A £30m partnership with BT has helped Rotherham meet its efficiency targets – and win an award from The MJ in the process. Brian James explainsFive years ago, Rotherham MBC made a commitment to modernise the way it worked, improve the efficiency and quality of its services, and put the customer at the centre of all its activities. E-enablement of council services, internally and externally, was key to achieving these ambitions. However, this required a major investment in new technology and, like many local authorities, Rotherham faced considerable financial constraints. The council looked to the private sector for support, and in 2003, launched a pioneering partnership with BT, a joint-venture company known as RBT (Connect). During the 12-year life of the partnership, BT is investing £30m in leading-edge technology, new business practices, training, and better ways of working. The partnership’s overriding objective is to achieve more for less and, as a result, the council is set to benefit from £50m of efficiency savings. Already, Rotherham is ahead of government efficiency targets, and last October, we were ranked second in the country in an ODPM league table of local authorities which had made cashable savings in response to Gershon. The partnership also won the Public Private Partnerships Achievement of the Year Award in The MJ’s recent awards. Many core functions, such as HR, payroll and benefits, now operate more effectively with smaller teams in place, allowing staff to be redeployed in areas with greater resource requirements. What’s more, savings have already been returned to the council for reinvestment into citizen services, benefiting customers in a range of areas, including improved access to services, cleaner streets, cutting-edge technology in schools, and trail-blazing improvements in our benefits service. A new customer service centre has opened in the town centre – the first of six planned across the borough. Underpinning many aspects of this transformation is Rotherham’s ICT infrastructure, which provides the backbone of the organisation. New technology has been pivotal to improvements in RMBC’s procurement processes. Introduction of an advanced e-procurement system means the majority of council goods and services are now purchased online, and the reduction in paperwork allows the team to operate more effectively, with 17 fewer people. Overall, procurement will deliver savings of £2.7m this year, and over the 12-year life of the partnership with BT, procurement savings of more than £30m are anticipated. Rotherham has also been named as a Beacon council for procurement. Rotherham’s benefits service illustrates the radical overhaul of processes which the joint venture partnership has delivered. With a streamlined team in place, the council has jumped from a two to a four-star CPA rating. It was also the lead authority on the national e-benefits project and piloted a new e-benefits system. This allows customers to check their eligibility against all 57 welfare benefits, irrespective of which department or agency is ultimately responsible for administering it. Efficiency benefits extend to council employees. Rotherham has launched one of the first local government implementations of a ‘self-service’ HR system, allowing employees to keep personal information updated on a secure part of the council intranet. Staff can even check on their sickness records and pay details, giving them more control and creating an accurate HR and payroll database to further improve efficiency. New technology also supports an award-winning flexible working scheme which is boosting recruitment and retention at the council. Of course, one of the greatest priorities for any local authority is providing speedy and easy access to services and information and, in Rotherham, a new telephone contact centre now deals with calls from the public, 12 hours a day, five days a week. Developed in response to consultation with local citizens, the contact centre plays a key role in providing access to services and driving positive engagement between the council and local community. w Brian James is chief executive of RBT (Connect) Ltd
