Partner Article

Cleveland Police consider partnership potential

AS Cleveland Police Authority battles to protect front-line services in the face of major cuts in Government spending, it has agreed to examine the potential for further savings with its private sector partner.

Already a wide range of support services are being delivered through the partnership—the first of its kind in the country—and last week Authority Chair Councillor Dave McLuckie said it made ‘common sense—and financial sense’ to examine the potential for delivering other services through the agreement.

Under the existing terms of the agreement with Steria the partnership will deliver £50million in savings over the ten years of the contract, as well as improving services and protecting the terms and conditions for transferred staff, including a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.

Part of the agreement involves the transfer of a number of ‘back office’ activities, previously undertaken by police officers, to the civilian staff now employed by Steria, and Authority members were told that a significant number of other roles—some currently undertaken by police officers and others by police staff— had been identified for potential civilianisation and transfer to Steria.

Councillor McLuckie said: “We know that in the next four years the funding from Government will be cut by 20 per cent or more, but we are determined to do everything possible to protect front-line policing on our streets and in our communities even though it is clear that overall police numbers will have to be reduced.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .