4:19pm Friday 22nd January 2010
By Oliver Evans
AN axed scheme to share services between councils cost £1.2m, it was revealed today.
The first stage in the much vaunted Pathfinder project was scrapped today after Wycombe District Council pulled out last night.
The five authorities involved – four councils and a fire authority – had spent £1.2m looking at merging human resources, finance, payroll, facilities management and IT systems.
But they insisted the cash had not been ‘wasted’. There had been fears that merging services including HR and finance would have led to job losses.
Buckinghamshire County Council, which wanted to press ahead with the plan, said: “The funding which has been spent by the group is a valuable investment.
“The work carried out to date to develop the Pathfinder shared support services has not been wasted.”
It said the plan could have saved more than £80m for the five, including £45m. The council spent £523,000.
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But Penny Gray, branch secretary for Unison at BCC, said: “I don’t think the staff would share those thoughts. I think they feel it is a waste of money.”
And she said the spending would jar with redundancies at the council, which is moving to close a massive financial black hole (see links, bottom of story).
Wycombe District Council spent £215,000, including external consultants.
In a statement on the council’s website today, leader Councillor Lesley Clarke said the cash had proved useful ‘in investigating alternative solutions’.
She said: “Unfortunately when we weighed the potential savings against the potential risks, we didn't feel that this particular project gave us assurance about making sufficient savings in the time frame that we're aiming for.”
Yet Liberal Democrat Ryemead Councillor Trevor Snaith said: “I am sorry they have spent so much money on it.
“They have got some key learnings from it but how much do you have to spend to get key learnings?”
And he said the cash could have been spent on community facilities such as High Wycombe’s Holywell Mead outdoor swimming pool, closed in March to save £66,000 a year. WDC said it was under-used.
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service withdrew last week after contributing £63,000. It was followed by Aylesbury Vale District Council on Monday.
South Bucks District Council wanted to press ahead with the scheme with the county council but tendering rules forbid this. It has yet to release how much it spent.
Chiltern District Council, the other district authority in the county, did not take part in the scheme (see links).
Its leader, Councillor John Warder, said in October 2008: “The risks involved are very much greater than the rewards that seem likely.”
The plan would have involved working with a private firm and discussions will continue between the authorities over merging other services such as waste.
Click the links below for more stories about the scheme.
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