Your Choice Care Workers Campaign update 17 March 2013
This campaign concerns the plight of low paid social care workers facing a massive cut to their pay and terms & conditions. The scale of the attack is unprecedented and will drive already low paid workers further into poverty.
But it is not just the attacks to staff which are our concern, it is the impact this will have on the service delivery to vulnerable adults with disabilities.
UNISON is concerned that by ‘dumbing down’ care work will impact on quality of care as we have seen in the past at the private Winterbourne hospital where profit was put before care of residents.
‘Your Choice’ care workers are carrying out critical and personal care for vulnerable service users; which makes it all the more abhorrent to hear the case for these cuts is driven by the need to make a profit.
At a meeting with staff last week, it now appears the finances are worse that we were first led to believe. Apart from the £1million loan from Barnet Homes, they now need to make another £1million from staff costs. This makes a total of £2million out of a budget of £6million.
UNISON is campaigning to bring these critical services back into the Council. The more we learn about the finances the more concerned we are. Instead of Barnet Homes spending their reserves on propping up a failed One Barnet project, they should use this money to try and prevent Barnet residents and their families from being moved out of the borough.
Last year the Council made a commitment in their own business case which said if the project failed they would bring it back in house.
Please help
1. Sign the Your Choice Care Workers Campaign petition which is on Barnet Council website
http://petitions.barnet.gov.uk/YourChoiceBack/
2. Send messages of support to Your Choice Care Workers Campaign to contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
3. Join the Your Choice Care Workers on BarnetSpring march on Saturday 23, 11am Finchley Central Tube
Links
Castlebeck care homes go into administration following abuse scandal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21674695
Southern Cross set to shut down and stop running homes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14102750
Lessons from the Francis Inquiry
UNISON report on staff consultation Flower Lane for Your Choice Barnet staff 13.3.13
Brief report of staff consultation meeting held at Flower Lane for Your Choice Barnet staff 13.3.13
It’s fair to say the meeting was fiery as staff expressed their anger freely.
The financial problem for Your Choice Barnet is one of cashflow as they will no longer receive the block contract but receive payments in arrears reflecting the change to one where individual services are invoiced. This cashflow problem equates to £1million.
In addition there is a deficit of £1million as LBB will pay service users only a flat rate irrespective of whether the care they need is at night or at the weekend. Also a market rate will apply. It is also the case that YCB has been providing more service to the service user than is reflected in their care plan and therefore leaving a shortfall.
An obvious question was immediately that BH knew the payment arrangements would change before going into the LATC with YCB and so why did they not immediately see the finances for YCB would be compromised?
The response was that at the point of creation of the LATC Barnet Homes did not know the volumes they were taking over.
We pointed out that the Business Case had been very confident about being able to make surpluses, knowing LBB was talking about paying market rates. What has changed?
Ans: The Business case was based on assumptions
In the Business Case of May 2011 much had been made of the freedom for the LATC to step outside SLA’s and for example purchase its own IT equipment. Yet we are now in a situation where LBB is insisting YCB stays with LBB for its IT, knowing this is going to Capita. Is this not the case of a not-for-profit organisation being used to prop up the business case for a contract to be successful with a for-profit organisation?
Ans: in a procurement exercise YCB had established they could find a cheaper IT provider. LBB stepped in to say that IT should remain as provided through the Council (Capita) and YCB need only pay the amount they had established through their procurement exercise. LBB will make up the difference.
In other words LBB is prepared to subsidise a service when it means securing a contract for Capita, but this would then seem to be at the cost of staff working for YCB!
In other parts staff criticised the move to reduce night time care on the basis that there was little need. The staff providing that service contradicted the view in the report that they are not needed as they could point to many examples where they had been needed.
More later….
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