Council shake-up to share services
CITY AND COUNTY MERGER ‘WILL SAVE JOBS AND CASH’
A MERGER which will see 200 Newcastle City Council employees moved to Northumberland has been approved.
Newcastle’s cabinet voted to establish a new joint team with Northumberland County Council on January 15, paving the way for a major shake-up.
Council bosses estimate the move will save each authority around £900,000 a year but Newcastle leader Nick Forbes said the changes were designed to protect jobs.
The new shared services team, which will be managed by a new joint committee, will oversee services including council tax, business rates, free school meals and blue badges.
Councillor Veronica Dunn, cabinet member for resources, said: “This is a good news story. At long last after a few years of trying we’ve managed to come to an agreement.
“It’s fair to say this is one of the things we’ve been trying to achieve for some time because of the cuts we’ve faced to our budget which have had a profound impact on the council and residents.”
Coun Forbes said: “We can see by the hugely complicated document in front of that this is not straight forward.
“It isn’t a case of just putting two teams together and expecting them to get on with it.
“By doing it this way we have secured public sector jobs where other councils have outsourced to the private sector.
“We’ve sought to protect them within the family of public services and we’ll explore opportunities to do this in other ways.
“This agreement meets the values we have set out in terms of protecting jobs at a time of austerity.”
Lib Dem opposition spokesperson Greg Stone said: “Sharing services is something the opposition has been calling for some time.
“My only observation would be that the council needs to look at other opportunities like this and I hope this is not the end of the process.”
But comments by deputy leader Coun Joyce McCarty revealed some concern among staff members about the proposed merger.
At a meeting of employees, trade unions and managers, concerns were raise about communication with workers over the changes and there were calls for the top brass to provide more information.
She urged her colleagues to “make sure we do that” and that ensure staff are “included” in discussions about the shake-up.
As part of the plans, Newcastle City Council employees will be moved to Northumberland on their current terms and conditions.
Staff will work from offices based in Wansbeck Square and County Hall, while benefit officers working across Northumberland would remain in their locations.
Northumberland County Council’s cabinet unanimously voted in favour of going ahead with the proposals at a meeting on January 9.
The meeting was told the move would affect around 430 staff in total and they would be consulted on changes “along every step of the way”.
Newcastle’s cabinet also voted through a 1% reduction to council housing rents, while service charges, heating bills and garage rents were put up by between 3-4%.
A report on the performance of Your Homes Newcastle, which provides housing on behalf of the local authority, was also heard and they agreed to begin a review of education provision for children with severe disabilities.