According to Local Government News, eight Scottish councils have identified savings of up to £70m through sharing services including waste management and health and social care.
The Clyde Valley Community Planning Partnership (CVCPP) project would see the participating councils prioritise shared services in four areas. Business cases are being prepared to find savings of between 10-20% of existing expenditure, totalling up to £70m over the next five years.
The eight councils – West Dunbartonshire, East Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire – have been investigating which areas they could collaborate on since an independent review on shared services recently identified significant opportunities.
All well and good.
Some observations.
1 The business case has yet to be made.
2 The reference is savings UP to £70 million. It is possible that that the estimated savings could be less. The term Up To X £Million savings is in fact PR speak.
3 As has been documented elsewhere on this blog, it is extremely unlikely that the savings will be anything like £70m. Most mergers fail. It does not mean that you should not try, but merely what is likely to happen.
4. Trade Union opposition which will not be made is based on a flawed assumption. That cuts are always bad, staff should never have poorer working terms etc. In fact, trade unions should oppose primarily on the basis that shared services will not work practically, and public sector does not know what is doing. The era of the 1970s Union style baron is dead.
Justin Patten, Mediator