Vale has Full Confidence in Ridgeway Partnership (Oxford West and Abingdon Liberal Democrats)

Oxford West and Abingdon Liberal Democrats <info@oxwablibdems.org.uk>

Vale has Full Confidence in Ridgeway Partnership

December 5, 2007 12:00 AM

Vale of White Horse Liberal Democrats last night threw out a vote of no confidence in Cllrs Tony and Mary de Vere for their role in overseeing the pioneering Ridgeway Shared Services Partnership (RSSP) with South Oxfordshire District Council.

The RSSP was set up jointly between the Vale and South Oxfordshire to oversee the transfer of the benefits, revenues and accounting services of both Councils to a private contractor, Capita, as part of a pioneering new venture. Capita has introduced significant improvements in both Council systems, including a renewal of out of date software, a document imaging process for benefit claims and the transfer of telephone calls for the benefits service to a dedicated office in Coventry. The new partnership is on track to achieve major savings for both Councils.

There have been some difficulties with the introduction of the new contract, primarily with the new 'Agresso' payments system. The RSSP board has been responsible for overseeing the changes to this system which has seen some duplicate and late payments. However, Cllr Tony de Vere pointed out to the Council meeting on 4th December that problems with payments to suppliers amounted to just under £10,000 out of a total value of transactions of £35m.

Tony de Vere said: "This motion is premature and misguided. The Ridgeway Shared Services Partnership has been an overwhelming success but there have been some problems. Mary and I have been working hard to resolve all the issues which have arisen together with our Conservative colleagues from South Oxfordshire District Council and we are not going to walk away from this important task. Neither Council is complacent about the problems but we are committed to continuing the impressive work we have already done with this pioneering partnership.

"I am pleased that my Liberal Democrat colleagues on the Vale voted down this motion down overwhelmingly and I wonder what Conservative Councillors in South Oxfordshire must think of the attacks being levelled at them by their party colleagues here in the Vale. Perhaps the most surprising fact is that the Vale's Scrutiny committee, which the Tory leader chairs, is currently undertaking a review of the RSSP, entirely correctly. It seems this jury wants to judge the case before all the evidence is in, which is at best lazy, at worst it is negligent."