Tuesday 6 December 2011

Travers-ty of democracy

I've given a couple of interviews to the press about the protest outside a recent Capita-sponsored conference that Barnet council's deputy chief executive Andrew Travers was due to speak at. (I presume he did: we weren't allowed inside to hear for ourselves. We're only residents, after all.)

There was a short report in the Times series.

My main message on why I took part in this protest is that I think it is wrong for the big outsourcing companies, such as Capita, Serco, BT, to have the privileged access to those in local authorities taking the decisions on outsourcing that they get at such events. And that all this is done behind the backs of those most affected by outsourcing: residents and council staff.

This is surely what happened when Andrew Travers went to speak at the conference on 29 November.

I have submitted the following Freedom of Information request to the council today (my first).
Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to see any information/data that the Council holds in relation to the Capita sponsored conference, "New Models of Service Delivery - Opening Up Local Government Services to New Providers", on 29 November 2011. This includes but is not confined to anything that relates to the appearance of the Deputy Chief Executive Andrew Travers at this event.

Thank you.

Vicki Morris

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The council officers at the Core Strategy inquiry today used the words "One Public Service".

Is this their attempt to rebrand "One Barnet"?

David Duff said...

Nah! I think it's their way of giving you 'one finger'!

Citizen Barnet said...

Don't pay any mind to David Duff, he's only got One Brain Cell.

Mrs Angry said...

ha ... oh dear, poor old Duffer.

One Public Service is what will be left if the outsourcing programme goes through. Serving the public is a concept our lazy, greedy little Tory councillors simply do not understand.

David Duff said...

As most of our public, er, servants fail to do also, Mrs 'A'.

Citizen Barnet said...

I don't know where you live, Duffer.

In that strange place that Daily Telegraph/Mail readers live in where council employees and civil servants line up outside their door waiting to throw rubbish at them, run them over, insult them, and push drugs at their kids.

It must be hell.