Four West Midlands councils have signed a joint contract with a bailiff in a bid to save money and offer a better service. LOCAL authorities are increasingly taking a partnership approach to delivering their services. The shared procurement of goods and services from third parties is being held up as an effective way of cutting costs and improving quality. But how easy is it in practice to make such an arrangement work? Four West Midlands authorities - Wolverhampton, Dudley, Coventry and Sandwell - are heralding their debt recovery agreement as an example of sound partnership working. In October the quartet, acting as the Midlands Bailiff Partnership, appointed enforcement agent Bristow & Sutor to chase unpaid council tax and nondomestic rates debt under a three-year contract.
展开▼
