Barnet UNISON

Barnet UNISON & Barnet Alliance for Public Services (BAPS) have organised a Public Meeting and have invited Professor Dexter Whitfield as the Guest Speaker.

 

The meeting takes place on Tuesday 15^th March at 7pm in the Greek Cypriot Community Centre, 2 Britannia Road, London N12 9RU.

 

Barnet Council last week passed a Budget making £54 million in cuts/savings which included cuts to frontline services and increases in fees and charges to Barnet residents.

 

Barnet Council is embarking on policy called One Barnet Programme formerly known as Future Shape and more widely referred to as ‘easycouncil’. This programme has already begun, 24 out of 25 council services have already been told they are to be privatised. Up to £4 million has been spent on consultants and other staff resources in the last three years with no discernable savings for Barnet residents. A further £9.2 million has been put aside for consultants to help deliver this mass privatisation programme.

 

Dexter has been commissioned by the Council Trade Unions to produce a series of critiques and proposals on the Councils Future Shape Programme (now rebranded One Barnet) You can view all his analysis/reports on the following link here

 

Dexter will be addressing in his speech the following:

• Costs and consequences of Barnet council policies.
• Community needs decided by multinational companies.
• The effect on jobs, terms and conditions.
• The erosion of democracy and transparency.
• Implications of the governments White Paper on public sector reform

This will be followed by a Q& A session

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary addressed members at our AGM last week and said “the council that couldn’t cut more and couldn’t care less, the council that is in the vanguard of Tory ideology”.

 

More recently Professor Dexter Whitfield had an article on PFI published in the Guardian newspaper & in the Barnet Press

 

End.

 

Contact: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk

 

Background

 

Dexter Whitfield is Director of European Services Strategy Unit (continuing the work of the Centre for Public Services founded in 1973) and is Adjunct Associate Professor, Australian Institute for Social Research, University of Adelaide.  He has carried out extensive research and policy analysis of regional/city economies and public sector provision, jobs and employment strategies, impact assessment and evaluation, marketisation and privatisation, modernisation and public management (www.european-services-strategy.org.uk).

 

He has undertaken commissioned work for a wide range of public sector organisations, local authorities and agencies and worked extensively with trade unions in the UK at branch, regional and national levels, and internationally. He has advised many tenants and community organisations on housing, planning and regeneration policies.

 

Dexter is the author of the following books:

• Global Auction of Public Assets: Public sector alternatives to the infrastructure market & Public Private Partnerships (2010);
• New Labour’s Attack on Public Services: Modernisation by Marketisation (2006),
• Public Services or Corporate Welfare: The Future of the Nation State in the Global Economy (2001),
• The Welfare State: Privatisation, Deregulation & Commercialisation (1992)
• Making it Public: Evidence and Action against Privatisation (1983).

He was one of the founding members of Community Action Magazine (1972-1995) and Public Service Action (1983-1998). He has published many articles in journals and delivered papers and advised public bodies and trade unions in Europe, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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.

 

Barnet Council has carried out another options appraisal and surprise surprise it recommends privatisation. This makes 24 out of 25 council services have the same decision! Yet the Council says the decision is not predetermined!

UNISON submitted an interim response and is now consulting its members in order we can provide a fuller response by 28 February.

The decision will be made at Cabinet Resources Committee on 2 March.

You can read our interim response here

 

Dear Minister

 

RE: Your interview on Radio 4’s Today programme

I represent UNISON members working for Barnet Council and a number of voluntary and private sector organisations who provide services to Barnet residents on the behalf of the Council.

I have been contacted by a large number of members and residents about the content of your interview on the Today Programme this morning; in particular your policy that Councillors vote in open session on pay deals worth over £100,000.

Whilst I am sure we probably have different views about the future for local authorities, it does appear we both seem to agree on the issue about senior management pay, especially in times when public sector spending is under scrutiny and vital frontline services are facing direct and indirect cuts.

I am aware that you have received a letter (January 2011) from the Leader of Barnet Council seeking support, I am unaware if you responded favourably to her request? I also know you have had at least one letter from a concerned resident about some of the choices being proposed in our Council’s Budget which is due to go before a Full Council meeting on Tuesday 1^st March.

 

Last week Barnet UNISON submitted the following Budget proposals:

To view full letter click here

Westminster UNISON is organising a mass lobby of the next Westminster Cabinet meeting.

Members and Community Groups are urged to meet up outside

Westminster City Hall, Monday 21st February 2011 at 6pm

 

As well as a further 201 redundancies, Westminster Council are proposing to:

Reduce Care services to 3,000 vulnerable adults; Cut £200,000 from the Portman Family Centre; Reduce Street Cleansing; Close Play Centres ; Dismiss Youth Workers employed to reduce gang crime ; Change to the Meals on Wheels service;  Close St James’s Library in September and reduce staff in other libraries with self service machines.

And this is just the beginning. The Tri Borough Report cites 50% reduction in management alone. Phases 5a and 5b redundancies will start next week . As Westminster demands reductions in the contract price from its outside contractors, further services will be reduced and more staff will be made redundant.

This week Housing21 issued 361 redundancy letters to the Home Care workers employed to look after Westminster’s most vulnerable residents.

However, Westminster has spent £3,973,952 on 12 temporary staff, all of whom cost  over £500 a day.

The Temporary Head of Regeneration and Partnerships, costs the Council £745 a day and has cost £453,446 for the 608 days worked for the Council.

A Senior Project Manager, costing £600 a day, has cost the Council £852,600 for 1,421 days’ work, while a Senior Business Analyst, costing £521 a day, has cost the Council £827,400 for 1,588 days’ work.

Information released by the Labour Group last week detailing some £74,259 spent on flowers as well as £91,390 spent on media training. Whilst these sums may not seem large, the spend on flowers alone is equal to two average staff posts (excluding on-costs).