More Spin, More Fear, More Secrecy, Ever More Outsourcing and Less True Scrutiny in forthcoming Northumberland Tory Budget.

Almost three years on following their shock win in May 2017 and Northumberland Conservatives have taken their prize and sailed it onto the rocks.

Virtually unsupported through their own Governments austerity packages (cuts to you and I) inflationary growth, the giant spend on the renovations and enormous running costs of County Hall in Morpeth, the huge waste of money caused by their unbelievable planning decisions and regular compensatory payments to developers who skin them alive at planning appeals and the public becoming evermore aware of the hollow promises that are never delivered has led them to the cul de sac of despair and they are now suggesting a privatisation package that will allow then to avoid public scrutiny and possibly legally bypass audit.

This will be Northumberland Tories second attempt at privatisation of core services from 2010 until 2013 they waggle danced with local Lib Dems and North Tyneside’s Tory Mayor to jointly outsource services and unveiled a blueprint for services in Northumberland under a Conservative council.

In 2012, Cllr Jackson worked hand in glove with his current Lib Dem colleague Andrew Tebbutt of Morpeth to ‘team up then Tory led North Tyneside Council in a joint services partnership with a potential privatisation giant. It would have meant phase 1 of a privatisation of the whole council with 51% of services offered up.

At the time, Cllr Jackson denied he knew anything about the ‘secret privatisation deal’ yet he nominated Cllr Jeff Watson and Cllr Gordon Castle to represent his team on the working party which seems to cast a doubt on his denial.

This report shows how it was to be done
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/383993/response/937729/attach/html/3/iMPOWER%20Report.pdf.html

Northumberland Tories latest thoughts on the delivery of services sit within the County Council budget, a budget being set on the back of accounts that the External Auditor hasn’t signed off.

The core spending power estimate this budget is premised on does not include any allowance for the unfunded cost pressures which the Government have recently announced. These include the rise in the national living wage, the increased apprenticeship levy and the change in working arrangements through the Borderlands and NE Devolution programs.

There appears to be no funding for the increased demand from some services facing significant increased cost pressure; such as children and adult social care services. The need for adult social care across the county is ever increasing and Northumberland’s aging population is above the national average, leading to a build up of problems facing the partner organisation Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

The Tories answer: to deliver services via a private limited company, another back door privatisation from those who have an interest in paying back their sponsors at anyone’s expense.

The Council is proposing to set up its overarching company to sit over up to 10 companies that will deliver services to the public. All from a Council who doesn’t deliver best value according to its former external auditor and does all of its work in secret making these proposed changes ‘all their own work’.

Maybe now’s the time for Councillor Jackson to really tell the people of Northumberland about what he knew in 2010 and what his plans for services and jobs are in 2020?


http://committeedocs.northumberland.gov.uk/MeetingDocs/45991_M9494.pdf