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Barnet UNISON Press Release:

26 June May 2011

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

£.75 Billion pound contract to be signed off

 

“The CSO-NSO Business Case is another example of Barnet Council’s slap dash approach to procurement – it denies financial and operational risks, over-states savings and makes little effort to take account of service needs and the well being of staff.” (Dexter Whitfield )

 

On Wednesday 29 June Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee (CRC) will sign off a contract worth up to £750 million to the successful private sector company winning the contract, with the option of an extension of a further 5 years to a 10 year contact it could be worth over £1 billion.

 

Barnet UNISON commissioned Dexter Whitfield to produce a critique of the business case going to the CRC. You can read the full report here.

 

Our report found:

 

M Up to 253 staff could lose their jobs before, or shortly after, the CSO-NSO contract commences.

 

M Key procurement risks have been omitted such as :

Judicial Review if unequal treatment

 

M Key transition risks omitted such as:

Loss of critical skills before or at transfer

M Key operational risks omitted such as:

High level service user complaints

M Key contract management risks omitted such as:

Effectiveness of performance assessment regime

M Key Financial Risks omitted such as

Hidden costs emerge

M Key Democratic Governance Risks omitted such as:

Accountability & reporting failure

M Key Employment Risks omitted such as:

Pensions

To view full list of key risks click here

 

This contract is one of many contracts the Council has already put out to tender in the last five months with more contracts planned to go out later in the year. Already the combined total costs of contracts stands at more than £1 billion of public money.

 

Barnet ‘easycouncil’ has been making headlines for a number of ‘cock ups’ in procurement and failings in contract monitoring. The latest of which was the official audit report on MetPro the bust security company employed by Barnet Council. The report made shocking reading especially for a council aspiring to outsource all of its services to the private sector.

 

Here are just some of the key findings of the audit report are as follows:

 

M There was no procurement exercise in line with Barnet’s Contract Procedure Rules (CPR) and there was no written contract with the council

M There was payment of some invoices with no VAT number quoted & some invoices were from companies had different names – MetPro Group and MetPro Emergency Response. Internal Audit found inappropriate changes to MetPro’s bank accounts

M MetPro was not registered with the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme, thus rendering the council vulnerable to prosecution or civil claims

 

Barnet UNISON is recommending the following:

 

1. The Business Case has failed to make a strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management case for commencing the procurement process and should be rejected by Cabinet Resources Committee.

 

For further details of all our recommendations click here

 

“It is now three years since the Future Shape/Easycouncil/One Barnet programme started. In that time I have dealt with two chief executives, three council leaders and hundreds of consultants. Whilst the consultants pedal outrageous unsubstantiated claims to deliver £100 million in savings all I see is £millions going into the pockets consultants for a further three years, £9.2 according to the last council budget. In that time I have seen hardly any savings. What worries me is how ‘consultancy dependent we have become!” (John Burgess Barnet UNISON Branch Secretary)

 

End.

 

Contact: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk

 

1. Analysis of Business Case New Support & Customer Services Project

London Borough of Barnet (Barnet UNISON) to view full report click here

 

 

2. Recent useful Links for Dexter Whitfield

 

M £2bn secret profits on PFI gravy train: Public-sector projects are massive money spinner

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2003629/PFI-schemes-Public-sector-projects-massive-money-spinner.html#ixzz1QOYKpv92

 

M £2bn profit for companies selling debt on public projects

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8576554/2bn-profit-for-companies-selling-debt-on-public-projects.html

 

M PFI: transferring billions from UK taxpayers to private financiers

http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/clare-sambrook/pfi-transferring-billions-from-uk-taxpayers-to-private-financiers

 

M HM Treasury ‘in dark’ over ‘excessive’ PFI profits

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/business-13712275

 

M Massive PFI profits ”are going offshore”

Massive PFI profits ”are going offshore” – Public Service

 

M Private Sector taking full control of hospitals

http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/RevPDFS/BarnetPPP.pdf

 

M Treasury lets PFI firms’ profits run wild

http://www.dailyfinance.co.uk/2011/06/14/treasury-lets-pfi-firms-profits-run-wild/

 

M Transformation and Public Sector Reform http://www.european-services-strategy.org.uk/publications/public-bodies/transformation-and-public-service-reform/

A victory for transparency…and a warning for public sector procurement

“As the London Borough of Barnet Council recently discovered…when a group of dogged local “citizen” bloggers managed to unearth evidence  – through FOI requests and Companies House searches – of Barnet Council’s rather dodgy “relationship” with a security firm called MetPro (now out of business).  Last week the findings of an internal audit were announced:  including the troubling revelation that the council had spent £1.3 million with MetPro with no tendering exercise, no written contract or SLA, no formal authorisation, no proper invoicing… thus violating just about every CPR that Barnet had.

 

Cue some serious questions about Barnet’s finance, audit and procurement processes, and some serious embarrassment for the cabinet and senior officers of this so-called “flagship council: especially so given Barnet is one of the councils planning mass outsourcing of services imminently.”

 

“Easy council” scandal puts Town Hall outsourcing reforms in the spotlight.

After the demise of Suffolk’s “virtual” council (and the electoral scuppering of Bury’s “enabling” council) it is the turn of the daddy of all Conservative-led, outsourcing-driven council reforms programmes to come under the critical spotlight: Barnet’s Flagship “easy council” project.

A financial scandal has brought the controversial model (known formally as One Barnet) under renewed scrutiny. On Thursday night councillors discussed a report which detailed how the council spent £1.3m on the services of a security firm called MetPro, without carrying out basic financial or security checks or indeed putting the contract out to tender

Full article here

Barnet not so fair? – Heather Wakefield

An internal audit report has highlighted concerns over procurement processes at the London Borough of Barnet. This raises questions about the council’s general outsourcing proposals and also the government’s wider privatisation plans

Not a good week for privatisation. First there’s the Health and Social Care Bill – ‘paused’, slightly modified and re-started following public outcry over threatened marketisation of the NHS. Next was the desperate debacle surrounding Southern Cross, filling the parts of the press and media that the bill didn’t occupy.

And just to add insult to privatisation injury, yesterday saw a debate within Barnet council’s Audit Committee about the payment of £1,361,000 to a private security contractor MetPro Rapid Response without a contract

Full article click here

Over the last three years there have been a number of updates about the IBM takeover (SoutwestOne) of public services in Somerset.

We have previously reported that SouthwestOne was not delivering and reportedly made a loss of up to £16 million last year.

Today we have a short video of a news report providing more details which further support Barnet UNISON’s view that One Barnet programme is playing high risks and not recognises the serious fundamental risks of these type of strategic partnerships.

The Conservative party Leader in this video claims that if they could rip up the contract they would be able to save £58 million! They are re-negotiating the contract but you don’t mess with companies like IBM.

I wouldn’t want to be a tax payer in Somerset!

To view video click here

Media spokesperson for Barnet UNISON ‘Handsoff Christian Anderson’ said that after consulting with members and retired members they had looked at the books and believe the savings are genuine.

Handsoff who has joined Barnet UNISON after working as a consultant for an Emperor (in a land far far away) said that he had made successful similar claims in his previous job. When pressed by local journalists he refuted accusations that his consultancy advice to the Emperor had been undermined by a little boy who noticed that the Emperor was in fact walking about in the nude!

Handsoff has pledged to draft a fairytale report and hand it to all Barnet councilllors at their Big Party on 17 May at Hendon Town Hall.

“We don’t have any evidence and we don’t know what we are doing but you just have to trust that we are right, just look at our claim £1,000,000,000 that is a lot of money and it all goes back into the community.”

Barnet UNISON unofficial auditor Rip Van Winkle after hearing the claims is reported as saying he “will have to sleep on it” before deciding if he can sign off the fairytale report.

Look out for further announcements from Barnet UNISON Easter Bunny later this week.

Dear Councillors

Please find enclosed two reports which have been commissioned by Barnet UNISON in response to the 166 page business case tabled for Cabinet Resources Committee on Monday 28 March 2011.

In these difficult times when finances are tight we recognise the importance of making best use of tax payers money at all times and the responsibility that councillors have to bear. It was with this in mind that we commissioned a Finance expert to compliment our broader analysis of the business case.

Barnet UNISON takes seriously the proposals outlined in the officer report and the implications for services and our members. I hope you find time to read both reports as they outline significant risks to the council if the business case goes forward in its current format.

I recognise that reading documents of this kind are not always easy online which is why I have ensured hard copies are on their way to you now If any of you would like to discuss the content of these reports I would be only too happy to find time to do so at your convenience.

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary. Standing up for staff and public services Barnet Alliance for Public Services March for public services on 26 March 2011.

Join us on the TUC demo in London. Go to http://www.unison.org.uk/26march for more information and to register your interest.

Not for onward transmission in whole or part without permission

Barnet UNISON have commissioned two reports to critque the easyCouncil business case for Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) by handing them over to a large private sector  multinational company. The first group of council services to be given the ‘easyCouncil’ treatment are Cemeteries, planning, Highways, Land charges, Registrars, Environmental health, Building control, trading standards.

Professor Dexter Whitfield (European Services Strategy Unit, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Adelaide, with over 35 years experience of planning, researching and analysing local authority policy documents in Britain and overseas. 

His report can be read here

Adrian Waite (Independent Consultancy Services) was commissioned by Barnet UNISON to examine the financial aspects of the business case. Adrian is a highly experienced and respected local government finance expert. He has held a number of senior roles in local authorities including Director of Finance and s151 Officer and is a fully qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

His report can be read here

On Monday 28 March 2011 Barnet Council Cabinet Resources Committee are being asked to agree the business case to privatise Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) by handing them over to a large private sector  multinational company. The first group of council services to be given the ‘easyCouncil’ treatment are Cemeteries, planning, Highways, Land charges, Registrars, Environmental health, Building control, trading standards.

 

The contract could be worth up to £180 million to the successful private sector organisation.

 

Professor Dexter Whitfield (European Services Strategy Unit, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Adelaide, with over 35 years experience of planning, researching and analysing local authority policy documents in Britain and overseas) was commissioned by Barnet UNISON three years ago to provide consultancy support for the Easycouncil/Future Shape/One Barnet programme you can view his reports here.

 

Dexter Whitfield said this about the DRS business case:

·         “The DRS Business Case has a superficial appearance of authenticity but is fundamentally not fit for purpose and elected members have a duty to decide it is non-compliant.”

·          “There is clearly a high risk that user charges will be increased in order to achieve the income generation targets.”

 

Adrian Waite (Independent Consultancy Services) was commissioned by Barnet UNISON to examine the financial aspects of the business case. Adrian is a highly experienced and respected local government finance expert. He has held a number of senior roles in local authorities including Director of Finance and s151 Officer and is a fully qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

I

Adrian Waite said this about the DRS business case

“During the thirty years that I have worked in local government finance as a local government officer and management consultant, including some time as Finance Director of a Borough Council, I have seen and written many business cases, business plans and options appraisals.”

 

“This business case is remarkable for the apparent lack of robust evidence to support its main conclusions that £28million of savings and increased income is achievable and that this can only be delivered through outsourcing.”

 

Barnet UNISON has submitted the two reports to all Barnet councillors including the 6 members of Cabinet Resources Committee.

To view reports click here and here

We are recommending the following:

 

1. The Council should recognise that significant additional work is required before the Business case can be approved.
2. The formal procurement process should not be commenced until Cabinet Resources Committee has approved a revised DRS Business Case.
3. The Council’s template and methodology for preparing Business Cases should be revised to ensure it is compliant with best practice.
4. Carry out an equality analysis under the Equality Act 2010 as part of a broader cost benefit analysis of the economic, sustainability and environmental impacts of the DRS proposals.
5. Gateway Reviews should be implemented in all major procurement processes as a matter of urgency.
6. The Council should immediately exclude Cemeteries and Crematoria from the scope of the procurement and return to the 2010 options appraisal findings.

End.

Contact: John Burgess Barnet UNISON on 07738389569 or email: john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk

 

Background

Information:

Barnet Easy Council gained notoriety in 2009 when they launched the budget airline model for public services. In 2010 the model was criticised in a report by the external auditors as having failed to draw up a proper business plan. The business case produced by Barnet easyCouncil supports the policy direction promoted by Prime Minister which seeks to break state provision (in this case privatise council services) and offer the Voluntary & Private Sector to run public services. 

 

1. Dexter Whitfield is Director of European Services Strategy Unit (continuing the work of the Centre for Public Services founded in 1973) and is Adjunct Associate Professor, Australian Institute for Social Research, University of Adelaide.  He has carried out extensive research and policy analysis of regional/city economies and public sector provision, jobs and employment strategies, impact assessment and evaluation, marketisation and privatisation, modernisation and public management (www.european-services-strategy.org.uk).

He has undertaken commissioned work for a wide range of public sector organisations, local authorities and agencies and worked extensively with trade unions in the UK at branch, regional and national levels, and internationally. He has advised many tenants and community organisations on housing, planning and regeneration policies.

 

He was one of the founding members of Community Action Magazine (1972-1995) and Public Service Action (1983-1998). He has published many articles in journals and delivered papers and advised public bodies and trade unions in Europe, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

 

Contact details: Mobile +44 (0) 777 6370884, Tel +353 (0) 66 7130225 Email: dexter.whitfield@gmail.com
www.european-services-strategy.org.uk
 

2. Adrian Waite since 1998 Adrian has been Managing Director of ‘Adrian Waite (Independent Consultancy Services) Limited’. Between 1981 and 1998 he worked in local government to Chief Officer level.

 

Adrian is a management consultant and trainer with an exceptional range of experience of value to a wide client base. He has a very extensive track record in all areas of public sector work. He has a first class honours degree in Geography. He is a fully qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy; an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Housing; an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Public Sector Management and a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management.

 

As Managing Director of Adrian Waite (Independent Consultancy Services) Ltd, Adrian has provided advice and support to an extensive array of public sector clients in areas such as: Local Authority Finance, Housing Finance, Housing Stock Options Appraisals, Housing Stock Transfers, Housing Inspection, New Build, Self-Financing, Independent Tenants Advice, Housing Association Finance, Economic Development, Business Planning, Management issues, Design and Delivery of Training Programmes and Efficiency, Value for Money and Procurement.

 

Previously as Strategic Director, Copeland Borough Council, he was a Member of the Strategic Management Team. He led on strategic issues including: Compulsory Competitive Tendering and Best Value, Performance Monitoring and Benchmarking, Investors in People, Communications and Information Technology Strategies, the Private Finance Initiative, Lobbying for additional Standard Spending Assessment, and Single Regeneration Budget. In addition he managed Financial, Legal, Personnel Services, Committee Administration, Contracts and Projects Management, Building services, Leisure Management, and Environmental Services, including Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing.

 

Adrian was accountable for Financial Administration under Section 151 of the Local Government Act as Finance Director, Copeland Borough Council. He managed the Finance Department, including Corporate Finance, Financial Support, Audit, and Revenues Benefits and Exchequer.

 

‘AWICS’ is an ethical management consultancy, providing support principally to those who provide public services.

We offer ‘Independence, Integrity and Value’.

For more information about ‘AWICS’ please visit our websites at

http://www.awics.co.uk/

Contatc details:’AWICS’, Appleby Business Centre, Bridge Street, Appleby in Westmorland, Cumbria. CA16 6QH. Tel: 017683-52165 or 52347. Mobile: 07502-142658. Fax: 017683-54005

Barnet UNISON along with Barnet Alliance are busy working on a documentary on the cuts in Barnet.

We are asking for residents and members to send in any photographs or short video clips of any events you have attended in Barnet.

Here is a short trailer made by one of our infamous Bloggers Barnet Eye which you can view here !