Sharing services won't deliver savings to meet Government
targets
by Chris Bartter
UNISON's Matt Smith has visited the Scottish Parliament to
tell MSPs that relying on sharing services to save money in
the public sector will not work.
At a meeting in the Parliament organised as part of the STUC
TU week, he told MSPs of huge budget overruns in much vaunted
schemes abroad and criticised authorities for uncritical acceptance
of savings claims from private consultants.
"While UNISON is a key supporter of public authorities working
in partnership to deliver better and more cost-effective services,
Shared Services does not deliver the major savings in the
short term that some consultants and government departments
try to sell us," he said.
"In Western Australia, for example - used by the Government
as an example of successful savings - we now see a programme
that is two years behind schedule and millions of dollars
over budget - $20 million overspend has been estimated for
2008-9 alone.
"Our own National Audit Office indicates that shared service
projects in the UK have so far taken five years to break even,
and that major investment is needed in the short term to deliver
longer term savings.
"If you add in other costs - like increased VAT costs -
it is clear that, even if there are longer term saving potentials,
shared services will not deliver the Government's desired
2% savings in the short term."
In addition to the criticism of overblown savings claims,
he warned that sharing services could mean increased centralisation
of jobs draining them from more remote communities, and centralised
purchasing that will favour the use of large UK-wide bulk
suppliers over local firms.
Matt added, "At a time that Government is advocating sourcing
supplies like food locally, to move to fewer, large suppliers,
delivering across the UK runs counter to attempts to decrease
the delivery mileage and assist in tackling climate change."
A briefing with the material, that was circulated to MSPs
is available on the UNISON Scotland website at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/revitalise
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