Representatives of the GMB, RMT, UNISON, PCS, NUT all took part as part of the Barnet Trades Council. At the end of the demonstration Councillor Alison Moore and local MP Andrew Dismore gave speeches adding their support to the campaign. The provision of sheltered housing means that many relatives feel reassured their beloved elderly relations have a degree of security by being in sheltered accommodation and so find it easier to relax knowing help is close at hand for their relative. So there were younger family members on the demonstration making it quite clear what this support means to them also.

But when you get old, wouldn’t you want to know this type of provision exists? If you do then maybe it’s time you joined the campaign on its next stage and took part in the rally outside Hendon Town Hall at 6pm on 19 May 2009.

To view pictures of the demonstration, click here.

Just some of the claims

£4.47 for dog food, £115 for 25 light bulbs, £305.50 to “cure noise problems”, with her boiler, £312 for the fitting of mock Tudor beams, £600 for hanging baskets and pot plants, £765 claim from Ikea, £768 from Marks and Spencer’s for a bed, £1,350 in house repairs, £1,500 gardening bill, £2,000 to replace a leaking pipe under a tennis court, £2,074 for furniture and £2,339 for carpets, £3,194 bill for gardening, £9,000 a year for gardening, £13,000 in moving costs, £14,553 solicitors’ fees and stamp duty, £30,000 for doing up his £120,000 constituency, £75,000 to fund a second home in Westminster £35,000 in mortgage interest payments,

The former Prime Minister used his parliamentary expenses to remortgage his constituency home for £296,000 – nearly 10 times what he paid for it – just months before buying a west London house for £3.65m.

The prime minister paid his brother, Andrew, £6,577 for arranging cleaning services for his Westminster flat for 26 months

You can view it all online BBC website here.

Rank hypocrisy… politicians want to take your pension and hand you over to the private sector in order to bail out the inefficiency and gross negligence of the financial sector

I recognise not everyone is a Local Government Anorak. The day before the Budget the Treasury Department released a report ‘Operation Efficiency Programme – Final Report’ view it here.

It is clear whoever wins the General Election next year, the Government will get in!

Local Government is set to face hardship it has probably not had to face in over a generation. I know Council workers will ask what they have done to deserve this doomsday scenario of council services. The answer is nothing. In Barnet Council staff have delivered almost £60 million in savings and delivered a Four Star service.

What can’t happen is that Council Services across the UK are decimated in a crude attempt to offset £billions of debt bailing out the financial sector.

The role of the trade unions, staff and residents will be key to how council/public services are delivered in Barnet.

Make sure you make time to attend the rally at the Future Shape Cabinet Meeting on Monday 6 July 2009

Members will have heard about the Newcastle story. It is a real life story of staff, managers, elected members and residents coming together to design & deliver first class services and deliver efficiencies.  

Here are two links to national papers out today

Read in Guardian Today

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/05/public-spending-newcastle

Read in the Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/hilary-wainwright-key-to-economic-recovery-lies-in-unlocking-workers-creativity-1679023.html

Whilst what is done in one council can never be easily transplanted to another Council, there is still a lot that we can take from Newcastle to help address the financial challenges facing public services in Barnet. What I found key was unlocking the potential of the staff  to help design services for the future. All too often public services will call on the services of the big consultancy companies such as KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Deloittes etc  at a considerable cost.

Tonight I will be going to:

Public Service Reform…but not as we know it!

Debate alternatives to privatisation
18:00 to 19:30, 05 May 2009, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA  
Speakers: Hilary Wainwright (author); Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Communities and Local Government Secretary; Jon Cruddas MP; Heather Wakefield of UNISON and Kenny Bell, UNISON

http://www.compassonline.org.uk/events/index.asp?date=27/05/2009&ec=NULL

Members will be pleased to know that following our last post on this item (see here)

We are meeting with management to discuss the options for this service including the in house option. Obviously the Trade Unions’ concerns about the process have been acknowledged. We will be providing updates on progress.

Angry workers occupying their workplace sounds like something from the 70’s (or a scene from the BBC 1 series Ashes to Ashes!)… but it happened and not too far away…Enfield in fact. 

 

The workers at Visteon UK, formerly a part of Ford, about 560 of them, were made redundant without notice. They had contracts mirroring those of Ford workers, but, with Visteon going into liquidation, will only receive minimal statutory redundancy terms. They are upset and angry, and have done the only thing they could that would get them a hearing: refused to leave their former workplace. Their demand: better redundancy terms (not much to ask for after years and in some cases decades of loyal service).

When the Trade Unions say they are concerned about any staff being transferred out of Council ownership you don’t have to look too far away to see why.

The Alan Shearer Newcastle Story

‘Public Service Reform but not as we know it’, by Hilary Wainwright with Mathew Little

How DEMOCRACY can transform public services

If I could put the book online for everyone to read I would.

To read some quotes from staff from all levels of the organisation please click here

http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/sites/default/files/The Alan Shearer Newcastle Story_0.pdf

 

We want to talk about service improvement, we want to talk about service efficiencies, we want to talk about working closer with our partners in public services, we want to talk to residents about improving their experiences of public services. We want council staff to be given the chance to utilise their skills and expertise to improve outcomes for Barnet residents.

We want to work with the Council… when can we start?

 

Today some Barnet staff had the chance to speak to Hilary Wainwright (http://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=4300) author of ‘Public Service Reform – But not as you know it’ a real story about how Back Office services in Newcastle fought off a bid (with the support of Dexter Whitfield) from BT to run their improved City Services. Dexter who is supporting the trade unions here in Barnet helped along with Hilary to answer questions from staff on what happened.

Our branch along with some of our trade union colleagues will be arranging a visit to Newcastle shortly. We have extended an invitation to our Chief Executive and members of his senior management team.

We hope to meet the Newcastle Chief Executive and the senior management team to listen to their approach to trade union/staff and resident engagement.

Members will be familiar by now with the name of Fremantle & their partner Catalyst Housing

Read excerpt below

“8.2 In 2006 and 2007, two ‘Deficit Claims’ were received from Catalyst; both were subsequently rejected by the Council, and in 2008 these were formally referred by Catalyst to Arbitration. Given the size of the substantive claim, the Council’s legal advisers have recommended that an expert who has experience of outsourcing the management of care homes be appointed by the Council, to give evidence as to how an experienced provider should manage the Care Contract, to support the Council in the preparation and presentation of its case by Counsel and other consultants.”

Find the whole report online here

http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=8022

 

I am one of the few still around from when the decision to privatise all our care homes and day services was made. It was clear that councillors were rushed into an ill thought out decision that has now back fired. Those Officers responsible have long gone……isn’t it always the case!

In terms of the report it is good news that the Council is seeking expert advice to support them with the arbitration process. Whatever the outcome of the decision valuable resources have been wasted over the last couple of years just dealing with the claim. If there is one lesson to be learnt it is don’t rush into decisions without making sure you have robust procurement and contract monitoring.

Money wasted on trying to clean up badly procured contracts is a waste of public money…money we are told we don’t have.

Five months ago the Trade Unions submitted a report on suggested improvements to our Procurement and Contract monitoring…we are still waiting to begin discussions.

It has been widely reported that the Trade Unions are being consulted throughout the Future Shape process. The Joint Trade Unions want to make it clear that they have had no part in the decision to privatise these services

Last week the Trade Unions were informed that Cemetery & Cremations services were going to be privatised (read public report here

http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/meetings/meetingdetail.asp?meetingid=4664

Pages 74 – 80

The background papers can be found here

10.1 London Borough of Barnet – Barnet Cemetery and Crematorium Option Appraisal – October 2008 – Sector Projects)

The Consultants were Capita. Their report was conducted between August and October last year. Yet the Trade Unions and staff were not told that the report was being conducted?

The report was written before the recession.

Do you remember this?

This appeared in January 2009 as part of Phase Two of the Future Shape. Cems & Cremas are clearly defined as a Quick Win. Clearly someone knew something the Trade Unions and staff didn’t.

Cems & Crems Timeline

August – October 2008 Capita Report produced (Trade Unions & staff not informed).

January 2009 Cems & Crems appears described as a ‘Quick Win’ in Future Shape Document

14 April 2009 TU’s told for the first time that a report recommending privatisation of Cems & Crems is going to Cabinet Resources Committee

23 April 2009 Cabinet Resources Committee make a decision on Cems & Crems

 

The Trade Unions are seeking an urgent meeting with the Director responsible for these Services