More delays to DRS project?

On 14 September, the 5 private sector contractors were due to submit their proposals however there has been a delay. Last Friday staff working in DRS received sent an email at 5.30 pm explaining the latest position. The email does not give the reason for the delay, maybe the private sector companies were getting cold feet or simply finding the prospect of delivering regulatory service more complex than they first thought?

This project has been ‘dogged’ by rumour and speculation that a number of regulatory services that can’t be outsourced without making complex arrangements that the point of outsourcing would simply not make financial sense. However, as we know making financial sense has not stopped the One Barnet project, so far that is……..?

An example of the ‘commonsense blindness’ which continues to blight One Barnet projects is the Registrar Service. When Registrar Service was added to the DRS bundle, UNISON & our members in Registrars insisted the Council could not outsource this service. Even when the Council received a report from the Registrar General they continued to ignore our advice. Eventually after spending lots of money on legal advice the Council, finally had to admit they couldn’t outsource Registrar service.

UNISON believes that there are more regulatory services that can’t be outsourced, the Council refuses to share the legal advice they have been given and rumours persist that at some stage the contractors are going to admit it cannot be done or not without more expense!