Disappointment and bemusement as Julie Dore rejects calls to extend Sheffield Futures contract

It has left the union ‘bemused’ and the service provider ‘disappointed’.

Sheffield Futures has provided youth services for the council for the past 18 years but following a decision by Coun Dore to bring the service in-house, the contract is due to come to an end in September.

The decision was delayed by two scrutiny meetings as opposition councillors said there needed to be more information available before proceeding but eventually it was confirmed they would insource.

At the last scrutiny meeting, it was unanimously decided by the committee to call for an extension to the contract to allow more time to prepare.

But Coun Dore rejected this in favour of pushing ahead with insourcing by the current deadline.

Councillor Mike Levery, who sits on the committee and put forward the recommendation, said: “This is precisely the reason It’s Our City campaigners were successful in calling for a referendum - strong leader taking no notice of scrutiny.

“It can’t be done in the time that is available.

“We have to question what the role of scrutiny is in the city anymore if it’s not being taken notice of. I might have put the recommendation forward but it was unanimous and all six Labour councillors voted for it. If you’re not going to take any notice of your own members then what is the point?”

Gail Gibbons, CEO of Sheffield Futures, said: “The decision Sheffield Council has made to take the youth contract back in-house will have an impact on our charity. It currently forms a large part of our service delivery, and has done for the last 18 years.

“We’re disappointed that the council has withdrawn its offer of a contract extension in recognition of the challenges presented by covid-19. The demand for our services during the current crisis continues to be incredibly high, and we will now need to manage this while simultaneously undertaking this transition process.

“However, we're committed to working with the council to ensure that young people receive the consistent and high quality support they deserve during this transition, and that our colleagues are supported.

“We have many important projects, such as our Door43 wellbeing service that supports young people with their mental health, our Project Apollo that supports care leavers into training and jobs, and our careers advice service in schools. These are backed by a portfolio of funders. Our priority now is to ensure that these essential services can continue to be provided for young people in Sheffield, but we will need ongoing support from our community and funding providers to do this.”

Robin Symonds, of Unison who represent staff, said it affected hundreds of employees.

He said: “We support the insourcing of services but we do not believe Sheffield Council and Sheffield Futures will be able to discharge their legal duties to properly consult with recognised trade unions in the three months that are available. We have formally registered our concerns with the leader of the council, the director for people and the children’s scrutiny committee.

“We fully support the unanimous cross-party recommendation of the scrutiny panel to the leader of the council to delay the transfer by six months to allow due processes to be followed. We are naturally bemused that the leader has ignored this recommendation and we can only assume she has received legal advice that a further contract extension would be unlawful.

“We do not believe the consultation that is required by law, can be completed in the available time. The last two TUPE transfers that Sheffield Council has undertaken were given six and five months respectively for consultation and they were not complicated by the coronavirus restrictions. Should the council fail in its duty to consult it could face potentially costly legal claims.

“It is clear that no formal discussions have yet taken place between the council and Sheffield Futures regarding such fundamental issues as where the hundred or so workers will be based as of the 1st of October. Our members who will be affected by the transfer are understandably anxious. UNISON will continue to represent their interests as best we can in the circumstances.”

Sheffield Council was contacted for comment.

Editor's message: Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues. The Star is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions for unlimited access to Sheffield news and information online. Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.