Birmingham City Council is set to establish a private company to deliver its regeneration services in the city.
A meeting of the council’s cabinet will consider a report outlining proposals for the spin-off firm. Initially, the holding company will deliver construction and property services, including urban design, including facilities management plus building control, incorporating building consultancy.
The report before councillors said: “The basic concept is for BCC to provide the wholly owned company with the authority and autonomy to operate in a more commercial manner, whilst still retaining the core public sector service ethos.” The plan would allow the council to sell its services to third party bodies including charities in the city. Rules prevent councils from directly operating on a commercial basis.
Randall Brew, the council’s cabinet member for finance, said: “The plan would contribute to the financial challenges the council faces by reducing overheads, bringing into play the benefits of economies of scale and generally being a more efficient way of doing things. Longer-term, it would also be offering us the foundations of a lucrative income stream by expanding our customer base.”
If the plan is approved, the council will set up a wholly-owned holding company with a series of “special purpose vehicles” to operate individual services. However, the report forecasts job losses, saying that “reducing, reshaping and re-skilling the staff complement prior to formal transfer into the wholly owned company is essential for success”.
Guardian Article: LINK
Regeneration Net Article: LINK
