It has seen resignations, the ousting of the council leader, and was said to have played a role in the chief executive's decision to quit Cornwall, but the controversial part privatisation plan at Cornwall Council is finally set to go ahead.

Cornwall Council’s Cabinet has recommended that the contract for the Strategic Partnership for Support Services should be awarded to BT, the only company left in the negotiations. 

The Council formally issued the invitation to BT to submit a formal tender on Monday, March 4. The bid was submitted by BT the following day and then evaluated against a set range of criteria, including financials, job creation, trading and inward investment and service delivery and quality.

Under the terms of the contract BT will deliver, "guaranteed savings of £17.6m" over the ten year period (£1m in the first year, rising to £1.9m in the third year and each year thereafter). The company is also "committed to creating 510 new jobs in Cornwall", according to the council. However 197 of these will be "guaranteed new jobs by the end of year four" and a further 313 new jobs to be "potentially delivered" through trading by the end of year five.

BT has also pledged to protect 181 existing jobs in Truro.

“This represents a good and manageable deal both for the Council and for Cornwall,” said council leader Jim Currie.

“We welcome the partnership with Health and BT and the potential savings which can be generated. We also welcome the commitment to creating new jobs in new areas.

“This proposal has been subject to a great deal of discussion and the contract itself has been thoroughly examined. As a result all the partners are confident that the offer can be delivered and we all now need to work together to achieve this”.

The contract covers a range of services, including ICT support, Telehealth and Telecare, document management, invoice processing, payroll and employment support and improving information sharing.

Peninsula Community Health will contribute its Telehealth Service to the partnership.

Kevin Baber, Chief Executive of Peninsula Community Health, said “This is a great opportunity for us to develop Telehealth and, therefore, employment and income opportunities in Cornwall and beyond. Cornwall is already leading the way in Telehealth and Telecare technology, but now as part of a strong commercial partnership has the opportunity to expand the service reach and market share substantially”. .

Following the recommendation, the authority for formally signing the contract has been delegated to the council’s interim chief executive Paul Masters.

Formal consultation with staff will begin on April 1, with the majority of staff expected to transfer in July. The revised proposal will involve the transfer of 303 FTE staff from the Council and PCH.

Relared links

Secrecy surrounds 'privatisation' of services at Cornwall Council

Cornwall Council part privatisation plan sent out to tender

Cornwall Council shared services privatisation plan

Leader condescending on ‘risky’ privatisation plan

Deputy leader resigns over privatisation row

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