UNISON Press Release: 30 October 2012 BARNET COMMISSIONING COUNCIL VOTE FOR IN-HOUSE SERVICES
Barnet UNISON Press Release: 30 October 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BARNET COMMISSIONING COUNCIL VOTE FOR IN-HOUSE SERVICES
On Wednesday 7 November 2012 Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee is considering a recommendation to support the One Barnet in-house Street Scene Project. The One Barnet Street Scene Project includes the following services:
· Refuse, organic waste and recycling collections
· Waste strategy
· Street cleansing
· Greenspaces
· Highways operational team
Earlier this month the Barnet Press reported that “Brent Council executive committee passed proposals to “outsource its “public realm” services – waste collection, street cleaning and ground maintenance – in tandem with Barnet Council as part of its One Council programme.”
This decision to support the in-house services signals a clear change of direction for Barnet Council which is currently implementing a policy known as the One Barnet Programme, sometimes referred to as the ‘Commissioning Council’.
John Burgess UNISON Branch Secretary said: “This is fantastic news for residents & 700 council workers delivering these services. I want to take the opportunity to applaud the Council for at last recognising the potential of in-house services to be able to compete with the private sector. We are now calling for the Council to halt the current outsourcing plans for the two contracts (worth in excess of a Billion Pounds public money). We are asking for the Council to work with staff, unions and the community to develop efficient, innovative services for Barnet residents and ensure savings go back into the pockets of the council tax payers.”
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Notes to Editors.
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, sometimes referred to as the ‘Commissioning Council’. This mass privatisation policy is designed for the Council to divest itself of responsibility to deliver services to its residents.
The first One Barnet project 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.
It involves approximately 700 council workers. There is a high probability that the winning bidder will not deliver these services from Barnet so there is a high risk of significant redundancies at the moment of transfer.
This contract will be awarded to either Capita or BT at the Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee on Thursday 6 December 2012.
The second One Barnet project is known as Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) which includes the following services:
Trading Standards & Licensing, Land Charges, Planning & Development, Building Control & Structures, Environmental Health, Highways Strategy, Highways Network Management, Highways Traffic & Development, Highways Transport & Regeneration, Strategic Planning & Regeneration, Cemeteries & Crematoria.
This contract, worth up to £275 million pounds, will be awarded to Capita Symonds or EC Harris at the Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee on 8 January 2013.
This involves approximately 300 council workers
Both contracts are for ten years with an option to extend for a further five years.
UNISON’s position
Over the past four years UNISON has published over 40 detailed reports on the Future Shape/EasyCouncil/One Barnet mass privatisation programme.
Our message has remained clear.
Provide a level playing field and follow good practice and include a fully funded in house service improvement model to run alongside the procurement process.
Our proposal – In house model
There are a number of examples of where Councils have followed this approach to good effect. Most recently Edinburgh City Council considered the potential for using private contractors to deliver a wide range of its services. It embarked on separate procurement processes for 3 blocks of services utilising the Competitive Dialogue process in an attempt to obtain the best offers available from the market. At the same time in-house teams were asked to work on service improvement plans or Public Sector Comparators, so that when it came to the award of contract, the Council could be sure that the services it was purchasing would genuinely optimise its use of scarce resources. In the end the Public Sector Comparators proved to be more attractive than any of the external offers and no contracts were awarded.
For a fuller explanation click here
Our UNISON branch has produced a list entitled “100 PLUS reasons why One Barnet is high risk and bad for residents and services” which you can view here