Sparks unions’ fury
Unions are demanding a l o n g - awa i t e d £ 70,000 report into the future of social care and education in Clackmannanshire and Stirling Councils be released at once.
UNISON wants to see all relevant documentats produced by accountants Ernst and Young.
In particular, UNISON is demanding the release of a report commissioned from the firm by both councils and supposed to be a balanced investigation into the business case for the two councils to share services.
It was proposed that the report would take seven weeks. However, the union says it has taken over 30 weeks thus far and has been in the hands of senior council officers of both councils for well over a month. UNISON believe this is “an excessive amount of time” to make this report public.
Trade unions, staff and many of the elected members are now asking how objective this report is going to be.
They say the longer it drags on the more suspicious and uneasy the staff are becoming about potential decisions being taken behind closed doors.
UNISON says Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils have spent more than £70,000 engaging Ernst and Young – one of the UK’s big four accountancy firms - in an attempt to find a way to make their Shared Service program work. They propose to run Clackmannanshire schools from Stirling council, and Stirling social work services from Clackmannanshire – a moved that has raised fears of job losses.
The union says the external consultant was supposed to “provide a speedy conclusion and ensure they applied the correct level of objectivity to the process”.
Pa m R o b e r t s o n , UNISON secretary for Clackmannanshire branch, said: “We can’t allow the councils to get this wrong.
“All of the services that we provide are vital for the people of Clackmannanshire, none more so than the education of our children and the care of the most vulnerable in society.
“These are the services at risk here.
“The rationale in moving further forwards with shared services is based upon information that the councils and consultants have produced so far, but the limited information that we have been allowed to see has been flawed.
“It’s not about service improvements but simple cost-cutting.”
Lorraine Thomson, UNISON secretary for Stirling local government branch, said: “This is a piece of work that has cost the tax payer over £70,000 for a consultancy firm to come in and pick the brains of the staff who already deliver the service.
“We want to discuss how we can improve all of our services by working together.
“In this case, we just want to make sure that when councillors are presented with the final proposal that they don’t make a bad decision based on flawed and incomplete information. That is in the best interests of not only our members, but of service users which in this case means the young and the vulnerable.
“This is something that the politicians cannot get wrong and we will move heaven and earth to ensure that they don’t.”
David O’Connor, U N I S ON regional organiser, said: “It is always worrying when you find out that the only company that bid for a job got it. This leaves us questioning the procurement practices that allowed for this.
“This process has been ongoing for nearly nine months and it is a huge concern for staff, not just the worry for their jobs, but also for the services they have built and delivered. I think our members’ concerns are legitimate and were clearly outlined in a recent survey undertaken by UNISON.”
However, in a joint s t a tement , St i r l i n g Council chief executive Stewart Carruth and Clackmannanshire Council chief executive Elaine McPherson said: “Work on the business case is not concluded. Once the report is completed and the elected members who commissioned it have received a copy, arrangements will be made to make it available to staff and other stakeholders.
“We well understand that some staff may be uncertain about the future but it is disappointing that UNISON again seem to be coming to conclusions about what the business case will say and what the councils will do on a purely speculative basis.”