Wandsworth and Richmond Councils Appoint Capita Local Government
Stating shared scheme 'will save local taxpayers £6.8 million'
Richmond and Wandsworth Councils have appointed Capita Local Government (for six years with the option to extend for a further four years) to provide a new joint finance system and a range of transactional services in a deal that they say will save local taxpayers around £6.8m.
One of the aims of the contract is set to update and streamline existing accounting processes. Capita’s Integra system is expected to offer significant time savings by speeding up invoice processing and other tasks, as well as offering a suite of business intelligence tools which allow for better supplier management.
The two London authorities are in the process of forming a shared workforce to serve both boroughs and this will be one of the first jointly procured contractsl.
Chris Buss, director of finance at the Wandsworth Council, said: “Capita has the experience, resource and expertise we are looking for and this new contact will deliver real value for money for local taxpayers.This is a good early win for our joint working arrangement with Richmond and will deliver a saving for both councils which helps to protect front line services.”
Mark Chapman, business director for Capita Local Government, said: “This new framework agreement means we will be working with both councils to promote this model across London – ensuring that public sector bodies can benefit from the opportunity to reduce their back office costs.”
The contract also establishes a pan-London framework that will allow other councils to use the Wandsworth and Richmond managed service solution, which could lead to greater savings in the years ahead.
The staff sharing arrangement between Richmond and Wandsworth will see council officers jointly employed by both authorities and will be managed by a single chief executive. This is expected to deliver savings of around £10m a year for each council.
Both authorities will continue to be separate sovereign bodies with their own elected councillors, cabinets and leaders. They will each maintain their own distinct identities and retain the ability to maintain and develop diverse policies and priorities that matter to their residents and businesses.
In February 2015, the Government backed the sharing plans with £3m from its “Transformation Challenge Awards” which supports innovations that improve and protect public services and reduce the cost to taxpayers.
June 13, 2016