We often see situations where a contracting authority has difficulty accessing data which a service provider is either unwilling or unable to share. This can cause real problems in the delivery of routine business, as well as understanding and assessing the performance of contractors, not to mention obtaining the right information for the next procurement.
Michael King, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman could not have been more direct on the matter:
“When councils enter into contracts with service providers, they need to ensure the different parties’ responsibilities are clear from the outset – this can include areas such as complaints resolution and, as in this case, information sharing. Because no such agreement was in place with the agency, a foster carer has been waiting more than two years for her complaint to be resolved by Ealing Council, despite its best intentions to do so. I’m pleased the council has accepted my recommendations and hope the changes it will now make will ensure any future cases will be easier to investigate.”
In2 the bargain 