Council vote puts £300m Cornwall outsourcing plans on ice

24.10.2012
Cornwall County Council has put its £300 million a year outsourcing plans on hold after councillors decided that the strategy to part-privatise key public services should not go ahead.

Councillors met yesterday to discuss the issue and 93 voted for the motion to delay the plans, with 7 abstaining and none voting against.

The U-turn comes shortly after from his position, due to ongoing internal disputes over the plans.

Ex-deputy leader Jim Currie, who had briefly resigned over the outsourcing strategy, was appointed as the council's new leader last week.

Currie had sent a damning resignation letter to Robertson, claiming that he had 'pushed the cause of retaining Council control over joint ventures as far as [he could] with the Cabinet' and that the financial risks involved with the 'rush' into strategic partnerships was 'unacceptable'.

Outsourcing of the council's services was due to go to either BT or CSC.