The NOA has responded to Channel 4’s 'Dispatches' critical report of the UK public sector outsourcing industry.

The programme called ‘Britain’s Secret Fat Cats’ raised questions surrounding the restructuring of the delivery of public services in the UK.

Adrian Quayle, Board Member, the National Outsourcing Association (NOA), commented: “The National Outsourcing Association welcomes the interest shown by Dispatches on Monday, 14th March into the relationship between the public sector and outsourcing suppliers, but feels that the outsourcing industry has much more to offer UK business than was suggested.

“The programme was aired on the eve of the announcement of a major report on public-sector pay and highlighted the multimillion pound pay packages being earned by heads of private organisations which provide public services, and questioned why they should be the ones to benefit, with no reference to the millions of pounds saved by organisations in this country each year as a result of outsourcing and shared services providers.

“The NOA believes that if private sector companies can achieve cost efficiencies for the public sector, and relieve the financial burden on the tax payer, whilst ensuring that these services are run effectively, then wages of the heads of private sectors are, to a large extent, irrelevant. One of the government’s responsibilities is to cut the cost to the tax-paying public, and stimulate growth in the private sector to help take this country out of the choppy financial waters, and outsourcing can be an effective means of achieving this.

“Dispatches also asserted that the government’s ‘Big Society’ flagship policy could benefit big business and cause the public and voluntary sectors to feel the strain. However, it made no mention of the government’s recent initiative aimed at ensuring that small and medium-sized organisations are able to bid for government contracts, with a view to increasing transparency and ensure that big businesses are not the only ones to benefit.

“Outsourcing is a multi-billion pound industry in this country, and leading British suppliers of outsourcing services are amongst the world leaders in their field. The NOA’s view is that as long as deals are tendered, and carried out in the correct way – as the government seems intent on doing – there’s no reason why outsourcing service providers in the private sector should not play their full part in ensuring the government’s success – after all, they could be the most viable and effective solution for us all.”