The assertion has been made by the Society of IT Management (Socitm) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) in a report published on 11 April 2005. Titled A marriage of convenience? A review of experiences from partnerships and outsourcing contracts, it is based on a survey of 26 local authorities that have been involved in outsourcing. It estimates that the average value of a local authority outsourcing contract is £6m per year, and that with an average life of seven and a half years the total value across the sector is £4bn.
The report says that many partnerships between councils and contractors do not run smoothly, and that more contracts are breaking down before they have run their full term.
Among its conclusions are that too many arrangements labelled as partnerships are done so purely for political expediency and do not really fit the description.
"It's perceived to be a warm word which goes down well, but often there is not a great deal of difference with a general services contract," Martin Greenwood, programme manager of Socitm Insight, told Government Computing News.
Other conclusions are that partnerships do work successfully in some cases, but they need a good deal of give and take between the two sides. They are often undermined by shortcomings in the procurement process, a lack of due diligence and inadequate resources.
It also says that local authorities should avoid trying to "outsource a problem". Managing a difficult issue at arm's length is significantly more difficult than tackling it directly.
"Typically, people do it when there are difficulties with in-house provision," Greenwood said. "It may be best done by addressing it in-house.
"People are often not exactly clear about why they want to go into outsourcing. The advice is be clear about what is the problem you are trying to solve, and be absolutely sure the solution will solve that particular problem."
Quelle: KableNET, 11.04.2005
