Staff in the firing line as merger talks go on

Plans to merge Boston Borough Council services with other district authorities seem to be in as much of a mess as ever. A report to tonight's Borough Council Cabinet looks at the future strategy following the decision not to merge some back office services with South Holland and East Lindsey District Councils.
It says that no further discussions have been held with our neighbours, as it was felt that a period of "reflection" should be allowed before considering a way forward.
That sounds a little at odds with the anti-Boston ranting that's been coming from them next door - broadly along the lines that they wouldn't touch anything to do with Boston with a bargepole.
Meanwhile, it seems that the Borough's put upon staff aren't seeing any end to their trials and tribulations.
Acting Chief Executive Richard Harbord tells the Cabinet that they are being asked about the future of their services whilst other neighbouring authorities are being contacted in relation to their shared service provisions.
Talks are also being held with private companies about partnerships and areas where immediate action can take place, with the idea of producing an improvement plan for the Cabinet next month.
Mr Harbord says: "I have made it quite clear to staff that there is going to be considerable change to be faced and that a variety of ways of providing services will have to be discussed."
But all these ideas come at a cost to staff, with what looks like proposed cuts of around five per-cent.
The original services to be merged were customer services, finance, human resources, information technology and revenues and benefits.
One of the reasons that this plan foundered was because Boston alone among the three authorities did not have the money to fund the change.
And yet now, Mr Harbord reports discussions on a range of other services - including elections, democratic services, planning, economic development, performance review, and property.
"Staff are being seen by me at all levels in the organisation to deal with any questions they may have but also to put across a message that we are now free to follow the most cost effective path for each service which will ensure controlled costs and enhanced performance. I am seeking staff’s views on the way forward for their service.
"I am seeing managers with the same message but asking them to ensure that their views for investment and change can be afforded.
"I have a general aim of reducing employee costs by 5%.
"At the same time we are speaking to all local authorities over a wide distance to ascertain what they are doing about shared services and whether there is any scope to work together.
"We are also breaking down the Tribal (consultants) report to see which of the five services contributed most to the overall savings, which will help form our views as to future priorities.
I have also seen three private companies to start discussions about strategic partnerships which would see them putting up the investment for us in return for a share of the savings accruing. They would manage the service but the staff would remain as our employees on secondment. This has been done elsewhere with great success.
"There are also areas of immediate action such as payroll where costs are being sought for outsourcing the service to be compared with the costs of investment in a new system."
We have nagging doubts and fears about all of this, and await next month's promised report with interest.


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