What have the BP and Barnet Councils Future Shape Programme (otherwise known as easyCouncil) have in common?
They both rely on contractors to deliver services and both have experienced problems with contractors recently e.g. Barnet Council with Catalyst and Connaught and BP with Haliburton and Transocean,
What is interesting reading the report on what happened is the loss of control when you rely on contractors and sub-contractors to deliver services. It is stark warning to any public service organisation of just what can happen when you outsource services. When things go wrong it will land on your doorstep, and more often than not, the contractor walks away.
But this is not new, which is why it is surprising Barnet Council are fast tracking the Future Shape programme, a programme which is relying on contractors to deliver services and make massive savings. The haste that the programme is moving suggests we are not learning our lessons.
But it’s not as if we have not seen more serious consequences closer to home. Just recently we have had a report into the Potters Bar inquest which took eight years and no criminal prosecutions. Jarvis (contractor) disappeared, like contractors seem to do when thinks go wrong…Metronet anyone?
The Future Shape programme has been re-branded as ‘OneBarnet’. Does anyone remember when the Post Office changed their name to Consignia? I wonder which consultant came up with that bright idea? How much did that cost the Royal Mail or more accurately the public purse!
Anyway, I don’t know why they want to re-brand Future Shape to ‘One Barnet’. You only have to look at the Future Shape Programme to see ‘whichBarnet’ would be a more accurate description. The Programme is actively looking to several private sector companies to deliver services to Barnet residents.
