Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 6:55 am  

Is there any wonder that a sizeable proportion of those eligibe to vote are reluctant to engage in elections? Take a look at this link and see the number of council services that Barnet Council are shifting to the private sector. The services to be handed over to Capita include: Trading Standards & Licensing, Land Charges, Planning & Development, Building Control & Structures, Environmental Health, Highways Strategy, Highways Network Management, Highways Traffic & Development, Highways Transport & Regeneration, Strategic Planning & Regeneration, Hendon Cemetery & Crematoria. Barnet council tax payers will now be funding the balance sheet of Capita Symonds instead of paying for services to the public, by the public. Capita will not be answerable to the Barnet electorate so why should the Barnet electorate bother voting in future? This is just one council that has embraced the rush to offloading services to private companies, others will follow, all in the name of "value for money". It's not just local government, the coalition is determined to move as much of the state as they possibly can into private hands, such as: Royal Mail East Coast Mainline (the best performing rail franchise in Britain) Various NHS services etc. You could reasonably ask, "why should anyone bother voting in the future?"

Is there any wonder that a sizeable proportion of those eligibe to vote are reluctant to engage in elections? Take a look at this link and see the number of council services that Barnet Council are shifting to the private sector. The services to be handed over to Capita include: Trading Standards & Licensing, Land Charges, Planning & Development, Building Control & Structures, Environmental Health, Highways Strategy, Highways Network Management, Highways Traffic & Development, Highways Transport & Regeneration, Strategic Planning & Regeneration, Hendon Cemetery & Crematoria. Barnet council tax payers will now be funding the balance sheet of Capita Symonds instead of paying for services to the public, by the public. Capita will not be answerable to the Barnet electorate so why should the Barnet electorate bother voting in future? This is just one council that has embraced the rush to offloading services to private companies, others will follow, all in the name of "value for money". It's not just local government, the coalition is determined to move as much of the state as they possibly can into private hands, such as: Royal Mail East Coast Mainline (the best performing rail franchise in Britain) Various NHS services etc. You could reasonably ask, "why should anyone bother voting in the future?"

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 7:28 am  

Ah, good old 'EasyCouncil'.

On voting, I suspect the supranational corporatocracy would much prefer that we didn't bother.

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 7:51 am  

Just lob the magic word "choice" into the mix and Bingo!, you don't need the council anyway.

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 8:37 am  

I wonder how long before we transfer the treasury and HMRC to Capita? They could then contract Virgin Healthcare to control the NHS and Social Services, while they give G4S the UKBA, emergency services and prisons. Justice could be determined by a TV show. Virgin Rail and First Group could handle all travel.


We could then dispense with parliament and simply elect trustees

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 10:43 am  

Probation is currently going through the process – they want to flog 70% of it.

Only in the last week, the possibility of privatising the fire service has been touted.

And for clarity's sake, this has been an ongoing process for 30-odd years.

Labour, for instance, never did provide a business case for the sale to Parcel Force of NHS Logistics. Admittedly that might have something to do with there not being one. It was an award-winning business in its own right, reckoned to be saving the health service money. The sale was nothing other than ideological in basis.

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 11:12 am  

cod'ead wrote:

Justice could be determined by a TV show.

As I understand it the criminal justice system is about to be effectively privatised. Senior criminal barristers are trying to join the judiciary. Junior barristers and high street solicitors are about to be be put out of business. Mind you, I think (not sure) justice will be served in that companies such as G4S will be incentised by the number of guilty pleas they can obtain.

Maybe after the war on terror it's the way to go - privatise confession by torture?

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 11:19 am  

My experience of Capita's "service" (in the field of registering share transfers in listed companies) is worse than abysmal. I understand even major stockbrokers try to avoid investing in companies where they act a registrars! On the basis of that limited expeience of them ........


This privatisation is senseless. I went to the offices of our county council recently and the guy on repetion was dressed in a Serco uniform. I couldn't see the point of a couple of people out of thousands being employed by someone else. So far as I see it all that happens is you get demotivated people doing a job because the Council basically pays the same or more as before (initially maybe less, but over a 10 year or whatever contract you can almost guarantee the taxpayer will lose out), the private company takes a big slice of the money and the employee takes a big pay cut.

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 1:51 pm  

Dally wrote:

This privatisation is senseless. I went to the offices of our county council recently and the guy on repetion was dressed in a Serco uniform. I couldn't see the point of a couple of people out of thousands being employed by someone else. So far as I see it all that happens is you get demotivated people doing a job because the Council basically pays the same or more as before (initially maybe less, but over a 10 year or whatever contract you can almost guarantee the taxpayer will lose out), the private company takes a big slice of the money and the employee takes a big pay cut.

That pretty much sums it up - the council are actually having funding reduced year on year and yet with that reduced income can employ a private company to do the jobs for the same or less, those company's have a profit margin to make so even less of the budget is left for wages, it may seem a simple example and you may think that a minimum waged employee can manage a council offices reception but when its you who can't get through on the phone or who turns up to find no-one on reception, or you can't be guided to the correct department because the person on reception only turned up here this morning and they don't know either - then you'll realise that services are slipping right across the board.

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 7:04 pm  

Dally wrote:

My experience of Capita's "service" (in the field of registering share transfers in listed companies) is worse than abysmal. I understand even major stockbrokers try to avoid investing in companies where they act a registrars! On the basis of that limited expeience of them ........


This privatisation is senseless. I went to the offices of our county council recently and the guy on repetion was dressed in a Serco uniform. I couldn't see the point of a couple of people out of thousands being employed by someone else. So far as I see it all that happens is you get demotivated people doing a job because the Council basically pays the same or more as before (initially maybe less, but over a 10 year or whatever contract you can almost guarantee the taxpayer will lose out), the private company takes a big slice of the money and the employee takes a big pay cut.

Did you not get bad service while you were in there?

Result.

Re: Privatisation. And the loser is........Democracy : Tue May 21, 2013 10:14 pm  

I'm guessing another factor is shifting people off good but expensive council / civil service pensions to cheap and nasty ones at Crapita et al.