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Earlier this week Capita Symonds and Barnet Council handed out the Measures letters to the trade unions and staff. You can view the LBB letter here and the Capita Measures here. This consultation process is unusual in that the Council have adopted a joint employment contract for staff to deliver non delegable statutory duties and powers. You can view the additional clauses in the contract here and find a list of the indicative posts identified to carry out these statutory duties and powers here.

UNISON is seeking feedback from our members who currently occupy these posts and any members who feel their posts should have been included. Please contact the branch at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk with any questions or concerns.

UNISON carried out a survey of its members working across DRS two weeks ago here is the response to two of the questions

1. In your professional opinion in order to carry out your non delegable statutory duties or powers which option do you believe will provide the best services to residents and local business of the borough?

Secondment or Joint Employment

93% of staff chose Secondment

2. If you had a choice of options to carry out your role which option would you choose?

Secondment or Joint Employment

90% of staff chose Secondment

UNISON has requested for the purposes of consultation a response to this question.

“What are the precise powers that are to be undertaken by employees who are to be employed jointly by LBB and Capita. By this UNISON means what are the statutory roles, duties and decision-making powers that these job holders identified in this list will have to perform?”

UNISON versus Barnet Council – Appeal Hearing date set 19 December 2013

Earlier this year UNISON announced it had won a landmark legal decision for more than 150 Barnet Council workers who are set to receive compensation, following a landmark decision, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, after a decision of the Employment Tribunal.

An analysis of the decision is available online here, it is worth reading the short report and please note a brief extract here which said:

“Barnet Council had an established practice of supplying the trade union Unison with information on its agency workers in redundancy and TUPE transfer situations. Unison would then send that information to each of the Council’s directorates to check whether it was accurate and to ask about the strategy for cutting back the use of agency staff with a view to saving the jobs of employees.

In around 2009, Unison started to experience problems with obtaining this information from Barnet Council.”

Not long after a similar case was taken by UNISON against Capita where “Private company Capita has been severely criticised for failure to provide vital information and to consult fully with UNISON in relation to the proposed redundancy of 36 call centre workers…..The UNISON members have each been awarded 45 day’s pay in compensation, following the decision by an Employment Tribunal in Croydon, Surrey.”

You can read more on the UNISON versus Capita here. The author of this report finishes with ominous words

“Wragge & Co’s employment experts outline some useful actions that employers would be well-advised to comply with to avoid falling into the trap created by the Agency Workers Regulations 2010. The tribunal has sent out a clear message – failure to comply with section 188 will not be viewed sympathetically.”

It is our understanding that Capita have paid up unlike Barnet Council who made a decision to Appeal the decision. A couple of weeks ago we heard news a date has now been fixed for 19 December 2013. 150 former Council employees now have a further wait to see if they will be receiving a payment from Barnet Council.

The Privatisation juggernaut – Five Public services targeted by privatisation lobbyists

Number 1 Privatisation of Children’s services http://ning.it/1bCvZi1 #spreadtheword

Number 2 Privatised NHS blood service sold to Mitt Romney company http://ning.it/18JjYmn #spreadtheword

Number 3 Privatising probation service will put public at risk, officials tell Grayling http://ning.it/18Jk0dP #spreadtheword

Number 4 Royal Mail privatised: How Postman Pat will be affected by new profit-driven service  http://ning.it/18Jk0KY #spreadtheword

Number 5 Your Choice services for adults with disabilities read here http://ning.it/18Jkzo4 #spreadtheword

 

Big Shout for “5 Reasons Why Privatisation Is Bad For You” http://weownit.org.uk/privatisation #spreadtheword @We_OwnIt

 

Secondment versus Joint Employment on Capita Symonds DRS contract

Over the past two weeks almost 50% of staff working in DRS have been attending what are referred to as ‘joint employment’ workshops. One of the critical proposals of the privatisation of DRS to Capita Symonds are joint employment contracts for the above staff. UNISON is currently carrying out an online survey of our members on this matter, but one consistent question is emerging i.e. “Why not use secondment?”

The responses to this question from staff are that the One Barnet contract is too long for a secondment (it is a 10 year contract with an option for a five years) and the Council has been advised that secondment is unlawful.

In response to this staff have referred to the privatisation of similar services to Capita Symonds earlier this year at North Tyneside Council (see here). This is a longer 15 year contract and secondment was chosen as the employment model for those staff carrying out enforcement.

Staff quite understandably are questioning this legal advice as they believe that joint employment is a much higher risk of challenge of their enforcement decisions by residents and or business than if they were still employed directly by Barnet Council via secondment. Furthermore they do not understand if it is unlawful to second staff to carry out enforcement in Barnet it must be unlawful to do the same in North Tyneside?

The UNSION and staff position on this matter was that we would support secondment as an employment option as we have done for other Barnet staff that are still on secondment beyond ten years  

It seems legal advice is very much under scrutiny at the moment.

On Monday 22 July UNISON met with Your Choice to discuss a number of critical concerns we have about the proposals and the current staffing situation in Your Choice workplaces.

Voluntary Redundancy

UNSION received confirmation that all staff seeking voluntary redundancy had now left and the proposed management changes have been completed. We understand not all of these posts have been recruited to and external adverts are going out.

Valley Way Consultation

We were informed consultation with service users, parents/carers is being carried out on a one-to-one basis for the Valley Way proposals. The consultation is expected to run to mid August, We have sought conformation of the actual date the consultation closes. We were told any decisions on this consultation exercise will be made at the end of August. If there are new changes to the original proposals for staff, consultation with the trade unions will begin at this point. We asked if there was further consultation would it be a 30 day consultation. We also sought the date when the implementation of the outcome of the proposals for Valley Way would be carried out.

Supported Living consultation

This next phase of consultation with service users, parents/carers regarding Supported Living is not expected to begin before the start of September and not expected to end before mid October. If following the consultation there are any differences in the original proposals for staff, consultation with the trade unions will begin at this point. Again we asked for confirmation as to whether the staff consultation would be a 30 day consultation. Finally we asked when the implementation of the outcome of the proposals would be carried out.

Shocking news on consultation.

UNISON has to report that in the meeting we were informed the consultation with service users, parents/carers will not include discussions about the proposed changes to salaries and terms and conditions of staff.

It is not clear to UNISON what Your Choice are consulting service users, parents/carers on. Given that Your Choice ignored UNISON’s advice that they should consult service users, parents/carers on 28 February 2013, it seems that once again service users, parents/carers are not going to have the critical information in this consultation process. We were informed of an involvement of a third party, we have asked who they are and what role are they playing.  We were also told Service users will be receiving an easy to read formatted consultation document and their opinions will also be sought.

“It is UNISON’s view this is a serious and fundamental flaw to the consultation process by omitting this critical information.”

BILS

Service users, parents/carers will be consulted only on the new venue for the service once alternative options have been identified. There is no timetable for this to commence at present. UNISON raised serious concern about the staffing levels for this service. We reported the service has now reduced from 10 to 3 staff. We raised issues around cover arrangements, responsibility for the building (recognising who has liability) and lone working. We stated Health & Safety measures in place are not robust or clear enough. Your Choice responded by saying service user numbers are down by some 50% and added they could not now afford to employ the full establishment. This was worrying news in that Your Choice do not seem to have been able to have secured the growth it urgently needs if the service is to survive.

Staff enhancement payments

Your Choice confirmed that any changes to enhancements (weekend/shift working) have been put on hold.

Benchmarking staff pay

We were informed consultants have been engaged to look at the benchmarking exercise and that they are looking at all issues around salaries and terms and conditions. Once they have their proposals and the board has considered their preferred option, consultation will open with the trade unions. We have asked for the name of the consultancy firm.

Compulsory Redundancy letters

Your Choice has sent letters to staff informing them of their position regarding compulsory redundancy. Our members who have been sacked as result of the Your Choice proposals have asked to be able to leave straight away. However Your Choice have told these staff that they must work their notice.

UNISON objected to this and queried why Your Choice Board allowed all the staff given voluntary redundancy to leave straightaway. It was this decision to let these staff go that has now created an unsafe and unstable working environment.

Health & Safety

UNISON  raised serious concerns regarding health and safety matters. We identified over use of ‘agency’ and “as and when” hours as being inherently unsafe in terms of consistency and the need for ongoing induction of new agency staff etc. UNISON felt the casualisation of the workforce is fostering a workplace whereby staff who are reliant on either ‘agency work’ or ‘as & when’ hours are less likely to raise health & safety matters in the workforce for fear of losing hours. To remedy this situation UNISON said it is critical to stabilise the workforce as quickly as possible. The first step would be to withdraw all at risk letters for support workers/remaining staff.

YCB said they would review this request and decide whether to withdraw these letters or not.

UNISON said it was clear there is a surplus of support worker roles across the services and we also believe permanent jobs can already now be identified as the volume of work being covered by agency and temporary staff indicates large numbers of posts are now being covered temporarily.

Finally we have requested a Health and Safety audit of all YCB settings following a serious incident involving a service user at one of the day centres.

Staffing levels at all Your Choice Settings

UNISON has requested a breakdown of the staffing establishment for each individual Your Choice workplace by job title, this should include the numbers of part-time and full-time agency staff covering vacant posts as well as the numbers of staff on as and when hours in each individual setting with a breakdown as to how many hours they work in an as and when capacity and which posts they are covering.

UNISON was disappointed to hear that whilst agency staff have been employed on short-term contracts (agency) a similar stabilising commitment has not been given to as and when staff. We want to see the prioritisation of as and when staff into permanent contracts.

Why are we where we are?

In the meeting YCB reported they regret the position they are in with respect to uncertainty around staffing levels but this was not a position they chose to being and not one of their making. UNISON disputed this as in the very first consultation meeting 28th of February UNISON strongly recommended consultation was carried out with parents/carers. YCB chose not to do so.

UNISON members

UNISON has been conducting a telephone survey of all of its members working for Your Choice in order we can directly speak to each member about their concerns and the support they need from UNISON. This has been an important exercise in informing our branch and keeping us up to date with what is an unsettling and changing workplace. It is important our members are able to feel they can contact the branch if they have any queries or concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Campaign Against the Destruction of Disability Support Services (CADDSS) have produced a report on the Your Choice proposed changes to services.

You can read the full report here

Executive Summary 

Your Choice Barnet Ltd (YCB) began operating as a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) in February 2012. Within months it incurred operating losses and failed to attract new service users and revenue. Barnet UNISON had earlier published a series of highly critical reports on the options appraisal, business case and business plan, which predicted the problems that have since unfolded in YCB.

The core objective of this report is to set out the case for full and continuing engagement with service users, carers and community organisations, together with staff and trade unions and to show how YCB’s current approach is flawed, fails to provide value for money for the taxpayer and therefore unacceptable.

The case for engagement

There are four powerful reasons why YCB should engage with service users, carers and staff in the design, delivery and review of service delivery:

·         The legal case for engagement.

·         The relationship between the quality of employment and the quality of service.

·         Best practice public management and service planning.

·         The important impact of personal budgets on YCB finances.

There is significant evidence, including YCB’s own evidence, that the restructuring proposals will have a negative impact on the delivery and quality of services.

YCB’s pick and mix approach to engagement

YCB’s current approach to engagement is totally inadequate. It ignores the basic principles of engagement (see page 16). Evidence of YCB reports and Board meetings hint at a positive approach, but YCB adopts a minimalist approach in practice. This has led to service users, carers and CADDSS having little trust or confidence in YCB’s approach to engagement. Consequently, CADDSS has drawn up a set of core principles for engagement.

 

YCB suffers from three important democratic gaps that require immediate attention: a Governance Gap because parents do not have a direct representative on the Board; an Engagement Gap because engagement policy and practice is inadequate and unacceptable; and a Transparency Gap because disclosure is selective and limited.

The financial crisis deepens

The roller coaster financial forecasts for YCB between 2010-2012 reflected the way in which the options appraisal, business case and business plan were prepared. Barnet Council chose to ignore the detailed critical analysis and proposals submitted by Barnet UNISON. Instead it stuck to a pre-determined decision to transfer Adult Social Services to a new local authority trading company, supported by its outsourcing consultants and lawyers.

Predictably, YCB was incurring costs within a few months leading to first year losses and the £1m bailout. Despite the £180,000 first year cost saving measures and the financial impact of the restructuring proposals, the financial position is precarious. Some £951,587 of cumulative losses, reduced income and part repayment of the loan and interest, plus achieve the £162,000 budgeted growth income, have to be addressed in 2013-2014.

The case to return the service to in-house provision

There is a very substantive case for returning Your Choice Barnet services back to in-house provision to stabilise the finances of the six services; remove the threat to Barnet tenant’s housing management service with rapid repayment of the £1m bailout; take a more effective and measured approach to the development of services to avoid misuse of public resources in pursuing inappropriate and unachievable commercial objectives; and to prepare a three-year development plan with the engagement of service users, carers and community organisations together with staff and trade unions.

Recommendations

The YCB Board should immediately:

1. Engage in full and continuing engagement with service users, carers and community organisations, together with staff and trade unions, in the design, delivery and review of Adult Social Care services. This should include community meetings and facilitate the submission of proposals for the future of the services. It requires a new Engagement Plan prepared with service user and carer representatives.

 

2. Endorse the seven core engagement principles into the YCB engagement policy and commit to their application in practice (see page 16).

3. Agree not to implement the management and staffing proposals in the Consultation Paper published on 1st March 2013.

4. Immediately terminate the benchmarking contract with Valuing Care Limited and the consultancy contract with Care and Health Solutions Limited.

Barnet Council should:

5. Return YCB services to in-house provision at the earliest practical opportunity.

6. In the short-term, extend the block contract to ease YCB cash flow problems.

7. Prepare a three-year service development plan with service users, carers, s taff and trade unions.

Campaign Against Destruction of Disabled Support Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 23 July 2013

Your Choice Barnet offered a way out of its financial crisis by Professor Dexter Whitfield

 

CADDSS (Campaign Against Destruction of Disabled Support Services) was so concerned about the future of services provided by Your Choice Barnet that it asked Prof Dexter Whitfield, the Director of European Services Strategy, to review the situation.  Your Choice Barnet is experiencing considerable financial difficulties and is very unwilling to engage with service users and families who are worried about the future of the services they use.

 

In his report “The Way Out Of Financial Crisis” Dexter Whitfield States, “The core objective of this report is to set out the case for full and continuing engagement with service users, carers and community organisations, together with staff and trade unions and to show how YCB’s current approach is flawed, fails to provide value for money for the taxpayer and therefore unacceptable.”

 

At present Your Choice Barnet has not engaged in meaningful consultations with service users and their families. Service users and their families have no direct representation on the Board of Your Choice Barnet.  Your Choice Barnet is very selective about what it chooses to disclose.

 

Dexter Whitfield urges Your Choice Barnet not to implement its proposed changes to management and staffing.  Service users and their families are concerned that these changes would cause a considerable deterioration in the quality of services provided.

Despite considerable financial difficulties Your Choice Barnet has agreed to new contracts with consultants.  Dexter Whitfield feels they will give little information that Your Choice Barnet does not already know.  He recommends these contracts should be terminated.

 

Dexter Whitfield recommends that Barnet Council should return YCB services in-house, extend the block contract to ease YCB cash flow problems, and prepare a three-year service development plan with service users, carers, staff and trade unions.

 

A member of CADDSS voiced the concerns of many, “Carers are extremely worried about  the future care of their loved ones.  What will happen when we are no longer around to look out for them?”

 

ENDS

 

Notes to the editor:

ñ  The Campaign Against the Destruction of Disabled Support Services (CADDSS for short) has been set up by Barnet residents to protest against deteriorating social care provision in the London Borough of Barnet.

ñ  Your Choice Barnet was set up by Barnet Council as part of the One Barnet Programme of outsourcing to provide services for adults with disabilities.  It is failing financially and its proposed solution is to restructure services and reduce the number and skill level of staff.

 

Dexter Whitfield’s Report is attached.

 

Contact:        Janet Leifer Tel: 07534 407 703, John Sullivan 07711-934499                                  caddss1@gmail.com

 

 

Campaign Against Destruction of Disabled Support Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 23 July 2013

Your Choice Barnet offered a way out of its financial crisis by Professor Dexter Whitfield

 

CADDSS (Campaign Against Destruction of Disabled Support Services) was so concerned about the future of services provided by Your Choice Barnet that it asked Prof Dexter Whitfield, the Director of European Services Strategy, to review the situation.  Your Choice Barnet is experiencing considerable financial difficulties and is very unwilling to engage with service users and families who are worried about the future of the services they use.

 

In his report “The Way Out Of Financial Crisis” Dexter Whitfield States, “The core objective of this report is to set out the case for full and continuing engagement with service users, carers and community organisations, together with staff and trade unions and to show how YCB’s current approach is flawed, fails to provide value for money for the taxpayer and therefore unacceptable.”

 

At present Your Choice Barnet has not engaged in meaningful consultations with service users and their families. Service users and their families have no direct representation on the Board of Your Choice Barnet.  Your Choice Barnet is very selective about what it chooses to disclose.

 

Dexter Whitfield urges Your Choice Barnet not to implement its proposed changes to management and staffing.  Service users and their families are concerned that these changes would cause a considerable deterioration in the quality of services provided.

Despite considerable financial difficulties Your Choice Barnet has agreed to new contracts with consultants.  Dexter Whitfield feels they will give little information that Your Choice Barnet does not already know.  He recommends these contracts should be terminated.

 

Dexter Whitfield recommends that Barnet Council should return YCB services in-house, extend the block contract to ease YCB cash flow problems, and prepare a three-year service development plan with service users, carers, staff and trade unions.

 

A member of CADDSS voiced the concerns of many, “Carers are extremely worried about  the future care of their loved ones.  What will happen when we are no longer around to look out for them?”

 

ENDS

 

Notes to the editor:

ñ  The Campaign Against the Destruction of Disabled Support Services (CADDSS for short) has been set up by Barnet residents to protest against deteriorating social care provision in the London Borough of Barnet.

ñ  Your Choice Barnet was set up by Barnet Council as part of the One Barnet Programme of outsourcing to provide services for adults with disabilities.  It is failing financially and its proposed solution is to restructure services and reduce the number and skill level of staff.

 

Dexter Whitfield’s Report is attached.

 

Contact:        Janet Leifer Tel: 07534 407 703, John Sullivan 07711-934499                                  caddss1@gmail.com