Dorset Property Services is the in-house multi-professional property consultancy of the former Dorset County Council. In 2019 the Council appointed consultants to consider the options for the future of Property and Asset Management services. Two Committee reports later a draft business case proposes a commissioning and outsourcing strategy with the loss of 63 full time equivalent jobs.
Dorset UNISON commissioned a detailed analysis of the four reports from the European Services Strategy Unit which has extensive experience of options appraisals and analysis of local government services. Their report is highly critical of the process to date, particularly the consultants report and the current draft business case, which are judged to be fundamentally flawed.
It highlights the need for a broader vision for the Dorset Council’s Property Strategy and Asset Management organisation with a vision of a multi-disciplinary service having a vital and vibrant role in bringing the Council’s capital programme to fruition over the next two decades.