Council workers' 'deep concerns' over outsourcing

Dozens of council house maintenance staff say they have "significant concerns" about plans to outsource their jobs to a private contractor.

The workers at Somerset Council said it would result in a worse service for tenants and poorer standards for them as staff.

Micheál Duffy, branch secretary for Unison Somerset, said: "Our members are deeply concerned [that] outsourcing to a private company poses serious risks."

Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts, Lib Dem lead member for housing, said said it was "vital housing management services across the county are fit for the future" and she was confident the process would "deliver for all our tenants, leaseholders and colleagues".

Unison claims the council, which already has a contract with the private company MD Group, has issued it with three "red cards" due to concerns about the quality of its work on council houses in the Sedgemoor area.

Homes in Somerset, a council-owned company, currently manages the 4,000 council homes in the Sedgemoor area, while the 5,600 council homes in the Taunton area are managed in-house by Somerset Council, along with 490 leaseholder properties.

The arrangement is a legacy from the former district councils, which merged with the county council to become Somerset Council in 2023.

Councillors voted last week to go ahead with moving the housing stock in the Taunton area into the management of Homes in Somerset, along with the staff who look after those properties.

Smith-Roberts said any final decision would be subject to further consultation.

"We are not proposing a change to an untried or untested model; instead, we are proposing to combine around the higher performing of the two existing models, bringing a consistently higher standard of delivery for all Somerset housing tenants," she said.

A council report said the move could save £3.5m a year.

Zak Stabbins, a Unison union rep and member of staff in the housing trades team, said the team "take a lot of pride in our work and are always striving to make it better".

Another worker, who did not want to be named, said he and his colleagues have "a good rapport" with tenants.

"When we go away they're like 'you're our best mate' because they're so happy with what we've done.

"We chose to work for the council, not for profit, and not for some big company," he added.

"I think it's pretty disgusting how they're treating everyone."

Another worker who did not want to be named said: "We're all quite proud to work for Somerset Council, but we don't want to work for anybody else."

He added he wanted to see the in-house service expanded, with money earmarked for the transformation programme spent on hiring more council workers instead.

"Morale is extremely poor, it's never been so bad in all the years I've worked here - everyone used to love working here."

The council said there would be no change for tenants in relation to their tenancy agreements or right to buy opportunities.

It said the new management model would still have customer contact available 24 hours a day 365 days of the year, though the contact phone number might change.

Tenants and leaseholders have until 8 April to give their views on the proposed changes.

The council will consider the consultation responses and publish its final decision in late April.

If the changes are implemented, existing staff will be further consulted on moving across to MD Group on their current terms and conditions – with the new model expected to come into force on 1 September 2026.

The BBC has contacted MD Group for comment.

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