Future Shape Programme – Audit expose
Tuesday 21 September – Audit Committee report
Item 9 One Barnet: Review of Governance Arrangements
You can view the report online here
The First Recommendation reveals the Council
- Does not have a business case for the One Barnet Programme.
- Does not have any evidence of planned benefits or planned outcomes of the programme
- Does not have an estimated cost of the programme
- Does not have an overview of the overall timescales of the programme including key milestones
- Does not have a high level risk profile
The Future Shape Programme is over two years old we spent over £2.5 million to consultants in the first two phases and now we are looking to invest more money for another bunch of consultants.
In these times of Austerity we must stop handing over public money to consultants who do not deliver. If Consultants are not prepared to forego a large part of their fee on the understanding that it will only be paid if their recommendations deliver value for money to the Council; then we shouldn’t employ them.
I am tired/frustrated reading reports from consultants waxing lyrical about different models of delivery with little or no evidence to substantiate their claims. Furthermore I know they will be long gone when the organisation finds out it has been sold a pup!
Who pays…..?
It is the tax payer. Public services are funded by taxes we all pay and that included public sector workers.
After all, in Barnet we are all familiar with local examples of privatisation successes failures: Icelandic Banks,
More to follow….
How can the Future Shape Programme where the stakes are so high not have all the recommendations set out in the Audit report in place before any decisions are made about the future of council services?