Britain’s Secret Fat Cats who profit at our expense
Unusually I found myself at home and able to watch the Dispatches programme on Channel Four ‘Britain’s Secret Fat Cats’
For those who missed the programme I strongly suggest you watch it on catch up TV here
The thing is that the Public know so little about what has gone on and the serious amount of public money going into the coffers of private sector companies. Whilst Town Halls have become the target of community groups and angry residents and trade unions as a result of massive cuts to budgets, private sector companies are revealing massive profits for shareholders all paid for from public money from ME AND YOU!
Whilst I maybe the last to fight the corner for senior officer pay rates, at least this is subject to public scrutiny. If these companies are allowed to take over the rest of public services the audit trail will disappear altogether.
I am positive that 99.9% of UNISON members would be shocked, angry and disgusted about how public money can hived off for private sector companies at a time when public services and local communities are being decimated.
A thought which has often crossed my mind, is how much longer will the community continue to put with this nonsense?
Almost every person I speak to either officially and unofficially admit the private sector are in for themselves and whatever happens they never lose, they don’t take the consequences when it all goes wrong.
Worrying was the admission in the programme that ‘privatisation is one way street.’ The collapse of Connaught’s was covered in tonight’s programme (with regards Norwich) and all the things the Norwich councillor claimed, were allegedly taking place in Barnet. Last summer as rumours circulated about the future financial viability of Connaught’s, Barnet UNISON lobbied Barnet Homes asking for the service to be brought back in-house before service collapsed. Needless to say our request was not taken up. Connaught’s went bust, now we have Lovell’s and they are not even waiting 6 months before looking to attack member’s terms and conditions.
No wonder the big private sector companies are getting excited with the prospect of even more lucrative contracts where they make massive profits at no risk to themselves. I saw an article in the Daily Mail; please note I am not a reader of the Daily Mail
“They are private companies but they are also the creation of the Government’s drive to outsource services. The lion’s share of their turnover – and of their executives’ enormous pay packages – comes from the public purse. But there is little in the way of public accountability.
These outsourcers already account for £79 billion of state expenditure every year, a figure which is set to grow if the Government fulfils its pledge to put nearly all state-run services out to contract.
A White Paper on the subject is due soon and the companies with their foot already in the door are delighted.
Over the past few weeks big outsourcing companies have given extraordinarily upbeat assessments of their position.
Paul Pindar, the chief executive of Capita – which does everything from collecting TV licence fees to placing social workers – is gleeful about the prospect of a public-spending squeeze.”