Council restructure in bid to keep jobs and save cash
RHONDDA Cynon Taf council wants to restructure its revenue and benefits services in an attempt to save money and protect jobs.
The authority is looking to work with a strategic partner on a “centre of excellence” which would house around 60 employees in the revenue and benefit services such as housing benefits and council tax services as it prepares for the roll out of Universal Credit.
A council report says that Universal Credit will reduce the workload of the revenues and benefits services and reduce the need for staff.
It is hoped that a partnership would enable the service to grow by providing services to other councils within South Wales region and that it would safeguard existing jobs as well as creating and bringing more jobs into the county borough.
Denbighshire council in North Wales has already developed such a centre of excellence with a strategic partner which officers from Rhondda Cynon Taf have visited to see how they could create a similar one in South Wales.
The report set to be presented to cabinet says that back office and support services at Rhondda Cynon Taf council are “relatively low cost and efficient” and that most of the £6m annual savings over the past few years have been targeted towards these areas.
The council is hoping the strategic partner will provide functional expertise, market and commercial knowledge, expertise at mangaging change and the capacity to grow the service.
The council says it plans to engage with staff and trade unions and that after the strategic partner procurement process is complete, a report will come back to cabinet in the autumn so it can decide whether to proceed.