Camden, Islington and Haringey councils are planning to wrap up their shared ICT service around the end of the year due to a divergence of views on its core principles.
The move has been approved by the cabinet of Camden, which has been acting as the provider of a hosted service for the others since earlier this year.
It was originally set up as an independent shared service for the three north London councils in 2016.
A report submitted to Camden’s cabinet said it had improved services and produced annual savings of £2.4 million, but that “it is clear that the three councils have different local priorities and approaches with regards to ICT and digital services”.
It was based on a “high trust” model in which the investment and risk would be equally shared, with equal shares of the benefits of savings. In July this was changed to a “light” model focused on core infrastructure, but the report indicates that Camden would be better off with “a more singular focus”.
The report also says the change will allow the council to align its digital work with its Our Camden Plan and Camden 2025 strategy.
Differing priorities
A document submitted to Haringey’s cabinet says the borough was not seeking to terminate the service and that it had obtained benefits. But it acknowledges the different priorities and lays the ground for the council to go it alone.
“Haringey will be able to mitigate these disadvantages as we develop our local service offer given we will now have a more singular focus,” it says.
The Camden report indicates that the shared service should end by the turn of the year, with employees returning to their original boroughs under TUPE arrangements if they apply, but there could be job losses in the senior leadership team.
A small number of contracts, notably those with not long left to run, will remain shared and continue to be managed by Camden. The others will be transferred back to the relevant boroughs.
