THE decision to scrap the privatisation of up to 900 council jobs does not mean it will never happen, council chiefs insist.

Cabinet members at Stoke-on-Trent City Council yesterday accepted a recommendation not to proceed any further with plans drawn up in 2005 to outsource back-office services to a private firm.

The decision, taken behind closed doors, followed several hours of debate at a private meeting on Tuesday.

The £250 million strategic partnership initiative would have seen about 500 council staff transfer to the private sector this year, with up to 400 others following later.

But councillors were told last week that a review of the scheme had shown it would not have delivered sufficient savings to the authority, which is embarking on a £10 million cost-cutting drive from next month.

Chief executive John van de Laarschot, pictured, and cabinet member for regeneration councillor Brian Ward said they felt it would be easier to make efficiency savings if services were kept in-house.

But they refused to rule out revisiting the partnership proposals at a later date.

Mr van de Laarschot said: "In October we re-formed a dedicated project team to re-evaluate where we stood and whether or not to go forward.

"With the changes in the economic circumstances, we felt that it would no longer be in the interests of the council, or our communities at this current time.

"We felt that, in these economic conditions, the strategic partnership would not deliver the flexibility we needed.

"That is not to say that it would not be the right thing to do in the future, when the economic situation and our own capabilities are a little different."

Mr van de Laarschot also moved to allay fears that abandoning the partnership plans would undermine efforts to drive forward Hanley's proposed £230 million Central Business District.

He said: "The strategic partner was the preferred option in terms of underpinning that development, but it is far from the only solution.

"There is a serious amount of activity going on with our partners to find alternative scenarios that meet the same need."

The chief executive added that, despite trade union opposition, he did not believe the aborted outsourcing plans had undermined staff morale.

He said: "There is a degree of uncertainty, but there's also a huge aptitude to stand behind a council-led review of our processes and make this a much greater place to work."

Mr Ward stressed that, although more than £1.5 million had been spent on planning the partnership venture and its relocation to the business district, the cash had not been wasted.

He said: "All the work that has previously gone on under the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership and its partners will be used to create a masterplan that we hope to take forward."

He added: "We are not taking our foot off the pedal, because we know that the Central Business District is a vitally important part of the whole regeneration of Hanley."