Press Release: 28 August 2012: 100 days to One Barnet Billion Pound Gamble
Barnet UNISON Press Release: 28 August 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 100 days to One Barnet Billion Pound Gamble
In 100 days time on Thursday 6 December at 7 pm in Hendon Town Hall members of Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee will formally award a contract to either BT or Capita. The first contract known as New Support Customer Services Organisation (NSCSO) will be for back office services such a Finance, Revenues & Benefits, Estates, IT, HR & Payroll etc, it is estimated to be worth up to £750 million pounds with a opportunity to extend for a further five years.
In spite of mounting community opposition within the workforce and the community the Council remains convinced that privatisation works. Barnet Council continues to ignore even the wise words of Sir Merrick Richard Cockell Conservative Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Chairman of the Local Government Association who
“called into question the belief that local authorities should be looking to “outsource everything”. There were some services better performed by the private sector, but the quality of other services run by councils with the “tightest budgets” had been “underestimated”.
2012 has already seen Barnet Council workers being transferred out of the Council including:
• Adult social care
• Parking services
• Housing services
• Legal Services**
NSCSO project involves over 770 staff most of whom are at risk of their jobs being transferred out of London
UNISON has repeatedly offered to meet with the Leader of the Council to discuss an alternative to the high risk £billion pound gamble being promoted by consultants.
Branch Secretary John Burgess said “If the Private sector can do things differently so can the Council in which case all of the savings come back to the tax payers of Barnet instead of big business.”
** Legal Service staff are due to be transferred out of the council on 1st September 2012.
End.
Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk
Background
Barnet Council is implementing a policy known as the One Barnet Programme and sometimes referred to as the ‘Commissioning Council’. This mass outsourcing policy is designed to the divest itself of responsibility to deliver services to its residents. A second One Barnet project known as Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) is due to go to Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee on 8 January 2013 where a contract worth up to £275 million pounds will be awarded to Capita Symonds or EC Harris.