Half a dozen Barnet residents from the Barnet Alliance went along on Tuesday 29 November to the Capita sponsored conference on outsourcing. Andrew Travers, Barnet Council’s deputy chief exec, was due to speak about the One Barnet outsourcing programme. We went to challenge the version of truth given by Travers.
- Would he, we wondered, mention the fact that the One Barnet Programme has never been put before residents for their approval?
- Would he mention the fact that the council workforce is taking industrial action over the terms of any eventual transfer to the private sector?
- Would he mention the fact that residents have been banned from speaking about One Barnet at the council-run residents’ forums?
- Would he mention the fact that Capita, who were hosting the conference, are also bidding for £750 million worth of business from Barnet Council?
If he were not going to mention it, we thought we must. We gave out leaflets to people attending the conference. We were not allowed to go inside, or even to cross the forecourt. The security guards would not deliver our request to meet with Andrew Travers to discuss our concerns.
The conference was a travesty of democracy. Is it right that the chiefs of outsourcing companies should have such privileged and unimpeded access to those at the top of local authorities who make the decisions about whether to outsource or not? We don’t think so!
The local Times series has written a report of our protest. Read it here.
Opposing public sector cuts is one thing, but can you please explain your completely unfounded and illogical opposition to privatization of public services. Hong Kong for example has a completely privatized public sector, yet has one of the best health care systems, education systems and transport networks in the world, far better than anything in this country. Further more, usually deemed the bastion of european socialist, Sweden believe it or not is a massive fan on profit making companies running public services. In fact the entire new education policy this government is rolling out (free schools etc) is based on the Swedish models, one that is almost unanimously agreed to be far superior to the state education system in this country.
You say you oppose privatization, when in reality it is privatization that holds the future of successful public services. The past 13 years of labour and their state sponsored monopoly on public services has proved the state cant be trusted. Billions extra were spent, yet the UK slipped from the top 10 best state education systems to somewhere in the mid 40s!!
Buy yourself a plane ticket to Hong Kong and tell me privatization, low taxes and low government spending don’t work…I dare you to open your eyes.