Fate of Shropshire Council company ip&e being decided today
The fate of controversial Shropshire Council company ip&e was being settled today, with councillors expected to vote for its closure during a confidential session of the council cabinet.
The company, which was set up to provide a way for the authority to sell its services and make money, has been the subject of a review since December.
The review was initiated by new Shropshire Council leader Malcolm Pate and has been considering the company's performance on council contracts and those secured with other organisations.
It is understood that staff working for ip&e, which include the communications team, as well as seconded staff under planning and regulatory services, will be moved back to the council. There will be no job losses proposed as part of the move.
Last month the council's chief executive Clive Wright, said: "We are currently carrying out an internal review of ip&e to look at routine things such as the performance of the company as part of its term strategic contract with the council, as well as its performance in relation to the external contracts it has won.
"Since the review started, just before Christmas, a cross-party group has been set up and the leader has assigned his deputy portfolio holder in the newly constituted cabinet to oversee the process."
Accounts released for the company last year showed that ip&e had made its first profit of £28,029, and achieved revenue of £1.162 million. But sales to Shropshire Council amounted to £1.145 million – meaning sales to non-council organisations had only amounted to £16,617.
