Posted on 24th November 2016
Barnet Council and IBSS contract delivers £31m savings
A review of a contract between Barnet Council and Capita has demonstrated that, three years in, it is delivering significant benefits to the borough with overall savings of £31 million achieved alongside increased resident satisfaction.
Barnet Council awarded Capita a 10-year contract to run the council’s Customer and Support Group (CSG), including HR, finance, IT and estates, as well as outward-facing customer services (face to face customer contact, telephone call centre, and website) and the revenues and benefits service in 2013.
In terms of satisfaction with services provided, the review showed 76 per cent of residents were satisfied with the outward-facing customer services, up from 52 per cent before the contract was established.
This increase was even more significant in respect of face to face services, as 96 per cent of residents who engaged with the council in this way said they were satisfied compared with a previous 35 per cent.
The review also showed that the cost of delivering the bundle of services provided in the contract is now £6m a year less than before the contract was signed and that 90 per cent of the contract’s key performance indicators being met or exceeded. The overall £31 million figure includes savings from procurement and additional council tax income received.
As part of the review, residents were able to provide feedback of their experience with outward-facing services as well as comment on any other aspect of the operations of the contract. A public consultation session was held in July 2016.
The review also identified opportunities for further savings potentially worth over £2 million a year.
"I am very pleased to see that, three years into the contract with Capita to supply our back office and customer services, we are seeing substantial savings as well as increased resident satisfaction. This review confirms the contract is providing tangible benefits for our residents." Councillor Richard Cornelius, Leader of Barnet Council.
"With council budgets under significant pressure, the fact that these services are now costing the Barnet taxpayer £6 million less each year to deliver is substantial. I’m also pleased that Capita is meeting the agreed performance targets in the contract and that user satisfaction is going up. We have set Capita challenging performance targets and there is more work to be done in certain areas, but so far this has been a good deal for the borough." Councillor Anthony Finn, Chair of the Performance and Contract Management Committee.
"This positive review is a huge testament to the hard work of the Customer and Support Group team, and shows that it is not just delivering better value services to the council – but that resident satisfaction with those services is increasing. By driving such significant savings while improving customer satisfaction levels we are helping Barnet Council protect crucial front line functions and make significant steps towards becoming a self-sufficient commissioning council." Mark Dally, Capita’s partnership director for Barnet.
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