UNISON National Pay Update Number 3
To view UNISON email sent to all councillors councillors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland click here
One Barnet “My worst fears” – by John Burgess UNSON Branch Secretary
In my role as Branch Secretary I am currently taking part in consultation over the transfer of over 550 staff from Barnet Council to Capita Group. Unfortunately, I have had extensive experience of transfers of staff out of Barnet Council, more so in the last 12 months. However, the Capita transfer is the biggest and most complex transfer I have ever been involved in.
The big difference with this transfer to Capita is that Capita have announced that the majority of the jobs will be based out of the London Borough in Barnet. The jobs are been exported to Belfast & Carlisle, Blackburn & Southampton to name but a few destinations. The impact of these proposal is that hundreds of local jobs will be lost to our local community at a time when there is need for jobs.
In the discussions with Capita we are trying to negotiate an alternative to jobs being moved out of Barnet in order to keep jobs and prevent redundancies and I have asked for support from the Council to help in this aim.
However, last week I was shocked and upset by the news that the first One Barnet Project ‘Your Choice’ was failing, so badly that it needed a £1million loan from Barnet Homes just to survive, But the loan is not enough, ‘Your Choice’ submitted a proposal which if implemented would decimate low paid care workers terms & condition.
I take no comfort from saying “we told you so!” as last year UNISON submitted several reports on the proposal to create a LATC where we said: “The options appraisals and business cases for Adult Services and the Housing Service and the business plan for the LATC have serious weaknesses and the process has been deeply flawed. They Council should not be making decisions on the future of services and public assets based on such poor information, analysis and advice.” (UNISON January 2012)
Unsurprisingly Cabinet Committee ignored our comments.
BUT now we can see our worst fears have been realised.
The problem is that instead of ‘biting the bullet’ and admitting this One Barnet Project had not worked, ‘Your Choice’ is trying desperately to hang on to a business model that simply won’t work.
Take a look at the ‘Your Choice’ consultation document (to view click here), there is no information or evidence to explain why the Councils Business Case produced in May 2011 (to view click here) could be so WRONG.
A lot has been made on the money spent on consultants and legal advisors for the One Barnet Projects. Many a time councillors defending the One Barnet Programme have responded that they have learnt lessons from previous mistakes. In which case why are the Council not publishing the ‘One Barnet Lesson Learnt reports?’
UNISON is asking the Council to honour the Councils Business Case (which stated in Business Case at paragraph 7.4 “Commercial risk ultimately remains with the Council and in the unlikely event of failure, the services will need to be brought back in-house.”)
We need to learn the lessons from Winterbourne and the Francis Inquiry.
We believe the proposals in the consultation document are de-skilling and reducing support at a time when the focus post Francis inquiry is on need for better trained and skilled staff and more supervision.
“What does this mean for the other One Barnet Projects?”
The stakes are so much harder for the Capita contract and the Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) contract (preferred bidder has not yet been announced, it could be either EC Harris or Capita).
What worries me is that if the Councils Business case could be so wrong for what was a very simple contract, what is the chance that the bigger One Barnet Projects could also go the same way?
Where has this been done before?
There are very little examples of Local Authority Trading Companies around the UK. Here are a few but because they are so new there is little to report.
1. Essex County Council’s Essex Care Ltd
2. Kensington and Chelsea London Borough’s Chelsea Cares Ltd, went into liquidation in its first year.
3. Wokingham Council’s Optalis Ltd Optalis was set up in June 2011
4. Northamptonshire County Council’s Olympus Care Services Limited, Olympus started trading in March 2012.
5. Stockport MBC created Solutions SK to provide a wide range of services. Integrated Solutions SK was established, alongside, but under the management of Solutions SK, in 2009 to provide a wide range of adult social care services. It has recently disclosed that it has not won any external contracts and is failing to deliver the services that the council pays it for. The council agreed at Meeting of Extraordinary, Adults & Communities Scrutiny Committee, Wednesday, 19th December, 2012 (Item 4.)
“That the Executive be recommended to give approval to the return to the Council of the home support elements of Individual Solutions SK as soon as is practicable having regard to any HR and legal requirements and that further consultation be undertaken with any affected staff on the proposed transfer back to the Council.”
Link here http://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=7511
‘Your Choice’ Care Workers Petition
To download petition please click here
URGENT UPDATE Your Choice Care Workers
UNISON received confirmation that our request for Your Choice to stop the bench marking of pay for Your Choice Care Workers has been agreed. Discussions about these proposals will be dealt with after the consultation has finished.
This is welcome news, especially on International Women’s Day as over 70% of the workforce are women furthermore it is good news for disabled workers as according to Councils own Business Case published May 2011 “the in-house services do employ 39% of Barnet disabled workers.”
UNISON ‘Your Choice’ up date report
6 March 2013
Dear Colleagues
Please find enclosed latest UNISON responses to the Your Choice in Consultation document
Email sent 6 March 2013
Hi Troy
Please find initial responses to the report presented to staff on Friday 1 March 2013. A fuller and more detailed response will be produced on receipt of information requested by UNISON. We have identified page numbers and paragraphs to aid a speedy response.
Page 4
Paragraph 2.4 “Review the structure which will result in 6.8 posts being deleted and the introduction of a new management structure.”
UNISON response: Deletion of frontline workers at a time when the Council is claiming to want to protect frontline services. Reducing staffing numbers on already stretched services will have a negative impact on staff health& wellbeing and the knock on impact will be service quality.
“Deletion of enhanced payments and introduction of a 7 day week”
UNISON response: This will place more pressure on low paid staff and result in experienced staff looking to leave as soon as they are able. It will lead to high turnover in staff which will have an impact on service delivery. The proposals will have a serious impact on staff morale and motivation. This is a very dangerous proposal.
“Benchmarking of salaries with similar organisations and the introduction of a new salary structure in line with the findings of the benchmarking exercise”
UNISON response: In the absence of any information and our insight in to the pay of the private sector this proposal means cutting low paid staff to below a living wage. This consultation report provides no information or evidence as to the reasons why the business plan agreed only a year ago was critically flawed. We are not in a position to know the scale and rationale for this attack on low paid care workers. It is our view that it is simply wrong to claim that paying poor wages does not impact on the quality of care.
· 3.2 The figure of £60,000 is a 300% increase on the figure provided to UNISON less than three months ago. This is more evidence that the business case was critically flawed. Please explain why the increase.
Page 5
“The 345k owed to the Council. There is no information as whether the Council are going to insist on this repayment and if so what the consequences are for Your Choice.
The paragraph starting “If no changes are made…”
· Please provide a detailed breakdown of this £1million gap and a response to why this massive gap was not foreseen by the Council’s Legal Advisors and Consultants?
The paragraph starting “The move to payment in arrears….”
· How has this happened?
· Is this a cash flow problem or is it a profit problem or a combination of both? Is this linked to the block contract issue or a separate financial issue?
Paragraph starting “The budget has …”
· Please provide evidence for this financial assumption.
Page 6
3.5 What new business has been won by Your Choice?
· What are the lower costs of your competitors?
Page 8
Valley Way a respite residential unit was required to provide a deputy manager, please confirm why this is no longer a statutory requirement?
Paragraph 4.3 Waking Night staff
We are concerned about the proposal to reduce waking night staff from 2 to 1 staff both for the staff and service users.
Paragraph starting “In Supported Living …”
· UNISON is concerned that waking staff are being removed from the Supported Living service, currently deployed in Agatha House.
Page 10
Paragraph 4.5 Supported Living Restructure
UNISON is concerned with the proposals to reduce the number of support workers from 23.2 FTE to 6 FTE. We believe this is de-skilling and reducing support at a time when the focus post Francis inquiry is on need for better trained and skilled staff and more supervision.
Page 13
· 5.1 Enhanced payments
UNISON is concerned by the proposals to remove enhancements for low paid care workers. We believe this will have an impact on staff morale and motivation and will impact on the quality of new recruits to the service.
· 5.2 Review of salaries
Please provide the results of the initial benchmark of your competitors.
UNISON is concerned that the benchmarking will simply result in low paid workers facing a further cut to their pay resulting in a demoralised workforce. This will impact on the quality of service provision.
Best wishes
John Burgess
Branch Secretary.
Email sent 6 March 2013
Hi Troy
I am requesting that the consultation is suspended on the grounds that we can not engage win meaningful consultation before we know the outcome of your proposed benchmarking exercise. As I advised at the opening meeting, your proposals to ring fence and assimilate are meaningless if as we predict the grades are significantly reduced. It is our view that this could lead to further compulsory redundancies.
Information requests
I am chasing up the email (see below) I sent on Friday as I am concerned that we do not have enough information for the trade unions and staff to be able to have meaningful consultation.
1. Please provide a breakdown of the £1 million gap identified in first 3.2 (paragraph 3) of the consultation document.
2. Please provide details as to how payment in arrears has had a significant impact on cash flow
3. What is the commercial rate of interest which Your Choice will pay on the loan?
4. Please provide the detailed business to case to demonstrate how Your Choice is going to be able to generate enough profit to pay back a £1million loan and meet the cost of the commercial interest.
5. Does this £1million loan include covering the £345k which may need to paid back to Barnet Council? If not, how do you [propose to fund this gap?
Your report makes a number of significant proposals which will have a detrimental impact on our member’s terms & conditions, their health & safety. Furthermore we believe that if these proposals are implemented they will have a detrimental impact on service quality.
I am asking for an undertaking as to when we will be receiving a response to our email and the promise to provide the further information promised at our meeting on 28 February 2013.
Best wishes
John Burgess
Branch Secretary.
Email sent 1 March 2013
Hi Troy
Whilst we await further details promised in our initial meeting please can you provide a response to the following questions:
1. Please provide a breakdown of the £1 million gap identified in first 3.2 (paragraph 3) of the consultation document.
2. Please provide details as to how payment in arrears has had a significant impact on cash flow
3. What is the commercial rate of interest which Your Choice will pay on the loan?
4. Please provide the detailed business to case to demonstrate how Your Choice is going to be able to generate enough profit to pay back a £1million loan and meet the cost of the commercial interest.
5. Does this £1million loan include covering the £345k which may need to paid back to Barnet Council? If not, how do you [propose to fund this gap?
Best wishes
John Burgess
Branch Secretary
Beware the “Ides of March” One Barnet Social Care Experiment is not working
Barnet UNISON Press Release: 1 March 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Beware of the “Ides of March” – The One Barnet Social Care Experiment is not working!
Today approximately 170 staff will be presented with a redundancy consultation document (to view click here ) which contains within it the most draconian attack on low paid social care workers since the infamous Fremantle Care workers dispute. The Council Cabinet Committee back in May 2011 agreed to create a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) named ‘Your Choice’. The transfer of staff to the LATC ‘Your Choice’ took place on 1 February 2012. At the time the Council website issued the following statement:
“Your Choice Barnet is projected to start delivering a surplus to the council from 2013/14. The surplus is projected to reach £263,000 by 2014/15 and £493,000 by 2015/16.”
Today staff are to be informed that Barnet Homes are having to ‘bail out’ Your Choice with a loan of £1million in order to prevent Barnet Group defaulting on the contract with Barnet Council. The projected surplus figures quoted are clearly not going to materialise.
Last year UNISON submitted several reports on the proposal to create a LATC.
“The options appraisals and business cases for Adult Services and the Housing Service and the business plan for the LATC have serious weaknesses and the process has been deeply flawed. They Council should not be making decisions on the future of services and public assets based on such poor information, analysis and advice.” (UNISON January 2012)
The proposals contained within the consultation document issued to staff and the trade unions today if implemented will see care worker terms and conditions slashed dramatically. This sends a message to potential new recruits to care work that these jobs are valued less than a shelf stacker in the local supermarket. One of the proposals is to reduce the number of waking night staff.
“For continence issues, those who require changing in the night do not require the use of hoists as they are already in bed.” (Paragraph 4.3).
It takes two staff to safely use a hoist, the implications if the above cut is implemented is that if a service user is incontinent during the night they will have to wait until the morning before they can be helped.
These proposals in our view are de-skilling and reducing management oversight and support at a time when the focus post Francis inquiry is on need for better trained and skilled staff and more supervision.
A ‘Your Choice Care worker said:
“There is a sinister undertow to these proposals. The people who will lose out as always are the vulnerable service users who take second place in what is now a business not care provision”
John Burgess, Branch Secretary said:
“The proposals including within this report are quite frankly unacceptable. The recent decision to outsource back office services to Capita has led to a series of statements from the Council.
“we will have £120 million to spend on public services in Barnet which we would not otherwise have. This will help to protect frontline services such as social care and libraries.”
In which case the Council should follow the example set by Stockport Council and bring back these services under the direct control of the Council in order to ensure there is no erosion of service delivery to vulnerable adults in the London Borough of Barnet.”
***** Ends *****
Notes to Editors.
Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or 0208 359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk
Links
1. Barnet Council Cabinet Agrees to create a Local Authority Trading Company
2. New trading company set to be launched
http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/40/new_trading_company_set_to_be_launched
3. UNISON report on Local Authority Trading Company: Privatising Adults and Housing Services
4. Francis Inquiry
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/anticipating-francis-inquiry-report
5. International support for Fremantle workers
http://www.unison.org.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=3620
6. Fremantle Care workers dispute
http://www.katebelgrave.com/2011/03/working-for-nothing/#more-244
7. Stockport Council bring back services in house
http://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=7511
8. Chelsea Cares goes into liquidation
http://kensington.londoninformer.co.uk/2011/10/chelsea-care-doomed-to-failure.html
Barnet residents – “Celebrate our High Streets”
Feeling positive and want to share that vibe?
Donate 60 minutes of your time
Why not join us “The Gathering – Celebrate the High Street” at this event on Saturday 2 March
We are adapting the old anglo saxon tradition of ‘Wassailing’ to thank our local traders for the services they are providing to our community.
Examples of Wasssailing here http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jan/21/wassailing-cider-apple-orchard
Wassailing Song here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as7N0G0f-ec
Check out details here
#BarnetSpring
Barnet UNISON Press Release: STOP the Privatisation of our Regulatory Services
Barnet UNISON Press Release: 15 February 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: STOP the Privatisation of our Regulatory Services
Barnet UNISON is backing Avaaz petition which is states:
“We are concerned that Barnet Council is about to hand over its Regulatory Services (in particular the Environmental Health and Trading Standards services) to a private company. Councils have statutory responsibilities to monitor the private sector in order to ensure the health and safety of their residents. The current high- profile national public-health scandal about processed foods emphasises that private companies do not adequately monitor their own activities, leaving the public at risk. If Barnet Council is allowed to privatise these services, it will set a dangerous precedent for other councils. We call for an immediate stop to the privatisation of council Regulatory Services throughout the country.”
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_the_privatisation_of_Regulatory_Services/?tFMrBab
John Burgess, Branch Secretary said: The recent national scandal concerning meat processing is threatening to expose a catalogue of failures by food manufacturers to monitor their own suppliers. The lack of robust regulation & monitoring of a critical service strikes a chord with our own concerns about our council’s determination via the One Barnet Programme to outsource key critical regulatory services, such as Environmental Health & Trading Standards . We are asking our members and their families, residents to sign this petition. Furthermore we asking all citizens of the UK to sign the petition in order to stop the privatisation of regulatory services now before it is too late.
***** Ends *****
Notes to Editors.
Contact details: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or 0208 359 2088 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk
Links
1. Barnet Council leader not worried by One Barnet outsourcing court case
2. Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ faces judicial review over outsourcing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/22/tory-council-challenge-high-court
3. Fear and loathing in Barnet
4. UNISON report on Environmental Health Services Summary report ; Full survey report Statistical report
5. UNISON report on Trading Standards Summary report; Full survey report ;Statistical report
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 620 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 was awarded to either Capita 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
Barnet UNISON 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
What are YOU eating????????
What are YOU eating????????
First it was horsemeat instead of beef, then it was pork instead of beef, then it was donkey instead of beef, then they started accusing other countries outside the UK , then they realised it could be happening inside the UK!
This story is going to grow and grow. No doubt there will be a public inquiry, MP’s will be asked to resign, and private companies will be summoned to explain themselves to a Parliamentary Select Committee.
It is blatantly obvious that there is little or no scrutiny of the meat/food processing for public consumption and the consequences of this are being played out in the national media.
After carrying out a study entitled ‘The Damage’ into the impact of the Cuts on vital council services UNISON wrote to councillors across the UK
The first two reports are available to read online below:
1. Environmental health:
2. Trading standards:
Barnet ‘Commissioning/EasyCouncil’ as part of the One Barnet Programme is about to hand over its Regulatory Services, including Environmental Health & Trading Standards over to the private sector.
The above UNISON reports reinforce Barnet UNISON’s view that outsourcing of regulatory services to the private sector is simply wrong and a could have a critical impact on the health and well being of the residents of London Borough of Barnet.
Three simple things for you to help our campaign.
1. Please sign our Avaaz Petition – Stop the privatisation of Regulatory Services
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_the_privatisation_of_Regulatory_Services/?tFMrBab
2. Please sign our London Borough of Barnet Petition – Stop the privatisation of Regulatory Services http://petitions.barnet.gov.uk/NoOutSourcingDRS/
3. Please join the Barnet Spring March click here for details
Want to know about BarnetSpring March?
1. Watch the film ‘A Tale of Two Barnets’ http://ning.it/PUBMVP
2. Listen to Ken Loach talk about the One Barnet Billion Pound Gamble Film http://ning.it/PIzXpv
3. Watch the Billion Pound Gamble Film Trailer http://ning.it/PvZYxF
4. Listen to Mr Reasonable explain all about the OneBarnet magical box http://ning.it/P4vPVW
5. Watch the Billion Pound Gamble Animation http://ning.it/Qp5Adx
6. Watch Barnet Residents occupy Hendon Town Hall http://ning.it/W7a08n
7. Listen to a Barnet resident speak at Barnet Full Council meeting http://ning.it/WgcUZ2
8. Learn about the Occupation of Friern Library here http://ning.it/W7alIe
9. Save Friern campaign showing how to campaign against the cuts http://ning.it/XhYQ1R
10. Watch the excellent short film called ‘A Polite Revolution’ http://ning.it/W7b7Fc
11. Learn about why Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ is facing a judicial review http://ning.it/WhYBDt