Barnet council has announced today that they are recommending Capita as 'preferred bidder' for the second 'One Barnet' contract for Development & Regulatory Services (DRS).

 
The DRS proposal includes crucial and sensitive front line services like planning, licensing, trading standards, environmental health, building control, housing strategy, regeneration, cemetery and crematorium and highways.

Below you can find the full judgement from Maria Nash's case against One Barnet

Leader of the Barnet Labour Group, Cllr Alison Moore said:

“Although the legal challenge to the two One Barnet contracts has been ruled out on the technicality of being “out of time”, this is no great victory for the Council in terms of democratic accountability.

The High Court hearing of the Judicial Review brought by Barnet resident and disability rights campaigner, Maria Nash, against Barnet Council's decision to award the first 'One Barnet'contract for New Support and Customer Care Services (NSCSO) to Capita, and to challenge the intended decision to award a contract for Development and Regulatory Services concluded today.

The private contractor (2e2) that manages all LB Barnet's ICT infrastructure, including critical systems that social services rely on and all residents use to contact the council, has gone into administration, forcing Barnet to initiate an emergency procurement for the service.

We are all absolutely delighted with the Conservative council's sudden u-turn decision, announced yesterday, to grant the local community  a license to continue running Friern Barnet Library in the building the Council closed last April.  Signs are good that this will result in a long-term lease being granted to the community so the Library can remain open to the public on a permanent basis.

The more opposition to One Barnet grows, the closer it comes, as the ruling Conservatives look to force it through, after their choice of Capita as their preferred bidder. It is not often that I agree with Brian Coleman, now suspended from the Conservative whip, but his apparent late conversion against One Barnet is right.

At last week's Budget & Performance Scrutiny meeting back-bench councillors and residents alike tried to scrutinise whatever detail was available about the proposed £320 million deal for Barnet's customer care and back office services (New Support & Customer Services Organisation NSCSO) with preferred bidder Capita.

Much of the financial detail about the costs and the so-called £120 million 'guaranteed' savings has been kept confidential because of commercial sensitivity, which makes it very difficult for local people to satisfy themselves that the deal represents best value for money.
  

There have been many public sector outsourced contracts that have not realised the ‘guaranteed’ benefits. Barnet Council cabinet members and senior officers have made much of the ‘guaranteed’ financial benefits that would flow from the New Support and Customer Service Organisation (NSCSO) contract with Capita. Part of the ‘guarantee’ comes from improvements in routine procurement activities. Barnet’s record in this area is abysmal so it would be hard for anyone, including an in-house bid, to fail to deliver considerable improvement.

Here's a picture of the 8,000 page Capita contract.
 
This afternnon Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Alison Moore, will be inspecting the contract with her colleagues Cllr Barry Rawlings, Cllr Geof Cooke, Cllr Alan Schneiderman and Cllr Arjun Mittra.