Competition killed the cat
“Serco is certainly guilty of a lack of imagination. It has grown to where it is on the back of years of outsourcing, with successive governments of every colour looking to use contracting in order to cut the perceived waste in public sector delivery.” Richard Johnson looks at the experience of Serco in the outsourcing of public services.
Doing the Ministry’s bidding
“The Ministry of Justice is absolutely desperate to give its TR omnishambles planned for probation some semblance of credibility by making sure that not all the ‘prime’ contracts are awarded to the questionable big boys…” Jim Brown looks at how charities and mutuals are trying to pick up probation contracts.
Omnishambles update 22
“…the Napo Lobby at Parliament yesterday went well with over 270 members packed into two committee rooms along with 40 MP’s and Peers. It would seem there’s still some scope for the parliamentary process to cause trouble for the minister Chris Grayling in the coming weeks.” Jim Brown provides an update on the outsourcing of probation.
Privatised prisons: it’s ‘easier to get drugs than soap’
“An unannounced inspection of HMP Oakwood has revealed grave concerns about the ability of private provider G4S’s ability to run a prison.” Scriptonite looks at the record of G4S in delivering public services.
Collateral damage
“We know without any shadow of a doubt that there is absolutely no evidence or professional argument that can be advanced to support this Transforming Rehabilitation omnishambles that is being imposed upon us.” Jim Brown looks at what the lessons of the Work Programme could mean for the outsourcing of probation.
Tales from the party conferences: The Conservative Party – or the Potemkin Party
In the final part of our three-part series, Guerilla Policy goes to the Conservative Party conference – and wonders where all the ‘hardworking people’ are.
Grayling in a corner
“It’s becoming ever more clear …that there simply aren’t going to be enough bidders for the probation contracts being advertised this week, and as a result peace is breaking out between the minister and naughty Serco and G4S.” Jim Brown wonders how the MOJ will outsource probation service without the involvement of the ‘big boys’.
Capita, Serco, G4S, government and the rise and rise of electronic tagging
“It seems that Capita has positioned itself (with three other companies) to take over the dire electronic tagging system run by Serco and G4S for the Ministry of Justice. By “dire,” I mean “very likely fraudulent”…” Kate Belgrave is concerned about Capita’s expansion into the electronic tagging market.
The human cost
“The future may look bleak for probation and probation staff, but not half as bleak as it does for many of our clients, and we’d do well to remember that.” Jim Brown is concerned about the impact on clients from outsourcing of probation services and welfare reform.
Shadow politics: How outsourcing and privatisation have got their teeth into public services
In the shadow politics, some policies - such as outsourcing and privatisation - are beyond the need for evidence. And once they sink their teeth in, they don’t let go.
Omnishambles update 9
Another day, another report saying that outsourcing is going wrong and that civil servants are simply not up to the task of writing the contracts. This time it’s the independent think tank the Institute for Government as reported here in the Guardian:- The government has been told to pull back its large-scale programme to outsource public services, […]
Things are turning toxic
You sort of know things are going pear-shaped when you start seeing influential people like Dame DeAnne Julius, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Affairs Committee, rushing to the aid of outsourcing. As quoted in this Public Service website, she remains confident that a little difficulty over G4S and Serco shouldn’t put anyone off […]
Grayling turns on G4S
Just as it seemed not a lot was happening, it looks like Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has forfeited any chance of one day being invited on to the Board of G4S by referring them to the Serious Fraud Office over the electronic tagging contracts dating back possibly as far as 1999. Suspicions were raised several months ago that G4S […]
Are there some moral lines that outsourcing of public services should not cross?
Summary Should all public services and state functions be open for outsourcing or are there some lines that should not be crossed? The difference with this blogpost compared to others I’ve covered in public policy is that it looks at an issue through the prism of principle and disposition, rather than through a pure technocratic […]
G4S running rape support. Fuck that shit
Content note: This post discusses rape and the aftermath I have written before about why I never reported my rape to the police, and reams about the trail of disgusting fuck-ups the police have displayed in handling of rape. I know that many feel the same way, unable to trust this violent, patriarchal institution to help […]
Contract negotiations begin
I notice that the Ministry of Justice held a ‘Probation Marketing Opportunity’ on Thursday for all those privateers interested in putting bids in, like G4S and Serco and Napo turned up to greet them. Now there are those that feel MoJ officials would have significant difficulty arranging a serious group libation in a brewing facility, let alone sorting […]
Omnishambles announced
Following the Queens speech yesterday, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling intends to seal his political fate later today by publishing a draft bill that not only privatises the majority of probation work, but also lays the foundations for a perfect omnishambles. Even before the announcement was made, I notice that another new organisation has entered the […]
The Breakfast Club
Ice cold milk and cornflakes go together like Tom Winsor and Theresa May. Perfect partnerships. Yesterday morning though it seemed as though the milk had gone off when Tom released a statement declaring that the priority for the police should be preventive policing and not chasing detections – clearly at odds with Theresa’s mantra that the […]
The transparent Queen’s shilling
I have written about this matter before but after a couple of blocked FoI requests recently, I thought I would raise the subject again. I think the Freedom of Information Act should be made to apply to all organisations / alliances / partnerships that spend the Queen’s shilling (our money in other words). Increasingly, I suspect, more and more […]
Squaring the circle
“Unfortunately the big contracting boys, G4S, Serco, Amey etc all hate it. So how can the circle be squared? How can the contractors be reassured that they can make lots of money without fiddling the payment measure?” Jim Brown responds to a Policy Exchange report on how payment by results is introduced in criminal justice, and senses a commercial agenda at odds with the supposed Holy Grail of public service reform.