Agenda item

Transparency and Accountability in the Provision of Public Services

14.1

It was moved by Councillor Brian Webster, seconded by Councillor Robert Murphy, that this Council:-

(a)      notes that:

(i)       across the country, many public services have been outsourced to private sector providers - with the Financial Times reporting that local government outsourcing doubled in the last Parliament (www.ft.com/content/244f0bd8-eccb-11e4-a81a-00144feab7de);

(ii)      outsourcing has often failed to deliver the expected savings to the taxpayer, and failed to lead to better service provision - and that in-house provision can provide better value for money and more flexibility at a time of severe budget cuts, according to the Association for Public Service Excellence (www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2013/06/On-line-Catalogue201223.pdf); and

(iii)      research by the independent campaign group, We Own It, shows that the public have very little trust in outsourcing companies, want to see more transparency and accountability over outsourcing contracts, and want public ownership to be the default for running services (http://weownit.org.uk/privatisation/outsourcing);

(b)      believes that:

(i)       transparency is needed in the provision of public services, public service contracts and performance and financial data of providers should be available, and that freedom of information legislation should apply to private companies running public services;

(ii)      accountability is needed in the provision of public services, the public must be consulted about what they want from their services both in general and before any outsourcing or privatisation, and there should be a right to recall private providers of public services when they do a bad job; and

(iii)      people, not profit, need to be the priority in public service delivery, with public ownership the default (so a public interest case must be made for any outsourcing or privatisation), there should always be an in-house bid on the table if services are contracted out (or an explanation given why not), and social value must be a priority whenever contracts are awarded; and

(c)      resolves to:

(i)       support the We Own It campaign ‘Our Services Our Say’ (http://weownit.org.uk/public-solutions/our-services-our-say); and

(ii)      provide a brief statement to We Own It explaining what the Council is doing in practice to work towards the principles of transparency, accountability and people before profit, for publication on the We Own It website.

14.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the deletion of paragraphs (a)(ii) and (iii) and the addition of a new paragraph (a)(ii) as follows:-

(a)(ii)  when outsourced contracts have been properly managed, outsourcing has helped to deliver better council services, particularly in times of financial difficulty;

2.       the deletion of paragraphs (b)(ii) and (iii) and paragraph (c) and the addition of new paragraphs (b)(ii) and (c) as follows:-

(b)(ii)  believes that a responsible city council should not take an ideological stance on whether insourcing or outsourcing is the best approach, but should look at services on a case by case basis and make the right decision to deliver the best outcome for service users at the best price for tax payers; and

(c)      calls on the Administration to take a national lead on Freedom of Information for outsourcing of local services and to resolve that from now on, when new contracts are put out to tender from Sheffield City Council, service providers must agree to sign up to Freedom of Information rules that apply to the Council as a condition of winning a contract.

14.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

14.4

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Ben Curran, seconded by Councillor Chris Rosling-Josephs, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)      believes that local people should have a say in how public services are run, which is why the Administration is bringing forward a range of measures to secure greater local and democratic control of public services;

(b)      acknowledges that having council services delivered in-house is always the Administration’s first consideration, but understands that this is not always feasible and cannot always deliver value for money for local people, and that each project is considered on its own merits;

(c)      notes that the Administration has, over the last five years, brought a number of services back under Council control, including council housing and the council tax and housing benefit contact centre, and further notes the Administration’s intention to bring more services back in-house, including the housing repairs and maintenance service and the management of council properties; and

(d)      believes firmly in the principles of transparency and accountability in the provision of local services, and notes:-

(i)       the Council publishes as much data and contractual information as possible;

(ii)      the impending publication of the Council’s Ethical Procurement Strategy which will reinforce the Council’s commitment to transparency and accountability;

(iii)      that all private contracts are subject to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees and the Council’s contract register is published and available online; and

(iv)     that the Council is working with its major contractors to publish its contracts.

14.5

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

14.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      believes that local people should have a say in how public services are run, which is why the Administration is bringing forward a range of measures to secure greater local and democratic control of public services;

(b)      acknowledges that having council services delivered in-house is always the Administration’s first consideration, but understands that this is not always feasible and cannot always deliver value for money for local people, and that each project is considered on its own merits;

(c)      notes that the Administration has, over the last five years, brought a number of services back under Council control, including council housing and the council tax and housing benefit contact centre, and further notes the Administration’s intention to bring more services back in-house, including the housing repairs and maintenance service and the management of council properties; and

(d)      believes firmly in the principles of transparency and accountability in the provision of local services, and notes:-

(i)       the Council publishes as much data and contractual information as possible;

(ii)      the impending publication of the Council’s Ethical Procurement Strategy which will reinforce the Council’s commitment to transparency and accountability;

(iii)      that all private contracts are subject to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees and the Council’s contract register is published and available online; and

(iv)     that the Council is working with its major contractors to publish its contracts.