Protest against “One Barnet” outsourcing, Tuesday 29 November, central London
On Tuesday morning 29 November Barnet residents will leaflet outside a conference organised by Capita - “New Models of Service Delivery - Opening Up Local Government Services to New Providers” - in protest against the proposed outsourcing of Barnet council services.
The protest is from 9am at Lancaster Hotel, Lancaster Terrace London W2 2TY (next to Lancaster Gate tube station).
The particular interest for Barnet residents is that “our” deputy chief exec Andrew Travers (a consultant earning £1,000 a day) will be speaking about the “One Barnet” Transformation Programme.
Capita is one of the big companies currently bidding for a £750 million, 10-year contract at Barnet to provide a New Support and Customer Services Organisation (call centre) to replace a lot of the existing admin functions at the council.
Not only do Capita have a disastrous record in providing such services, but Barnet Council has a disastrous record in both writing contracts and in ensuring that contractors keep to agreements.
We will be at the conference to expose Barnet council who want to pretend that their outsourcing programme has the support of staff and residents. It doesn’t. Council staff morale is at rock-bottom and they are involved in industrial action; residents have never been consulted about the privatisation programme.
It is particularly obscene that outsourcing companies and council chief execs should gather at a plush central London hotel opposite Hyde Park to cook up their plans, plans that will degrade public services and end in job cuts for thousands of council workers.
If you can join us and need to get in touch tel. 07719 283132.
