Local authorities walk a tightrope to deliver residents' services, in the context of diminishing resources and increasing user needs and expectations. In addition to this, there is a tension in the way we commission and manage our budgets. The Gershon review encouraged us to bundle goods and services together in cross-authority contracts. At the same time, members and residents are rightly concerned that we offer opportunities to our community. Add to this the need to take into account sustainability and preferences for disaggregating services when purchasing and awarding contracts, and you have bundled up a seemingly-irreconcilable set of requirements. The challenge we face is to separate these, make some difficult decisions and have clear and valid reasons for our choices. Some areas, such as IT, lend themselves to shared contracts. If moving towards using multi-functional devices to reduce purchasing supports the sustainability agenda at the same time, then so much the better. Catering is an area where local sourcing could support small businesses, and Lambeth is actively recruiting local residents in hard-to-recruit areas of its business such as housing benefits. Equally, outsourcing and shared services options, such as the London Authority Mutual Limited for insurance, are considered where quality and price choices make sense. Local authorities are often one of the largest employers and purchasers within their community, and we do not always have the luxury of getting these decisions wrong. We return to the mantra we use when considering budgets, that ‘we hold ourselves accountable for spending public money' and add another clause – that of being accountable through elected members and governance for the commissioning, procurement and sourcing decisions we make on behalf of our citizens. n Mike Suarez is director of finance and resources at Lambeth LBC
