Barnet council, not for sale! Conference this Saturday 7 July

Press release by the Barnet Alliance for Public Services. I hope to see many of you there on Saturday!

Barnet Unison & Barnet Alliance for Public Services

INVITE YOU TO

Barnet Council - Not for Sale Public Conference

Saturday 7 July 12-3pm, Greek Cypriot Community Centre, 2 Britannia Road, London N12 (North Finchley)

Free entry, all welcome!

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The bankruptcy of the South London hospitals as a result of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes, demonstrates the dangers of involving private, for-profit companies in running public services. This is exactly the future that Barnet Council is planning for us with their One Barnet programme.

The One Barnet programme that Barnet Council is pushing through is much more than 'outsourcing' - it is a total sell-off of all of our council-run public services. 70% of staff will be hived off to the private sector, as Barnet becomes a 'commissioning council', buying services from big multinational companies such as BT and Capita.

Should anything go wrong with the One Barnet programme there will be almost no staff left in-house to remedy it. We, Barnet residents, will be left on our own with our services in ruins. This is a catastrophe waiting to happen and we cannot afford to stand aside and do nothing.

Barnet residents and council staff can learn more about the likely disastrous effects of the One Barnet Programme in a conference on Saturday 7 July, 12-3pm, at the Greek Cypriot Centre in North Finchley. Speakers include experts Prof. Dexter Whitfield, Director of European Services Strategy Unit, Mr Andy Mudd, chief consultant of the Association for Public Service Excellence, Mr John Dix, Barnet blogger "Mr Reasonable".

We will also hear speakers from Aberdeen and Edinburgh, where similar programmes were stopped and reversed at the last moment by concerned citizens and the trade unions; and from Sefton Unison, where Capita Symonds, one of the competitors for Barnet's huge contracts, were kicked out recently - though not before they devastated the services they were supposed to provide.

PLEASE SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY WITH OUR STRUGGLE TO KEEP SERVICES IN BARNET PUBLIC BY JOINING US ON THE 7 JULY 'BARNET COUNCIL NOT FOR SALE' CONFERENCE

barnetalliance4publicservices@gmail.com

Tel. 07957 486 379