Many people have watched the video I realeased earlier this week, Capita The Movie - Part I - and many of you have emailed me about when part II is coming out. The simple answer is as soon as possible. I rushed out Part I because of the Cemetery bench affair. When the story broke, I scrapped the original footage I'd been working on for the best part of six months and recut it with the cemetery footage and the running ticker tape. I felt that the film worked rather well and the feedback has been enormously positive.
The original intention had been to use the song to introduce all of the themes, but events overtook the plan. Strangely enough for Part II events have also overtaken me. The original intention for the film is to use Barnet as a case study of how Capita's activities in the public sector are affecting the people of Barnet and then look at some of the other things they are up to. Whilst I believe this is a hugely important project, I'd put it on the back burner until after the local elections,as I felt people would be more interested in what the local parties are saying. When the cemetery story broke, of course it became clear that this was relevant to the elections.
The same is true of Part II. This will focus on the way Capita is affecting the staff who work for Barnet and those who've been let go. We are also interested in some of the Capita staff who have come to the Borough to oversee the project. Many readers will see that the Guardian picked up on the film and linked to it in this article http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/09/local-elections-potholes-parking-ukip-parties which has significantly helped the hit count. It has also raised interest, with quite a few media enquiries about the overall project.
In effect Parts 1 & 2 will be used to raise capital via a Kickstarter project to make a proper full length documentary. I passionatly believe that the way companies like Capita are silently and stealthily taking over the public sector is a matter of major National concern. I want the film to be released before the general election and I want to make what is happening part of the debate as I believe there should be legislation. As the effects of One Barnet are so overrreaching and remove huge swathes of democratic oversight from the provision of public services, I believe that local authorities should be compelled to have a local referendum on such plans. I would have no issue with One Barnet if it had been properly debated and the public had endorsed the councils approach. Sadly the opposite was true, it was hidden from the public. Most people don't even realise what has happened.
If you are concerned, please watch the movie, paste this link onto your facebook page
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MZYbxk2Ssg and tweet this message
If you care about the London Borough of Barnet wathch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MZYbxk2Ssg and if it means anything retweet this message
Before Capita took over Barnet, I warned them that Barnet is a media hotspot. More people who work in news, print and media live in Barnet than any other London Borough. Many read this blog and the other Barnet blogs. Capita are in the spotlight in a way they have not been before. The One Barnet project has put them under a media microscope. I happen to think that Companies working in Public sector should also be subject to the same FOI constraints as Councils are. If they were, then we would all get better value for money. Sadly NO politician has ever even mentioned this, as far as I am concerned. Companies always use "commercial confidentiality" as a get out. This is nonsense, because if they all played under the same rules, then it would be a level playing field. They don't want it because it would mean they'd make less profit and have to provide a better service. For me that isn't a problem at all.
If you haven't seen part 1 of the video, watch it now !
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