A Guest Blog by John Sullivan,
And
so as predicted by many people other than our Local Tory Councillors' and their
expensive advisers consultants and lawyers that have cost Barnet taxpayers
millions to date the One Barnet
Programme better known as OBP or " The Billion Pound Gamble " is failing big time, before it even
gets off the ground and that is official.
The
company known as Your Choice that was formed without offering those affected by
its formation any Choice, was launched on a business plan that even Mickey Mouse
would have seen the flaws in. This company is a subsidiary of Barnet Homes and
Barnet Homes was the very first phase of the OBP project, just one year after
the launch they are having to loan Your
Choice "ONE MILLION POUNDS " to keep them solvent and comply with the
contractual terms of their agreement with LBB.
What
puzzles me initially is having read the front page story in The Press this week
from the councillor in charge of housing, that Barnet will have to ship people
out of Barnet due to a shortage of affordable homes. How in the name of all that
is holy can Barnet Homes afford to loan out "ONE MILLION POUND ", that should so
obviously be being used for the provision of the desperately needed affordable
homes the councillor refers to. Call me thick if you wish but I just don't get
it for me it makes no sense at all, and trust me I am not making this
up.
Not
only that they are loaning this money to Your Choice on the basis of a newly
formed business plan presented to the world on 1st March, the author of which
has already resigned so one must realistically assume she has little confidence
in the new plan. Or could it be that the plan that is purely and simply about
upping the profit margins of the company and has absolutely nothing to do with
quality of care, is to be based on the devastation of the staff caring for the
sick the disabled staff that have given one hundred percent support in the
last year. Who will suffer the complete and utter demolition of their working
conditions and as a result the moral of fabulous staff, staff that have through their own initiatives and
efforts in many ways , been the driving force behind Your Choice being allowed to limp through it
s first year. Due to a business plan that was never going to work that is being
followed by yet another business plan that will fail.
"THE
QUALITY OF THE SERVICE IS DETEMINED BY THE QUALITY OF THE STAFF EMPLOYED
"
The
quality and experience of the staff is vital in the field of social care, we
only have to cast our minds back just a few short months to the horrors of
Winterbourne View and this revised plan launched on March 1st by Your Choice is
a blueprint for a "Winterbourne View " in Barnet
Why
is it Tories believe that a business is only as good as the staff it employs and
the quality of the service is reliant on the quality of the people employed
until it gets to public services, such as the care of the elderly the sick the
disabled and the infirm and when they get there any Tom Dick or Harry will
suffice.
The new business plan will sack or demote
the very people that have kept this
misguided privatisation of social care from sinking many months ago, but for the
efforts of these coal face managers and team leaders the privatisation would
have fallen at the first hurdle.
Their
reward is the sack or demotion and a reduction in their wages, the removal of
overtime rates for working weekends and evenings , in fact the removal of all
but a reduced basic wage no matter what hours they work and on what day or what
time of the day on top of that they will have to work 7 days a week shifts
rather than five with no overtime rates
This
abomination of a plan will demotivate very special people, looking after the
disabled and those with a disability is the domain of very special people they
are unique they are rare, more importantly they have a vocation and a love for
the people they care for. They will be
replaced yes but with whom, will it be with people forced to do the job or lose
their dole money, if so will those people have the same commitment to these folk
will they develop a vocation for what is one of the most difficult and sensitive
tasks in public service I think not.
This
new plan is an abomination it is an abortion it is a plan about profit and not
the welfare of vulnerable people, it has nothing to do with quality of life or
quality of care it is all about being competitive in the market place I repeat
it is an abomination.
I
have been challenging the long term viability of the Your Choice privatisation
from the outset, I have spoken with some of the biggest legal firms in the
country expressing my fears for the long term future of care for my daughter
Susan. From London Borough of Barnet and Your Choice I have been met with
obfuscation, misinformation standard bullshit replies and even blatant lies, I
have even now been threatened with legal action for telling the truth. Because
it turns out I have had every good reason to concern myself, I even predicted
from the outset that the quality staff would eventually be replaced by cheap
labour to maximise profits and tragically I have been proven
right.
Social
care and adult service are the responsibility of the people of the borough and
that responsibility that duty of care to these vulnerable people is placed in
the hands of local councillors in trust. Barnet council have abused that trust
by trying to make a profit from this vulnerable group which for me is immoral.
Councillor
Rajput one of the architects of the Your Choice business plan disaster allegedly
said if the plan fails we will take the service back in-house, I am asking the
people of Barnet to demand that all services currently run by the failed Your
Choice be brought back in -house, that is the only way our duty of care to these
folk can be ensured, Your Choice is a failed experiment in fact it is a bloody
disaster it is a Winterbourne View waiting to happen and
these services should now be brought back in-house.
Have
a look at the policy abomination of 1st march and form your own views by
visiting the link here
Contact
your local councillors via this link and demand these services are brought back
in-house
Barnet Eye Note - There is a board meeting of "The Barnet Group" which is the "parent company" of Your Choice Barnet, they have invited people to attend. I urge anyone who is concerned to turn up. It is at 6pm On Monday 4th March at Barnet House, 1255 High Road,
Whetstone N20 0EJ - details herehttp://www.thebarnetgroup.org/events/2013/03/group-board-meeting/
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John Sullivan is a Barnet resident and carer. Guest blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye.
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