Councils top in tenders
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Council staff have won almost 75% of all council contracts compulsorily put out to tender, according to a trade union survey.
Out of 52 contracts, council bids have won 39 with private firms taking 12. Council workers have won 18 out of 28 refuse collection contracts. One of the council contracts was awarded to a council department which was floated as a private company.
French firms have also made inroads into the market, says the study by the National and Local Government Officers Association and the National Union of Public Employees. The Anglo-French venture Cory Onyx has a £13 million refuse collection deal with Bromley Council, and Sitaclean has been awarded a contract in Erewash. Many private firms, however, are failing to bid for council contracts and many local authorities are worried that they may be forced to put services out to tender again because of the lack of competition. Few bids have been received for vehicle maintenance contracts.
The study also points to a growing trend towards groups of council workers being turned into private companies through management buyouts or cooperatives. Eastbourne and Stratford-on-Avon have agreed to employee-buyouts of their service departments and Salisbury and Bath have accepted management buyout bids.