As the public sector rolled into a new tax year this April, Oldham Council was undergoing significant structural changes as it brought a number of key council function back in-house.
All services delivered by Unity Partnership, a company established in 2006 and which became wholly owned by the council in 2018, are to be managed by Oldham Council going forward.
This will include the customer call centre, highways, revenues and benefits, IT, payroll and HR, which have all been delivered by Unity Partnership on behalf of the council for a number of years.
The move is aimed at improving services and residents’ experiences, as well enabling closer working between different council departments.
More than 400 staff have transferred over to the council as part of the move.
Harry Catherall, Chief Executive of Oldham Council, said: “Unity delivered some of the services that mattered most to Oldham residents, such as answering the calls of those in need through our call centre, managing our benefits service, and running our face to face customer support at Access Oldham.
"Bringing these services back to the council will allow us to build on improving customer satisfaction and the quality of the services we deliver, while at the same time delivering value for money for all of our residents.”
A report published and agreed by Oldham Council’s Cabinet committee in January 2022 recommended the management of the Unity Partnership services be brought back under direct council control.
