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Tuesday 21 September – Audit Committee report

Item 9 One Barnet: Review of Governance Arrangements

You can view the report online here

 

The First Recommendation reveals the Council

• Does not have a business case for the One Barnet Programme.
• Does not have any evidence of planned benefits or planned outcomes of the programme
• Does not have an estimated cost of the programme
• Does not have an overview of the overall timescales of the programme including key milestones
• Does not have a high level risk profile 

The Future Shape Programme is over two years old we spent over £2.5 million to consultants in the first two phases and now we are looking to invest more money for another bunch of consultants.

 

In these times of Austerity we must stop handing over public money to consultants who do not deliver. If Consultants are not prepared to forego a large part of their fee on the understanding that it will only be paid if their recommendations deliver value for money to the Council; then we shouldn’t employ them.

 

I am tired/frustrated reading reports from consultants waxing lyrical about different models of delivery with little or no evidence to substantiate their claims. Furthermore I know they will be long gone when the organisation finds out it has been sold a pup!

 

Who pays…..?

It is the tax payer. Public services are funded by taxes we all pay and that included public sector workers.

After all, in Barnet we are all familiar with local examples of privatisation successes failures: Icelandic Banks, Connaught, Catalyst, Aerodrome Road, Meals at Home, Cleaning……

 

More to follow….

How can the Future Shape Programme where the stakes are so high not have all the recommendations set out in the Audit report in place before any decisions are made about the future of council services?

Last week Connaught workers were sacked by a conference call. This was as a result of news last week that Connaught plc and its subsidiary, Connaught Partnerships Limited, which comprises its Social Housing Division were going into administration.

On Tuesday 14 September staff attended a meeting with Barnet Homes and Lovells partnerships a subsidiary of Morgan Sindall. The good news was that they did have a job and all their terms and conditions would be transferred over. They were told that they had been sent redundancy notices in error.

·         Members left the meeting happy they had a job.

6pm last night Connaught members at the lobby saw an email from KPMG saying that they had not been transferred and they were redundant.

You can imagine how much distress this caused our members. Emails, phone calls were made last night to find out what was going on.

Late. late last night I emailed KPMG demanding to know what is going on.

This morning I spoke to KPMG. They explained that they had not been informed that Barnet Connaught staff were to be transferred to Lovells Partnership hence the redundancy notices were sent.

I asked KPMG if they receive official notification from Lovells Partnership that Barnet staff were to be TUPE transferred, would they rescind the redundancy notice and support the TUPE transfer?

They said yes.

I have now been in direct contact with Barnet Homes and Lovell Partnerships and they have already sent information to KPMG.

I understand that Lovells Partnership are in the process of sending a communication to staff informing them they are being TUPE transferred and they are going to be paid.

I expect our members will still not believe the news until they have something in writing, but who could blame them after the week they have had!

I am sure all Barnet UNISON members (not Connaught workers) are probably shaking their heads in disbelief and will want me to pass on their best wishes to the Connaught workers.

UNISON members are invited to the following meetings

Tuesday 28 September 12– 2pm,  Venue Multi Purpose room, Room No FG07,Wood Street Campus

Thursday 30 September,12– 2pm, Venue, Lecture Theatre 1, Grahame Park

 

This morning I spoke to an angry and tearful Barnet UNISON rep for the former council workers contracted out to Connaught’s.

Late last night staff were sacked by Conference call. They are shocked angry and don’t know what this means.

UNISON is seeking urgent talks with Chief Executive Barnet Homes.

This is yet further proof of what working in the private sector means…..Future Shape….

John Burgess Branch Secretary of Barnet UNISON condemned the action and is calling on Barnet Homes and Barnet Council to do the right thing and take back these loyal workers.

 

 

 

Barnet UNISON reps met yesterday and have a message to all our members

To view click here

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.

 

Barnet UNISON in conjunction with Barnet Trades Council and local residents are lobbying the Full Council meeting.

 

For the last few months there has been ongoing expression of outrage about the decision of the previous Full Council meeting in July to award some councillors with massive pay rises at a time when residents and staff were being told that services would be cut or stopped.

 

The Leader of the Council has announced that this decision will be overturned.

To view flyer click here