ESSU

A report commissioned by the Justice Forum demands an immediate end to all Private Finance Initiative and Public Private Partnerships projects and a substantial increase in public sector capital investment in the Criminal Justice System. The report was written and researched by the Centre for Public Services (CPS) and concludes that the U.K. already has the most privatised Criminal Justice System in Europe. The Justice Forum which comprises all major unions in the justice system believes that privatisation is a bar to joined-up and effective justice because of the inflexibility of contracts, the length and complexity of the procurement process and the poor performance of information technology. In addition PFI is at least twice as expensive as public sector investment and it results in poorer service delivery. The Labour Government has systematically driven PFI projects within the Criminal Justice System since 1997.

The report concludes that claimed successes for PFI projects are largely an illusion. The cost of three court IT systems rose by 79% above the fixed control price; the transfer of risk is not financial as claimed but on service delivery, but there is little evidence of monitoring of discrimination issues within contracts, there is a lack of evidence of cost savings, a failure to justify best value in planning and procurement and financial information is systematically withheld from the public on “commercial in confidence” grounds. The claim of additional innovation through PFI is also found to be unsubstantiated.

The research finds that nearly all private contractors employ new staff on lower rates of pay, with fewer holidays and limited sick pay entitlement. Staff in private jails are paid 25% less on average than their state counterparts. In addition, consultation with trade unions in planning and procurement has been negligible and dominated by secrecy.

The Centre has been commissioned by the North West Regional Assembly to undertake a three year social and economic audit of the North West. The project objectives include to assess the impact of regional performance at the sub-regional and community level to identify benefits and/or adverse impact on particular social groups and sectors in the North West economy; contributing to the development of appropriate performance measures, data collection, monitoring and assessment; identify ways in which social and economic assessment can be integrated into the planning process to improve policy and decision making and to build capacity, understanding and support for regional targets at sub-regional and community level and to provide a mechanism for involvement in the assessment process.

Equality Impact Assessment for Department of Health, Social Services & Public Safety, Northern Ireland. The Centre has carried out another Equality Impact Assessment for the Department. It assesses the impact on the nine equality groups of the introduction of a new Weighted Capitation Formula for the Allocation of Prescribing Resources to Health and Social Services Boards. The findings will be subject to consultation under the requirements of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

The Centre acted as an “external challenger” to Darlington Council’s Best Value review on regeneration services. The review focussed on economic development and community involvement. The work included making an initial assessment of the approach adopted to the review, presentation to the review team and a subsequent report containing a number of detailed recommendations.

The Centre is the procurement and contracts adviser to the Stonebridge Tenants Advancement Committee (STAC) for the regeneration of the Stonebridge Housing Action Trust.

The Centre has commenced a national two year research project of strategic partnerships in local government. It will focus on eight case study authorities – six which have outsourced services and two which have developed in-house improvement programnmes. We will also be monitoring strategic partnerships in other authorities and assessing national trends and developments. The project will be producing detailed evidence, briefing papers and other material for UNISON.

In autumn 2000, Salford City Council considered the possible outsourcing of financial and legal services. Although the Cabinet concluded that much of the potential savings from outsourcing financial services could be achieved by reorganisation, further work was carried out on four options.

Salford UNISON published a report ‘Privatising Salford? An Alternative to the Outsourcing of Council Services‘ in December 2000 from the Centre for Public Services. The aims of the report were to assess the implications of a strategic partnership for corporate support services, to identify the costs and risks of such a strategy and to inform Elected Members and staff of an alternative approach for Salford.

In summer 2001, a Social, Economic and Environmental Audit provided detailed evidence of the social, economic and environmental impact of options on the community, local economy, the labour market and the sub-regional economy. It included a detailed analysis of the residential location of staff and the impact of employment change. The report included an assessment of the proposals on community well-being and on particular groups in the community. In August 2001, the city council decided not to outsource services and to continue with its in-house improvement programme. 40 pages.

Report commissioned by Bradford UNISON critically examining the scale of city council’s ‘change programme’. Details privatisation plans including the education strategic partnership, proposed transfer of the city’s housing stock to local housing companies, private involvement in information and communications technology, asset management joint venture and the establishment of a city centre company. The analysis also highlights the risks to frontline service delivery and the wider social and economic impact on some of the most deprived wards in Britain. A series of recommendations presents coherent alternatives to the outsourcing agenda. 32 pages. Published April 2001.

The third report written by the Centre for the Residents Action Group for the Elderly (RAGE) and Birmingham UNISON focusses on the relationship between the proposed privatisation of residential care, race and gender implications and Best Value. Transfer and proposed unit cost reductions are predicted to directly impact on the quality of care and to increase inequality in Birmingham. The impact of privatisation on staff would fall directly on large numbers of women and black and ethnic minority groups who are already amongst the lowest paid working for the city council. The report highlights the contradictions of the council’s own policies for community well-being and Best Value and makes a series of recommendations. 50 pages. Published July 2001.