 it says that they don't expect this to raise any concern or comment.  Well here's one little bit of concern and comment. If it poses a risk and the service is working well at the moment, why on earth expose the taxpayers of Barnet to any risk at all. When the council say they don't expect public concern, have they actually bothered to ask? They are clearly being dishonest, because I see a thousand hits a day on my blog (and they can see that from the blog statistics on the right hand side of the page). In short, they are lying.

In short, what the document highlights is the inherent risk to council revenue posed by outsourcing the department. Their solution is to set up a team of "displaced managers". It sounds rather like one of Baldrick's "cunning plans" to me.  "Yes Blackadder, we'll take four displaced managers and set up a team to manage the transition. They will be really motivated, knowing they'll be on the scrapheap when it's all done!"

Are there really no sane and rational people in Nick Walkley's empire any more, who can see the obvious flaw in the plan? Does the Council Leader Richard Cornelius really believe that this is a sensible scheme? Lord help us all if he does.