Public Costs and Economic, Social, Health, Environmental, and Sustainable Development Impacts

Evidence of the effects of outsourcing on public finance, assessment of savings claims and identification of other local and regional impacts.

  • University of Leeds Economic Impact Study

    Commissioned by the University and College Union (UCU) and UNISON, the study examines the effect of government imposed higher education cuts, the budget reduction scenario, impact on Leeds and the city region, staff and students and the knowledge economy. (March 2010)

  • North Tyneside – A Commissioning Council? Evidence Base for the Alternative Plan

    A comprehensive report on the effects of outsourcing and transfer of public services to arms length companies and trusts.This 85 page report covers the proposed efficiency savings, a Transformation Plan or Blueprint for Business, the consequences of the Council’s plan, outsourcing and privatising Council services, the impact on jobs, assessing the impact of transformation, the Trust model, insourcing trends, why in-house bids are essential and the advantages of in-house provision and the Alternative Plan.

    In June 2006 North Tyneside Council published an edited version of a Business Transformation Plan prepared by management consultants KPMG in conjunction with Council officers. Local government trade unions in North Tyneside (including teacher unions) commissioned this report from the European Services Strategy Unit to assess the Council’s transformation plan and to provide an evidence base to support their opposition to this plan.

    The Council has a target of £50m efficiencies from the transformation plan over the next four years. However, the KPMG report identified a potential list of £84.5m efficiencies. The Council is also negotiating with the Department of Education and Skills to become the first local authority to transfer all its schools to a £100m Trust with local education services.

  • Health and Social Care and Sustainable Development in the East of England

    This major study quantifies the impact of the Health and Social Care system on the economy, labour market, social inclusion and the environment in the East of England. It includes sections on defining Sustainable Development; health inequalities; health and social care employment in the East of England; procurement of goods and services; planned growth, regional strategies and sustainability; opportunities, barriers and challenges to sustainable development in health and social care. The study was commissioned by the East of England Public Health Group, the Department of Health and the Health Development Agency, together with regional partners such as the East of England Development Agency, East of England Regional Assembly, Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridge Workforce Development Confederation, Environment Agency and Strategic Health Authorities in the region. The project also included widespread consultation with a range of stakeholders and partners across the region.

  • Calculation of the National Costs and Savings of Compulsory Competitive Tendering

    Produced as a supplement to the Full Report The Gender Impact of CCT in Local Government, this paper focuses on the public costs of CCT and provides a detailed analysis of the costs and savings of CCT using published government sources. It developed a model of income and expenditure flows for central and local government and demonstrated that there were no savings from CCT but there was in fact a net cost to the government. Researched and written by Centre for Public Services (1995)

  • Outsourcing the future: A Social and Economic Audit of Privatisation Proposals in Newcastle

    This Audit examines the privatisation proposals of Newcastle City Council and analyses the implications of such proposals on a number of levels, including their potential impact upon employment, the local economy, and social ramifications. Researched by Centre for Public Services in conjunction with City of Newcastle Upon Tyne UNISON Branch. (2000)

  • Contractors Audit: The Price of Winning

    Published by Manchester City Council and researched by SCAT, the Contractors Audit: The Price of Winning (Volume 3) provides a comprehensive analysis of the enforced tendering of public services and its implications, including detailed economic and commercial analysis and discussion on the possible effects upon jobs and services (1989).

    Includes Local authority and trade union strategies, the cost of tendering, commercialisation of local government services, trends and developments, plus sector analyses of school meals, welfare and civic catering; refuse collection and start cleansing; vehicle maintenance; building cleaning; grounds maintenance and leisure management.

    Volume 1 (1988) also includes sector analysis, impact on jobs, contract evaluation and monitoring.

  • Social & Economic Audit, Down Lisburn Trust, Northern Ireland, UNISON, 1995.

    An analysis of the costs of tendering services at the Down Lisburn NHS Trust affecting nearly 500 staff. It forecasts the savings claimed by the Trust will be significantly reduced or eliminated by client costs. Many of the staff live in three wards that are amongst the most deprived wards in Northern Ireland.

  • Social & Economic Audit, Royal Hospital Trust, Belfast, September 1993

    A social and economic audit of plans to run-down the Royal Hospital in West Belfast in 1993 by transferring several specialities to the City Hospital. Examines the job losses and equality impacts, the potential impact on West Belfast and the public costs of unemployment. Calculation of the jobs multiplier and the public cost of unemployment are the Appendices. UNISON campaign was successful (28 pages).

  • Privatisation Audit: Public Cost of Private Contractors, 1985

    Produced for Sheffield City Council and details the potential impact of outsourcing on local authority jobs in the city, the effect on the local economy and accelerate changes in the labour market. Quantifies public sector costs and national implications (64 pages).