First major central government mutual joint venture announced
Francis Maude has announced plans to transform My Civil Service Pension (MyCSP) into a mutual joint venture.
12 April 2011
Plans to transform My Civil Service Pension (MyCSP), which administers the delivery of Civil Service Pension schemes, into a ground breaking mutual joint venture, have been announced by Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office.
This will be the first major “spin out” of a central government service giving employees the opportunity to take a stake in their business.
The joint venture is a particular mutual model in which employees have a stake along with one or more partner organisation. This can combine the improved productivity associated with employee ownership with additional expertise and capital investment. Plans for MyCSP envisage that the government, MyCSP employees, and a private sector partner would all have a strong material interest in the service. The potential for offering a stake to pension scheme members is also being considered. Work is now underway to develop this approach with the final structure of the partnership being shaped to provide further value for money to the taxpayer.
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, said:
Too often there’s been a binary choice between the government providing a service itself, or outsourcing it to the private sector. These choices have historically been driven by a belief that services have to be controlled centrally - with a one size fits all approach that has left little room for innovation.
We are looking for more innovative ways to structure services. We know that employees who have a stake in their business, or take ownership of it completely, have more power and motivation to improve the service they run. They can also benefit from partnerships with private or voluntary sector organisations which can bring in capital and expertise.
For the private sector, which can no longer expect the generous margins of the past, tapping the talent of frontline staff to improve efficiency will be a priority. The state too can keep a stake so that taxpayers benefit from the rising value of an improved service.
I’m impressed with entrepreneurial zeal of Phil Bartlett and his team at My Civil Service Pension. They are pioneering the mutual joint venture model and the government is committed to ensuring they have they right support to succeed.
Phil Bartlett, CEO My Civil Service Pension, said:
At MyCSP we are proud to be the first pension administration service to pioneer an innovative mutual joint venture between the Government, employees and a new private sector partner. By taking the opportunity to mutualise we can better acknowledge our people and their expertise - and access valuable additional resources and expertise in the private sector.
This new and innovative structure will give us the agility to exploit opportunities in the changing pension landscape and grow our business, and the taxpayer will benefit from the increased value of an improved and more efficient service.
Notes to Editors
- My Civil Service Pension brings together separate units from across government to improve quality and efficiency and employs around 400 staff. The mutual Joint Venture status will enable MyCSP to continue to improve the way services are delivered and help grow their business. The mutualisation process is being supported by dedicated resource within the Cabinet Office. Earlier this month the Minister for the Cabinet Office announced that the entrepreneur and business leader, Stephen Kelly, has been appointed as the Crown Representative to support the creation of mutuals from existing service teams within central government departments. He also announced the establishment of an Enterprise Incubator to help civil servants create successful enterprises from within central government, including employee and management teams who wish to form mutual companies under the Right to Provide previously announced by the Cabinet Office.
- The government is developing mutual models through the Mutual Pathfinder programme which is supporting 21 existing and potential mutuals with mentoring and advice from experts in employee ownership. In addition, every department will put in place ‘rights to provide’ giving staff new rights and support to form mutuals.
- Other recent announcements include the appointment of Professor Julian Le Grand to head the Mutuals Taskforce which will champion staff interested in mutualising their service.