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Tory council outsources education in cost-cut move
Katharine Barney04.03.09
Conservative councils are privatising services in a move which is being led by the outsourcing of parts of education in Essex.
Several authorities have privatised refuse collection, parking and street cleaning.
But Essex County Council announced it intends to outsource all or most of its services - including the management of schools, social care, roads and libraries - to make efficiency savings.
The authority has shortlisted two companies for an eight-year, £5.4billion contract in what is regarded as a blueprint for councils under a Tory-led national government.
Public sector union Unison claimed the move could lead to 6,500 job cuts and is considering a legal challenge.
Essex leader, Lord Hanningfield, said he expected the winning company to identify at least £200million of savings. He admitted that some jobs would be lost but denied the figure would be as high as claimed by Unison.
Other councils planning to offer out contracts include Barnet, Harrow, Havering and Hammersmith & Fulham - all under Tory control.
They have said they are planning to exploit the competitive market conditions created by the credit crunch.
Havering has contracted out its parks security while Harrow council is due to carry out a review of areas that could be privatised. Council leader David Ashton said: "All councils will have to evaluate things that the private sector might do better."
An incoming Tory government may cut local authority budgets to avoid council tax rises. This year the average rise in council tax in London is 1.2 per cent - less than half the national average.
Steve Johnson, a corporate director at London Councils, which represents the capital's 32 boroughs said of the moves: "The council gets the service it wants at an affordable price."
Reader views (2)
The "trick" is to ensure the contract is absolutely clear about the services and service levels to be provided.
My understanding is that my own council outsources maintenance of street lights. When reporting a light that was on during the daytime, I was amazed that I was told I needed to give an absolutely precise location for the light. (Given its location, it was difficult to give a precise location, though I did give precise directions.) I was told that, if the council didn't give a precise location to the contractor, they wouldn't fix the light. It sounded to me like "contractor will apply common sense and be prepared to look around" had been left out of the contract.
- Richard Hancock, Bracknell, UK
Is this the same 'outsourcing' the Conservatives used with hospital cleaning services, town hall cleaning services, including all local government offices and schools, refuse collection, et al. Privatisation by any other name, which means fewer and poorer services. This same 'innovation' was introduced by Kent County Council in the 80s. I was the Area Admin Officer for SE Kent. Local cleaning staff were made redundant, and then around 50% of them were re-employed by the private contractor after the statutory break in employment, at a lower hourly rate, no paid holidays, and no statutory sickness pay. This, of course, added to the unemployment figures in Kent in the 80s. But so what, the Conservative County Council saved money and that was their prime concern - money not people's lives. Pretty much the same as it is now. It will be interesting to see who the successful contractors are.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain
