Full Council votes to stop privatisation of support services; Cabinet vows to continue the process

For the past eighteen months, Cornwall Council's Cabinet has been developing a project to outsource large sections of the Council's support services to a Joint Venture Company which would be jointly owned by Cornwall Council and a private sector company. The scope of the work that would be outsourced has not been clearly defined and much of the negotiations with the potential partners is commercially confidential. As a result, it has never been clear to most councillors and to the public exactly what would be involved in the project and whether it would be beneficial or not.

In July 2012, the Cabinet resolved to proceed with issuing invitations to tender to the only two companies still involved in negotiations with the Council: CSC and British Telecom. It was anticipated that the invitations to tender would be sent out in late September.

At the Full Council meeting of 4 September, a motion was passed expressing the clear view of the Council that Cabinet should not proceed with the contract until it had satisfied Full Council that it was the right thing to do. The vote on the motion was For 46, Against 29, Abstentions 14.

The following day (5 September), the Cabinet issued a press release stating that Cabinet would be proceeding with the project. This action has produced a flurry of articles and letters to the local media nearly all of them voicing anger at what the Cabinet is proposing to do.

September 2012