The sharing will result in elements of Human Resources, Finance and Procurement being shared between forces and delivered from a single location – resulting in Northamptonshire Police Authority proceeding to the contract stage with Cheshire Police Authority and technology provider Capgemini, before moving into the design and build stages of the technology led solution.
The decision re-enforces the Forces’ position to protect front-line services to the public as much as possible during this challenging time. Deirdre Newham, Chair of Northamptonshire Police Authority, said: “Today is a milestone in the history of both police authorities and forces and the Police Authority considered this matter in great detail before reaching a decision today. The challenge set by government is that, by March 2015, Northamptonshire Police will have to operate on a budget that is reduced by nearly £20m compared to the 2010 position”.
Proservartner Point of View: Rumour has it that Cheshire were struggling to meet the business case for shared services, and the combination with Northamptonshire should surely assist leverage more benefits from shared services. However, the Forces will need to consider if a technology led solution will be fit for purpose for their needs.
Given the budgetary constraints across the Public Sector, Police Forces have been responsive in attempting new methods to protect front line services and deliver savings in transforming the back office. In the Police market, in addition to the Northamptonshire-Cheshire agreement, West Mercia and Warwickshire have agreed to share services late last month, North and West Yorkshire have set up shared services, Cleveland Police outsourced certain support activities to Steria, and Avon & Somerset outsourced support services to IBM. Whilst Police Forces have moved from sharing services internally to do this either with a provider or other forces, what is lacking is a competitive solution with the sponsorship that exists in the Health sector with the Department of Health.
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Tags: Public Sector, Shared Services
