27 October 2006
The economic case for joint working in the public sector must be clearly established before plans for shared services are implemented, leading finance officials in Scotland have advised.
CIPFA in Scotland's response to the Scottish Executive's consultation paper on a strategy for shared services calls for advance preparation of business plans and pilot studies to test joint working.
It also warns that implementation and transitional costs could be greater than suggested and that political agreement at local level will be vital if the plans are to work.
The response to A shared approach to building a better Scotland was prepared jointly by CIPFA in Scotland officials and local government directors of finance at Scotland's 32 councils.
According to the submission, decisions on collaboration should be the outcome of business reviews that have identified a need or a problem that has to be tackled, 'rather than identifying solutions before being really clear about the problem'.
The document adds: 'We believe that a business review will contribute to a strategic approach to the overall objectives of the shared services agenda. This would assist in preventing organisations implementing interim solutions, which would eventually be replaced by a national solution.'
CIPFA warns against the creation of large centralised support organisations that seek to dictate service levels. Commenting on the risks associated with shared services, the response suggests that implementation and transitional costs could be greater than planned because of IT and management costs.
There would also be costs associated with redundancies, redeployment and relocation of staff.
The paper suggests there should be a ten-year plan for shared services containing a route map 'showing how we will get there'.
PFoct2006
