Leading Tory Cast Doubt on Strategy Adopted by Barnet

Sir Merrick Cockell who is both Chair of the  Local Government Association and Leader of Kensington & Chelsea Council has given a startling candid interview to the FT. "The days of assuming that private companies offer the best way of delivering public services are over", he told the Financial Times.

In the interview he says that "we have underestimated just how good some council services are that are done by local authorities, very professionally with the tightest budgets and rigorous management".

He also says that having a commission only model, like the One Barnet model, can be be very difficult because you tie yourself to a set of principles as being the right ones. He states that it is easier to adapt to change if the services are run in house - something the many opponents of One Barnet have been saying repeatedly.
In the interview he is also sceptical about experiments  like Suffolk's plans to outsource everything  - Just like Barnet.

And dear old Richard Cornelius says One Barnet Outsourcing is the only option. Potentially Barnet will be handing over more than £1 billion of services to just one company, Capita. Well Richard I suggest you go and have a chat to Sir Merrick. You might actually start to understand why so many people think One Barnet Outsourcing is just plain wrong and that actually there are very real and much more effective solutions out there if you would just listen to them. However, if instead you only listen to the consultants, who have a huge financial interest in pushing complex outsourcing solutions, you will never realise the best possible solution for Barnet.

One Barnet Outsourcing is an enormous financial gamble that will last for at least ten years and could cost every single council tax payer in Barnet a fortune if it goes wrong. Just look at SouthWestOne for an example of the problems that can arise with this type of mega-outsourcing contract.

Stop this madness now!

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