A TAXPAYERS' pressure group has called for an inquiry into how a contract was awarded to a private company to run an East Riding Council department.
Hessle public relations and communications company Mercury Design and Marketing Ltd won a contract to manage the authority's in-house communications team in July.
Something about this whole situation just doesn't seem right, and I'm not just talking about the fact that the managing director of this company doesn't exactly have the best track record. Rather than spending £35,000 per year keeping this role in-house, East Riding Council pay £60,000 a year to outsource. Now even allowing for on-costs, which being it's the public sector are not small, I can't see any way that this outsourcing is saving the taxpayer money. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem at all with outsourcing functions which are better handled by private enterprise, but that is strictly on the condition that either the quality of the product is significantly better or it costs less to provide the same service. So what is it, are Mercury Design and Marketing Ltd vital to ERYC's communication with the public, providing a service that the council can't, or is somehow a cheaper alternative because they are replacing the job of several people? Please tell me it's not just a way to abdicate responsibility for communications by passing the buck to an external entity who can take the flak if things go wrong.
I hadn't realised until today there was another Conservative blogger in Hull. I thought I had been flying the flag alone for the last 3 years. I am also the spokesman and organiser for the Hull and East Riding Taxpayers' Alliance. Keep on blogging! It's worthwhile and can open doors for you.
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