Angus Council to ditch £800,000 consultants

New administration pulls plug on controversial deal as part of wide-ranging shake-up

Angus Council has pulled the plug on a controversial deal which has seen more than £800,000 paid to a private consultancy firm to help the authority balance its books.

Since 2014 the EY deal has led to almost £4 million of savings for the authority, but just weeks after a multi-party coalition swept to power in the county, Council leader Bob Myles said the company will be ditched.

The new administration is also setting about ripping up the council plan of its SNP predecessors to create a new five-year vision for the area.

It follows news that the ruling group also plans to revisit a proposed shake-up of Angus skip site provision which provoked fury across the district when it was agreed last year.

Angus Council is to drop external consultants brought in as part of a move to secure multi-million-pound savings.

In a bombshell development the authority’s new multi-party administration, which swept to power at last month’s local elections, is poised to rip up a change programme led by its SNP predecessors and develop a fresh five-year plan for the cashstrapped council.

Since being engaged in 2014, consultants EY have been paid £829,000 for their help identifying savings in the council’s efforts to tackle a projected financial black hole of more than £25 million in the next three years.

EY helped secure around £4m of savings and last November the arrangement was extended under a no-win/ no-fee deal in which they were tasked with finding further budget reductions of at least £15m in the next three years, with a £1.1m ceiling on how much they would be paid.

In a surprise move revealed ahead of Thursday’s full council meeting in Forfar, it has emerged the council has pulled the plug on the second phase of the EY partnership and the council’s radical change programme will move back in-house.

Administration leader Bob Myles said: “I believe we have the capacity within the organisation to take forward the next and most challenging phase of our change programme and I have every confidence that we, officers and members, will deliver the creative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions that are needed.”

The report going before elected members says the authority’s “more holistic approach to our organisational development is firmly focused on results and will directly shape our future change activity”.

It continues: “The council is committed to being a digital council by 2020 and that means service delivery needs to change and staff supported to embrace a digital network environment.”

The leader said the new five-year strategy would be developed over the summer and brought back before elected members after the holidays.

At this stage the potential ramifications for council staff are not known, but previous reports warned of “significant” job losses in the face of “unprecedented” financial challenges.

The consultancy deal decision follows the administration announcement that the Forfar meeting will also be asked to green light a rethink on controversial recycling changes which earmarked Monifieth skip site for closure and also proposed reduced opening hours at Brechin and Carnoustie.

I believe we have the capacity within the organisation to take forward the next and most challenging phase of our change programme. COUNCILLOR BOB MYLES

end £800,000 to make savings

Picture: Kim Cessford. Angus Council is to abandon consultants that helped find £4m worth of savings.

Council leader Bob Myles is confident the local authority can rise to the challenges facing it.