subject: Public Services Look To Outsourcing Their Roles [print this page] Lancashire Police has rejected criticism of its decision to recruit privately-contracted security workers to fill officer roles, insisting the move had helped protect services.
The Lancashire Telegraph reports that since 2002, the force has hired around 70 G4S employees to work as detention officers at custody suites throughout the county. However, concerns have been raised about the accountability of the workers, as they cannot be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Lancashire Police responded by pointing out that chief constables are ultimately responsible for the care of detainees and said 64 officers had been put back on the frontline. G4S stated that it would welcome tighter regulation and said it held talks with the relevant law enforcement watchdogs. There are some functions within the custody suites that do not need to be carried out by police officers and outsourcing some of those functions provides better value for money and allows us to make savings, a spokesman for Lancashire Police explained.
Last month, right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange insisted that police forces across the country could provide significant savings and prevent cuts to frontline services by outsourcing administrative functions, whilst a legal expert has insisted that local authorities must consider outsourcing some functions to the private sector too, in a bid to protect services in the face of spending cuts.
Writing in an article for the Scotsman, Rhona Harper, Head of Government and Public Sector at law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, noted that many councils are struggling under the weight of austerity, and suggested partnerships between local authorities had found themselves running into difficulty.
Whatever the reason for Scottish local government resistance to outsourcing, it is an issue that they will need to face up to, she explained. While the faltering of shared services may just be a temporary teething problem, its failure to deliver tangible savings may force the hand of local authorities.
While Ms Harper acknowledged that there may be a degree of public suspicion towards contracting services to third-party providers, she warned that cuts to local government funding may leave councils with little alternative. Earlier in the week, Xchanging Chief Executive Ken Lever told Reuters there could be significant growth opportunities for the outsourcing group as the public sector looks to tighten its belt.
A local body thats reportedly bought into the concept of outsourcing is Edinburgh City Council, who is set to outsource its waste and cleaning services to a third-party provider. According to the Scotsman, the local authority is poised to hand the contract to Lancashire-based firm Enterprise, owned by private equity firm 3i. The company announced earlier this year it had sold its debt to a consortium of financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, Angelo Gordon and KKR.
In these challenging times it is essential that the council critically examines every opportunity to enhance services and improve efficiency, said council leader Jenny Dawe. Thats why we embarked on a detailed exploration of alternative models of business for the council to engage in.
