They have a flashy name. They offer Transformation made easy. But they do not come cheap. Ignite cost Taunton Deane and West Somerset a jaw-dropping £1,210,000 to devise a cock-eyed scheme which failed to live up to any of their ridiculous promises:
“In challenging times lies the opportunity for a fundamental shift in thinking about the way councils operate: to ‘future-proof’ them against the challenges of the modern era without cutting front line services. Savings of 20-25% can be unlocked through the adoption of a more strategic approach through developing: A new organisational model; slick customer journeys and processes; an integrated technology platform; flexible staff and culture.”
This is the polished jargon of snake oil salesmen. Unfortunately there is often a gullible soul ready to believe it. So it was that the then Chief Executive of Taunton Deane Council signed up Ignite without a normal competitive tender, an extraordinary thing to do in local government but perhaps not surprising given this Chief Executive’s track record. She was one of the original signatories to the appalling deal that set up SouthWest One in 2007, an outsourcing disaster with IBM that cost taxpayers £70million.
Meanwhile Ignite has been busy boasting of the improvements they claim to have made in Taunton. The company’s website contained a case history of the wonderful things they did and the magnificent savings they achieved.
It reads very well. The trouble is it should have been published by Mills and Boon.
One eagle-eyed local campaigner complained to the Advertising Standards Authority. The Authority took a long hard look and politely invited the company to amend the fictitious script.
At first nothing happened. Then, just after the damning audit report was made public, Ignite removed the entire case history. Ignite has also been “advising” Somerset County Council who would like to abolish all the districts and form a new Unitary Authority. The financial figures to justify this idea were compiled by Ignite and bear no relation to the truth.
A final footnote on Taunton and West Somerset. It is worth searching Ignite’s website today. If you attempt to click on Taunton and West Somerset a single empty page appears. This should provide an added spur for the new leadership and Chief Executive to pursue Ignite and obtain decent compensation. They were done. As taxpayers, we all were done.