A critical assessment of Compass’s Plan B that reveals its shortcomings and need for a more radical and comprehensive socialist alternative, by Dexter Whitfield, Red Pepper Issue 182, Feb/Mar 2012.

A detailed analysis of the proposed transfer of the London Borough of Barnet’s Housing Service to Barnet Homes, the ALMO established in 2004. The Council truncated the options appraisal and business case into one process, limiting the options and pre-selecting the preferred option, and has led to a further deterioration in the quality of options…

The London Borough of Barnet plans to establish a LATC that requires Adult Services to generate up to 90% of the £0.7m annual profit. Yet the financial viability of Barnet Group Ltd (Yours Choice Barnet and Barnet Homes) is highly questionable. This report details the flawed appraisal process, the reasons for financial instability, governance and…

2012 news and events from the European Services Strategy Unit.

The Database now covers 48 strategic partnerships and has been expanded with more analysis of operational contracts, a new Strategic Partnership Performance Ratio, and new tables on community trusts in strategic partnerships and contractor performance.

Analysis of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets approach to procurement of a strategic partnership for ICT and corporate services, employing 615 staff. Reveals that there was no evidence of an options or business case prior to the start of procurement. Highlights the limitations of strategic partnerships and the potential impact on the local economy…

The London Borough of Barnet is considering terminating a 15 year leisure services contract. This is a story of mismanagement of a single service contract that again exposes the high-risk strategy and assumptions proposed by the One Barnet model. Meanwhile, the Council is at the procurement stage of several multi- service, multi-million pound, long-term contracts…

Following detailed evidence of Private Finance Initiative equity profiteering and the transfer of assets to tax havens submitted by Dexter Whitfield, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has recommended gain sharing in new and existing PFI projects (1 September 2011). The Committee called for the Treasury to measure tax revenue from PFI deals and…

This 2004 report by the Centre for Public Services has been reprinted in a new book, ‘Social Services’, by Li Bing, PH.D. Vice Professor, the Department of Sociology, Beijing Administrative College. The Chinese version can be downloaded (the English version in our publications section). The report examines the implementation of the previous government’s modernisation agenda…