This is taken from The Guardian:

BBC backs down over outsourcing

by Ben Dowell
Thursday May 25, 2006

The BBC has backed down over plans to outsource its engineering training and technical support services department to the controversial support services firm Capita.

The decision was taken following the delivery of a revised proposal from Capita and a visit this week, to the department's base in Wood Norton, Worcestershire by the director general, Mark Thompson, where he spoke firsthand with staff affected by the proposal.

The news was welcomed by Bectu, which has long opposed the plans approved by the BBC's board of governors.

The union's assistant general secretary, Gerry Morrissey, said: "We are very pleased. We thought that these plans were misguided from the very beginning.

"We made representations to the BBC and the secretary of state that this historic training centre was important not just to the BBC but to the whole of the television industry and is a central part of the BBC's public service remit. We are glad that Mark Thompson has listened to out concerns."

A BBC spokesman said that the change represented a "tiny part" of the existing arrangement with Capita. Under the outsourcing plan - which involves 265 BBC posts in recruitment, human resources and occupational health - Capita intends to move 100 jobs to Belfast.

A corporation statement said: "Following the announcement of Capita as preferred supplier in February, the BBC asked Capita to develop further this aspect of their bid.

"The BBC believes that provision for broadcast engineering training represents a unique service to the broadcasting industry, and is now satisfied that this is best maintained by retaining and reshaping provision within the BBC.

"This decision does not reflect in any way on the confidence the BBC has in Capita to deliver the other parts of the contract."

The BBC believes it will save £50m from the 10-year deal with Capita, though Bectu has disputed these figures.

Capita, which administers the collection of the TV licence fee, believes the deal will provide £100m in revenues over 10 years.

The company found itself at the centre of the honours-for-loans scandal earlier this year after chairman Rod Aldridge was named as one of 12 donors behind secret loans to the Labour party.

Mr Aldridge stepped down over what he called "spurious" claims that his £1m loan to Labour resulted in the group winning government contracts.