Thanks for meeting us yesterday
We expect you’re sick of this whole sorry mess
We really appreciate all you have done and understand that you will be dismayed that we are now resigned to paying a team charge, shooting a hole in your work to date, but we feel that we must address the current situation if it is not to resurface further down the line.
I know you know all of this but for the removal of doubt:
OSMIS
OSMIS exists to provide LSU colleagues delivering services to schools with a route to improve their offering – that’s all we do and all we want to do.
We don’t want to take anyone’s business and will always put the interests of our customers above those of any other party (schools, CCS and often ourselves).
We have no aspirations to develop the business beyond the growth driven by the needs of our customers.
Any of our associate consultants could easily earn a crust as independents but like working with us and see the value in the way we choose to operate and we do have an obligation towards them in the light of their hard work, loyalty and trust through bad times and good.
Current Services
It has been agreed that OSMIS can continue in the discharge of their current commitments in working on behalf of fee paying local support units
We would ask that we continue to be recognised as agents of our customers and particularly of Blackburn with Darwen and Trafford LAs, as was envisaged at the inception of our arrangements with them.
We would ask that our access to support systems (notably MyAccount and release management systems) be restored to as it was previously and as requested on 13th April
Trafford Engagnement
We talked to Phil all the way through the Trafford engagement and offered to support Capita in addressing the issues the schools had identified to the LA.
We clearly offered to withdraw from the engagement if our involvement would in any way affect our relationship with Capita colleagues and would have done so with the slightest prod.
Tina
It may be very naïve of me but I personally am really cut up that Tina thinks ill of me – I have behaved and will continue to behave in an entirely cordial and proper fashion.
To hear the allegation that I have thrown my weight around is hurtful and without foundation. I attend and chair SNUG at the invitation of the group and work hard to represent the views of the group in the role.
I am particularly careful to ensure that my own interests have no disproportionate influence on this work - I certainly resent and am hurt by any allegation that I have done anything other than act in an exemplary fashion.
John and I have spoken to both Tina and Simon at every opportunity, informing them of our purpose and activities, and have made genuine offers to meet and discuss any concern that they may have – right from the foundation of OSMIS up to as recently as BETT 2015.
Team Charge
We have offered to pay a team charge many times even though it is against our interests as to do so places us in a position of potential competition with our LA partners.
We are dismayed that we now find that our not paying the team charge is causing issues
We will pay the team charge immediately in order to:
Alleviate any current issue with our capacity to deliver services to our existing customers
Ensure that relationships with Capita staff can heal and develop
Ensure that we do not encounter similar issues in the future
Continue to be welcomed at Capita events
- If it helps you in discussions with Capita colleagues in any way please find below our team charge order form -John had a nicely printed copy with him yesterday but here's my scruffy scan of a scruffy signature - As soon as it's useful to you please call me and I'll send one to your proper e-mail address
OSMIS Financial Model
We are resigned to establishing OSMIS as a fee paying LSU for the reasons set out above.
All of our financial arrangements are based on the previously stated position that we did not need to pay a team charge to deliver support to organisations already paying their own. You will be aware that we do not provide or offer to provide services other than through recognised fee paying support providers.
John and I will need to pay the team charge personally but will seek to recoup this from OSMIS in any offering we may be able to make to any LA or Trust customers which may approach us in the future.
Our position will remain that we will not take on customers already contracted to local services in which we so passionately believe.
Our core business remains in the delivery of top up services to existing teams which we see as vital if schools are to have a positive experience in their use of SIMS. This is surely beyond doubt.
Accreditation
Once we are committed to paying a team charge, it follows that we need to achieve accreditation for our services.
The FM agreement process as it stands requires that the 3rd party is accredited for the arrangement to benefit from self-billing arrangements. Although it has been agreed that the Blackburn and Trafford arrangements have no requirement for an FM agreement it might be envisaged that any future arrangement would should Capita revise the rules.
Others in the marketspace are able to benefit from self-billing and if we are to have any chance of recouping the investment in the team charge then we must be able to do the same in order to be worthy of consideration.
I would assert that our services and the management of them are excellent and that quality and customer approval is well above the thresholds of the accreditation process.
We have been delivering a complete suite of services to BwD LA for more than two years now and would ask that these be used as the services to be evaluated
Until the beginning of this month we had no intention of attaining team status let alone undertaking accreditation and, as a result, there will be some areas which might cause issues if not considered in the light of this. I would therefore ask that Capita looks sympathetically on our request for accreditation and provides an outline assessment of our chances of achieving accredited status prior to us entering in to the process.
