BARNET GREEN PARTY urged Barnet Council to reconsider their planned outsourcing of public services to the private sector before it is too late.
The One Barnet scheme will dismantle over 70% of council-provided services in Barnet, outsourcing the majority of council services to private outsourcing firms. The council will retain what they deem to be ‘essential services’ under council control, while farming out services like back office support, customer service, and social care services such as support for the disabled to providers like Capita.
The combined contracts would be worth over £700m over 10 years and the council has estimated it could produce savings of up to £125m over the duration of the contracts. What Barnet Council fails to note, however, is that part of its back office contract has already collapsed, leading to a messy and expensive attempt to recoup part of its initial costs.
Andrew Newby, Barnet Green Party member commented:
"Barnet Council's Conservative administration appear blind to their own experience of the strong risks of outsourcing, notably the fact that they are onto the third private contractor in a few years for the maintenance of Barnet Homes. The uncheduled changes have cost money and disrupted the work schedule.
"Nor do the leading councillors take any account of the wider implications of their privatisations. Hundreds of jobs will be lost in the borough as work is transferred to offices and call centres hundreds of miles away. In another example, changes in parking payment methods last year linked to the contracting out of car parking has left many of the borough's car parks half empty and shop owners in many districts furious at a big loss of business."
Barnet Council’s IT subcontractor 2E2 has gone into administration, forcing Barnet Council into a new, more expensive contract directly with service provider Capita in order to continue providing council IT services. The council is currently looking into recouping £220,000 in advance payments, which cleared just days before 2E2 collapsed, but prospects look dim.
Barnet Green Party strongly opposes the privatisation of crucial services, such as regulatory services and social care for the disabled and infirm. For-profit outsourcing has already proven to be an unstable method of providing necessary services and leaves councils at the mercy of private contractors who put profit before people.