Liberata : Top of the BPO Flops

They quote 'Liberata is one of the UK’s leading providers of outsourced business processes. With over 2,500 employees across more than 20 UK locations, Liberata improves, streamlines and simplifies complex operational processes, with a strong commitment to delivering ‘Value for Money’ to its clients and to making a contribution to the communities within which it works.' All sounds perfectly reasonable and common sense....


(1) Learning Skills Council - Education Maintenance Allowance

Computer problems delayed payments to 150000 students. The grant is their to help those less economically well off than their overpaid consultants and executives funded by the tax payer. The Learning Skills Council is one of the biggest quangos in the UK funded by the tax payer and what did they do to penalise Liberata? Nothing. Not even a fine.


(2) Life and Pensions

The Financial Services Authority fined Liberata £525,000 - more than 10% of the company's profit in the last financial year - after failures in its systems and controls meant policyholders did not receive documentation on their investments. The FSA are another quango funded by the tax payer. The FSA fines outsourcers if they do not maintain effective systems and controls to mitigate the risk of fraud. Did the FSA give us back the 525k? No. Why are the FSA not applying the same stringent monitoring in the Square Mile that has left teh public sector out of pocket for the next 15 years?


(3) Southwark

http://www.southwarklabour.co.uk/labour_call_for_urgent_review_of_tax_collection_contract

Southwark Labour’s resources spokesman, Cllr Richard Livingstone said:

“Liberata have underperformed in Southwark for years. Their pathetic legacy has cost the council hundreds of thousands of pounds in uncollected council tax, which could have been used to keep the price of meals on wheels down for Southwark’s vulnerable residents or the Livesey Children’s Museum open. At the beginning of the year we argued that it was time for the Lib Dem/Tory coalition to sack Liberata but our calls were ignored.

“Since April the contractor’s performance hasn’t improved in Southwark and their current financial troubles, which has been caused by their own incompetence nationally, means that is highly unlikely that they will be able to improve. My worry is that faced with a massive blackhole in their finances they’ll strip back spending on staff and other resources, and that council tax collection rates in Southwark will fall through the floor as a result.

“The Lib Dem/Tory coalition needs to look at ways of bringing council tax collection back in-house. The situation that’s existed for the past few years, where the council has paid out millions of pounds to a private company which hasn’t done its job, is ridiculous. Croydon Council, which took its council tax collection service back in-house from Liberata in 2004, has steadily improved its collection rates and has just had its best year’s performance. We believe that Southwark can do the same.”


Given the above what does a key central government the department Culture, Media and Sprt go and do... http://www.liberata.com/general.php?id_gen=66&id_news=54