>>> BARNETTRACK >>>
Do you remember Railtrack? The company which forever destroyed the credibility of Rail privatisation? The company that took a "license to print money" and lost a shedload, requiring a taxpayer baleout. What has this got to do with Barnet Council? Well Barnet Council have studied the Railtrack model and decided that this is the way of the future. The Railtrack board wanted a "virtual company" which did nothing except commission work from contractors. They believed that outsourcing provided the cheapest price and the best quality in every case. Whole factories in the UK supplying high quality steel rail products closed as cheaper imports were sourced abroad. Hundreds of third party supplier agreements were signed. Maintenence teams were split up and sold off to companies.
Then one day there was an accident at Potters Bar. A private contractor called Jarvis had "issues" with some maintenance work. 7 people died and 76 were injured. Railtrack and it's business practices unravelled. A new company called Network rail (a not for profit Company owned by the Government) took over, to clean the mess up.
Sadly our local Conservative Council learned nothing from the embarrassing fiasco. They have emabarked (they put the bark in embark, this lot) on a program called Barnet Future Shape. When this started to unravel, the then Leader of Barnet Council rebranded it as "EasyCouncil". Being a bit dim, Mike Freer didn't realise that the public associate budget airlines with less than excellent quality. He also didn't realise that unlike Council services, airline customers have a choice. When asked to explain how it worked, a Tory Councillor explained that a local property developer had bought their own council employee to ease through development applications. Mill Hill Councillor John Hart told the Guardian that the disabled and bedridden who rely on the council for care could "wipe their own arses".
As the scheme became more infamous, it got renamed again. It became "OneBarnet". Sadly the Borough Auditors, Grant Thorton slated it, pointing out there was no business case and no project plan. The Tories in charge said "Oh, no problem, we'll just go off and write one". This was after three years and millions of pounds had been wasted, delivering NO SAVINGS AT ALL.
Well, The Barnet Eye has decided it is time for a rebrand. We're going to refer to the whole cock up as
BARNETTRACK (the cock up formerly known as OneBarnet) in future. The leading expert on the subject, Professor Dexter Whitfield is giving a talk on why the whole project is ill conceived. If you want to know why it's doomed, please come along. Here's a few details from the BAPS press release.
Who pays in outsourcing and privatisation - the myth of strategic partnerships?”
Barnet UNISON & Barnet Alliance for Public Services (BAPS) have organised a Public Meeting and have invited Professor Dexter Whitfield as the Guest Speaker.
The meeting takes place on Tuesday 15th March at 7pm in the Greek Cypriot Community Centre, 2 Britannia Road, London N12 9RU.
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The Barnet Eye will be filming some of the meeting and some of the people attending. If you want to star in a fantastic low budget film, please get there early
I think it was more the Hatfield crash in ?2000 that did for Railtrack. That was where the metal of the track disintegrated on a curve on the Kings Cross line.
ReplyDeleteAs a result, trains all over the country started to run at about 20 mph, for "safety reasons".
In other words, a complete meltdown in confidence.
That last sentence seems just right for Lynne and the Cabinet, doesn't it?