Consultants to intervene in zero star councils

The government has announced the winners of the performance
action team contracts for four of the zero star rated social
service departments, writes Lauren
Revans.

Multinational management consultancies KPMG, Deloitte and
Touche, and PricewaterhouseCoopers have begun work with Coventry
and Walsall, Birmingham, and North-East Lincolnshire respectively
to implement their emergency action plans.

Arthur Anderson and PA Consulting, which were also short-listed,
failed to win a contract, and the department of health said there
were “no appropriate bids” from the public sector.

The teams will support the four social services departments on a
short-term basis, and improvements must be made by October or the
government will consider “statutory intervention powers”.

A spokesperson for the department of health said: “The main
thrust of the performance action teams is to support staff to
develop their capacity and systems, and to deliver improved social
services, particularly those in relation to children’s
care.”