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11th April 2011, 02:07 AM
P Prentice Wrote:so no advantage then
Sorry, I was trying to keep it general. In short, some local authority units do have an advantage as a result of this and they do use it. Others don't or have less of an advantage depending on their circumstances, as far as I'm aware.......
But any form of subsidy will make a council think twice and if they remove that, the unit becomes less effective at winning work and making a profit. Thus its a logical conclusion that a council will want to consider selling off or dissolving it now to prevent a situation where it has to go through that process and potentially lose money in the future.
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11th April 2011, 09:35 AM
The same is also true of university units - in terms of advantages and potential threats to survival in the current climate
ShadowJack
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11th April 2011, 11:26 AM
it's no skin off my nose but i think it is time for somebody to give an actual bonefide incontestable example of a local authority unit making unfair advantage of their situation
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11th April 2011, 11:59 AM
ba careful... remember the AUP
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11th April 2011, 12:00 PM
P Prentice Wrote:it's no skin off my nose but i think it is time for somebody to give an actual bonefide incontestable example of a local authority unit making unfair advantage of their situation
Totally agree. This seems to have been a rumour that has circulated since the mid 80s and I (who have worked for a load of local authorities and universities over the years) has yet to find one that actually enjoyed any kind of price advantage over commercial units. So anyone that thinks otherwise should name the names (or at least in consideration of the BAJR UIP give substantive evidence that any kind of advantage exists beyond rumour and speculation)...
With peace and consolation hath dismist, And calm of mind all passion spent...
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11th April 2011, 12:01 PM
Well.....one local authority unit I worked for did have an SLA (Service Level Agreement) which stipulated that all contracts for council projects (schools etc) up to a set value had to go to the council unit without tendering.
BUT is that any different to a private/commercial unit having 'prefered contractor status' with a major contractor/consultancy or all university work going to the university's own unit?
Personally, working within local authority units, I think there are far more dissadvantages than percieved advantages - e.g. at the moment we are enduring a recruitment freeze, pay freeze (in it's third year), increment freeze and forever battling restrictions being imposed on a blanket-wide fashion across the entire authority which have a significant impact on our ability to conduct business.
All of which - we have no say in.
ShadowJack
