Barnet council criticised by auditor for lack of mandate for controversial 'EasyCouncil' scheme

Auditor Grant Thornton has criticised Barnet council for failing to produce a business plan for its radical 'Future Shape' plans, saying that without one, the controversial strategy – better known 'easyCouncil' - has no fundamental mandate.

Its report, commissioned by the council's audit committee, said that the scheme lacked clear direction, despite more than £2m being spent. It said: “The council needs to develop and agree a more fundamental mandate for the programme by developing a programme level business case that sets out the planned costs, benefits, timescales, risks and outcomes of the programme.”

The audit committee has now asked the council's officers to draw up a business plan for 'Future Shape' by December. The councillor responsible for the the Future Shape programme, Robert Ramsin, said that a report in October last year set out the “strategic vision” for the scheme, but said that a “more detailed” plan would be in place by the next meeting of the audit committee in December.

Under the plans, Barnet intends to outsource many parts of its service and to introduce charges for some of those that it is not statutorily obliged to provide, reducing its budget by 25% in the process.

Despite the auditor's report, local government minister Bob Neill has praised the council's plans, saying that he was “not fussed” by the auditor's conclusions. Following a visit to the council last week, he told the Barnet Times: “This is part of a much bigger strategy the council are looking at. I'm the first to condemn money spent on types of consultancy which does not lead anywhere. Here it's different as they're taking a fresh look at how services are delivered and work done as part of that is a very sensible endeavour.”

“In the future councils are going to receive less funding and local authorities have to have the courage to think outside the box. We've got to step back and see what are the key objectives here. Long-term, if we want to keep jobs and employment we have got to have a good economy and for that we have to be prepared to change the way we operate and see the big picture.”

“I'm not advocating a one size fits all policy. Different models work appropriately in different areas. What I think is really important is the thought process and political process which goes on and a willingness to look radically at how we deliver services with a focus on customer being in mind. The key thing is rethinking services to get better services from a limited amount of money.”