Lib Dems call for all information to be revealed
January 16, 2012 1:47 PM
The Liberal Democrat Group have welcomed the City Council's decision to terminate its current ICT contract and begin final negotiations to enter into a new shared service agreement with LGSS - a partnership between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire county councils. However, the Group has raised concerns over the disclosure of key information relating to the decision.
Cllr James Wright, Lib Dem Group Leader at City Hall, commented:
"The decision to enter into an agreement with LGSS is the right one. The Liberal Democrats have consistently called for the Council to share services with other local authorities in order to save money and improve efficiency. This proposed agreement, which covers finance and IT initially, should be the starting point in that process. Other areas such as procurement, asset management and senior staffing structure should be looked at in the future.
"The only concern we have is whether the full business case will be revealed to residents once the deal and all the figures are finalised. The decision has so far been made behind closed doors and the full financial picture is not yet in the public domain. I have called for full disclosure of the minutes of key meetings, the financial figures in regard to the old ICT contract, and the full savings that the Council expects to achieve under the new agreement. This is taxpayers' money and they deserve to know how it is spent.
"The 15 year £85 million PFI deal that Labour signed with Steria in 2002 was simply too long for an IT contract and I am pleased that the new proposal is only for an initial 5 years. I hope that the new partnership will lead to a much needed improvement in performance."
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