Wednesday 14th March, 2012

Somerset County Council has announced that it plans to draw back some of its services from the Southwest One joint venture. Accounting elements, business development and pensions as well as some finance advisory functions, and elements of shared accounting will go back to the Council. At the moment AP and AR will stay with Southwest One.

The move has come after some very disappointing results from the venture which was set up to create savings and greater efficiencies for the Council. The Venture which included an IBM implementation of SAP was controversially set up in a hurry in 2007. The Venture has actually cost the Council £500m with losses of £31.5m, which Ken Maddock, leader of Somerset Council described as "staggering".