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TC questions legality of Vosa outsourcing
Page 6
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Plans for Vosa's public-private partnership, or PPP, might be illegal — and a union says it's been left out in the cold. Louise Cole reports.
A TRAFFIC Commissioner has advised Vosa to seek legal advice about the validity of its public-private partnership (PPP) proposal.
Vosa's feasibility study has produced an interim proposal for a PPP as the preferred option to put before the Transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman.
This suggests outsourcing vehicle testing; training; 0-licensing admin; prosecution and legal services; traffic, vehicle, test and routine enforcement; and `estates rationalisation'.
A public sector 'comparator' (ie an internal bid) will also be put before the minister.
However, West Midlands and Wales IC David Dixon warns that only licensing administration such as routine office work would he legal:"TCs are creatures of statute under the 1995 act.
"It is legal to delegate certain decisions to civil servantsbut not Lo anyone outside government ;.ervice," he adds.
Lead IC Philip Brown agrees: 'At the moment functions are :arried out by Vosa employees, out they are essentially employ es the office of the Traffic Commissioner.We need to examne the nature of the outsourcing Ind the law. We need to ensure it s both practicable and legal to Jursue this. It might he another instance where change is being brought in too quickly."
A Vosa spokeswoman replies: "We're aware of the implications of the act and we'll be talking to the TCs as we did with the business case. There's a whole raft of work to be done."
The feasibility study into outsourcing, reputed to have cost almost Lim, has been carried out by consultancy Deloitte and Touche, which will now prepare the PPP proposal.
The Prospect union has said that despite its requests to be involved with the internal comparison bid,it has been given no information as to who within the organisation is involved in its preparation.
Kevin Warden, secretary of the VI section at Prospect, explains: "We asked to engage with the inhouse team and were told it was too early. Now it will soon be completed and we've seen no paperwork.
"One gets the impression that Deloitte and Touche is preparing the outsourcing case and two guys in a back office the internal one," he adds.
The Vosa spokeswoman insists: "It won't be Vosa's decision whatever happens-it's the minister's."