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The ink is barely wet on the redundancy letters and members are contacting the branch to say that staff who have been made redundant are now back working as Consultants!

Unfortunately this is not a new phenomena in Barnet, over the years this has been almost an unofficial policy.

I have raised this issue with councillors and senior officers. During this year’s Budget consultation Barnet UNISON raised it as in our Budget proposal which you can view here

Here is what we said about the use of consultants

“The issue of Consultancy and Agency spend has been repeatedly raised at previous Council Budget consultations. Over time promises have been made that this information would be provided. It is true that information is produced but it is the robustness and quality of the information that is of concern to the Trade Unions as it is to the local tax payer.

The issue which appears to challenge the Council is providing a definition of a consultant and an agency worker. Each year we have offered to put together a policy which we could jointly agree. It is important that during consultation the Employer seeks to provide easily understandable and accessible information to the Trade Unions in order to ensure all attempts have been made to mitigate making staff redundant.

The Council through its industrial relations machinery produces Agency figures, more often than not these are repeatedly inaccurate. The reasons behind the inaccuracy of the agency data have changed over time but the problem remains the same.

“How can an organisation afford not to know how many Agency workers they employ?”

Furthermore, since the publication of the Council spend over £500 we have requested confirmation about Agency & Consultancy spend in the understanding that there was likely to be a high number of redundancies this year.

We carried out an exercise whereby we extrapolated the Consultancy spend data based on figures released in August; the result of which the Council was looking to spend £38,733,307.98. We carried out the same exercise in relation to Agency workers and found the Council was looking to spend £8,309,206.92. These two figures when understanding that staffing spend takes up a large part of Council spend are not insubstantial figures.

Recommendation

The Council undertakes as a matter of urgency a review of all payments to staff not employed directly by the Council.

Furthermore we recommend that the Council refer to the HMRC Guidelines in particular the advice to be found here that explains that “It’s your responsibility to correctly determine the employment status of your workers – that is, whether they’re employed by you or self-employed. This depends on the terms and conditions of your working relationship with each worker.

It’s important to get your workers’ employment status right because it affects the way tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) are calculated for them. And it determines whether or not you have to operate PAYE (Pay As You Earn) on their earnings.”

Read full details here

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/employees/start-leave/status.htm ”

Needless to say we did not get a response to our report. Feedback from members would be most welcome.

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.”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365695/Revealed-The-new-public-service-Fat-Cats-theyre-immune-cuts.html#ixzz1Gc4gWD8e

“Trade Union members, friends, work colleagues, families, community groups and residents from Barnet are going to march together as a community.”

Join us on Saturday 26th March 2011 and say NO to unfair and unnecessary spending cuts!

We’ll be marching in March to defend our public services from cuts & privatisation:

·         Hospitals

·         Libraries

·         Day centres

·         Youth services

·         Schools

·         Pensions

Meeting places in Barnet:

·         Finchley Central Tube Station—9am -9:15am (sharp)

·         Brent Cross Tube station—9am -9:15am (sharp) UNISON Contact Louis Smyth 07909156552

UNISON’s final meeting place is outside the * Savoy Hotel Strand London, WC2R 0EU from 9:30am till 11am nearest Tube Leicester Square.

March Starts around 11am on from ‘The Embankment’

UNISON contacts John Burgess 07738389569, Helen Davies 07940189807

We require volunteers to help take equipment to the March, carry during and bring it back to the UNISON office. Pick up will be the week prior and drop of ASAP after. If you can help please contact Lorraine on 020 8359 2088 or email: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

* = Scene of Peasants Revolt 1381

Our report highlighting significant risks & weaknesses was submitted to Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee on Weds 2 March.

Our report was ignored.

See summary of Key Risk below.

1. Delivering Savings – Relentless drive for Efficiency

There is a significant risk that the Council will not achieve the forecasted £100 million savings for following reasons:

• Over reliance on the private sector to deliver savings without a proven record.

• Poor understanding of outsourcing models as reflected in the scoring.

• No evidence based economic assessment & financial projections for each service delivery model.

 

Somerset CC has decided to renegotiate the strategic partnership contract with IBM. Just three years into the ten-year £400m contract, the Council has decided to bring some services and functions back in-house, change the governance of the JVC, and simplify the contract (Cabinet Member Decision, 21 February 2011). The Council considered terminating the contract but this was ruled out because of early termination financial penalties and significant transition costs. Planned savings have already plummeted by a third.

2. Value for Money

There is a significant risk that the council will not achieve value for money for the following reasons:

• No assessment of costs and benefits for each service (business) delivery model.

• No forecast of affordability and no financial projections for each service delivery model.

• No analysis of business risks for each service delivery model.

• Little or no recognition of interdependencies between services resulting in a flawed options appraisal outcome.

• Issuing an OJEU notice in the absence of in depth business case and Gateway review.

 

The recent Catalyst dispute, which resulted in the Council bearing an additional cost of £10.3m illustrates the risks.

3. Challenge

There is a risk of external challenge for the following reasons:

• No evidence that service users have been consulted about the design of the Customer Services Organisation.

To view our Interim report click here

To view Petition signed by staff working in Reves & Bens click here

To view our Final report click here

Barnet UNISON along with Barnet Alliance are busy working on a documentary on the cuts in Barnet.

We are asking for residents and members to send in any photographs or short video clips of any events you have attended in Barnet.

Here is a short trailer made by one of our infamous Bloggers Barnet Eye which you can view here !

 

Barnet UNISON along with Barnet Alliance are organising a protest at Full Council meeting on Tuesday 1 March.

Full Council will be voting through a budget proposal of £54 million of cuts.

In the past the Council has refused to allow council meetings to be filmed. Last week Eric Pickles, the Conservative Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said:

“Many councils are internet-savvy and stream meetings online, but some don’t seem to have caught up with the times and are refusing to let bloggers or hyper-local news sites in. With local authorities in the process of setting next year’s budget this is more important than ever.

“Opening the door to new media costs nothing and will help improve public scrutiny. The greater powers and freedoms that we are giving local councils must be accompanied by stronger local accountability.

“We are in the digital age and [the] analogue interpretation of the press access rules is holding back a new wave of local scrutiny, accountability and armchair auditors.”

you can view whole statement here

On Tuesday 1 March residents and trade unions will taek part in a mass film making protest.

Come along and join us.