IT WAS back in 2010 amid a storm of controversy that private sector consultancy Mouchel assumed control of four council services – revenues, benefits, ICT and facilities management – in a 10-year deal worth nearly £150m.

Five years on, Mouchel’s remit has widened still further to encompass human resources and payroll, but the controversy and debate as to whether Bournemouth council is getting a good deal continues.

Last week, Liz Wilkinson officially left her job as the council’s head of finance and Section 151 officer.

She claims to have had “serious concerns” about the contract and says she intended to launch an investigation into the deal, against the wishes of chief executive Tony Williams, but was suspended before she could do this.

She claims to have spent two years making significant improvements to the original agreement but still concluded that Bournemouth council was likely paying Mouchel as much as one third to one half more than it would spend simply providing the outsourced services itself.

She valued this overpayment at between £5m and £7m.

Back in 2010, the deal was heralded as a “win-win” situation, which would see costs fall while residents would see services improve. Annual savings of 5.9 per cent were promised from the first tranche of outsourced services, with a target of 40 per cent over the 10-year life of the contract. Mouchel also provided a guarantee of 350 new jobs.

A review of the partnership in 2013/14 claimed the company had created 126 new jobs, 99 of which have lasted or will last more than 15 months, set up a new 24/7 IT helpdesk, sped up the processing of benefit claims and sponsored the Bournemouth Air Festival and the Early Years Sector Awards.

But assessing the financial value of the agreement is much trickier.

After the Mouchel contract was agreed, the Echo obtained a copy of it but it was heavily redacted.

And there appears to be no financial monitoring report of the contract in the public domain, while close examination of the council’s medium-term financial plan appears to show the transformation savings have been revised downwards over the past few years.

The budget for 2012/13 included anticipated transformation savings of £1.88m but these later proved higher than expected at £1.95m. However, the savings of £9.4m anticipated for 2013/14 were revised down to £5.96m, the savings of £28.12m anticipated for 2014/15 were revised down to £15.9m, the savings of £39.6m anticipated for 2015/16 have been revised down to £25.9m and the savings of £41m anticipated in 2016/17 have been revised down to £26.9m.

Adrian Fudge, a former deputy leader of the council, said: “Either the council got the figures wrong in the first place or Mouchel is making more money out of the contract.

“If it’s the former and the council got the figures wrong by such a big margin, somebody should be holding somebody to account.

“What this whole thing has highlighted to me is the process is totally flawed.”

 

Council stands by suspension of ‘whistleblower’

TONY Williams, chief executive of Bournemouth Council, said: “On October 6, 2014, the council received a complaint from senior officers about Liz Wilkinson’s behaviour and conduct, including allegations of bullying.

“This resulted in her suspension. Mrs Wilkinson subsequently chose to tender her resignation.

“We actively manage the performance of our partnership with Mouchel and we do not believe there is any substance to Mrs Wilkinson’s allegations.

“To date, the partnership with Mouchel has delivered improved services and over £10million of savings to the council.

“An internal review of the contract has secured a further £1.1m savings in 15/16.

“Mouchel are sharing their cost bases with our acting 151 officer to ensure the council’s financial position is protected.

“Furthermore, through the contract, Mouchel have created some 150 jobs in Bournemouth, with further jobs in prospect.

“Liz Wilkinson lodged a claim against the council at the employment tribunal on November 28, 2014. The claim alleges she has been unfairly, constructively dismissed and subjected to detriment for having made protected disclosures, or having ‘blown the whistle’.

“The council rigorously disputes this claim and is preparing a comprehensive response for presentation at the employment tribunal.

“As these matters are currently being considered by an independent investigator, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

 

Wilkinson is the ‘third messenger to be shot’

LIZ Wilkinson is the third Section 151 officer to leave Bournemouth council after questioning the Mouchel deal.

Every single local authority is required by law to have a Section 151 officer, who is responsible for ensuring the legality of the council’s financial affairs.

In 2010, the council’s Section 151 officer was Judith Martin, who was described by councillors as “highly competent” and an “exceptional chief accountant”.

But she was made redundant amid claims she had been critical of the plans to outsource work to Mouchel.

Stephen Parker was the council’s Section 151 officer at the time of the second Mouchel deal in October 2011. He emailed all councillors to say the cabinet report about to go before members did not provide an adequate assessment of risks or deliver an independent and robust evaluation of the two options considered.

He was immediately suspended on full pay and escorted from Bournemouth Town Hall.

Ms Wilkinson joined Bournemouth council in February 2012 and said she raised “serious concerns” about the contract with chief executive Tony Williams in the months leading up to her suspension in October 2014.

She said she planned to carry out an investigation, despite knowing this was against Mr Williams’ wishes, but was prevented from doing so by her suspension.

Former councillor Adrian Fudge, who was in charge of the council’s budget when the Lib Dems were in power, said: “She is the third Section 151 officer who didn’t like the Mouchel contract and all have been forced out or encouraged to leave.

“If you don’t like the message, shoot the messenger.”

Current Lib Dem councillor Roger West has now called on Bournemouth council to “respect the statutory post of 151 officer,” which is currently held by Ian Milner.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “We may not like the advice and professional concerns they give but they need to be supported.

Bournemouth Borough Council has lost loyal, hard working officers from our finance department who have found themselves being punished for exercising their professional judgement and giving messages that the executive does not want to hear.”