Council’s business tie-in worries unions

Oldham Council cabinet
PLANS to get big business involved in running more council services have been attack by unions.

But councillors are pressing ahead with a £233,000 proposal for the Unity Partnership to take over areas such as highways management, the council’s payroll and financial management transactions.

It would also expand the council’s call centre to deal with everything from social services to school admissions and tourism.

Unity Partnership — a collaboration between the council and service company Mouchel — was set up in 2007 to improve services, get better value for money and create jobs.

It already manages Oldham’s IT, council tax collection, benefit payments and the call centre.

But the public sector unions have fears about the future of Mouchel as well as the call centre, which it believes could be merged and moved to Rochdale.

They say the first phase of Unity’s work has not delivered, the report about the expansion presented to the cabinet is “ill thought out” and they have “grave concerns”.