A UNISON survey reveals that more than half of all councils have backtracked on outsourcing contracts by bringing services back inhouse, or are considering it, after failings by private companies.
The UK’s largest union’s evidence proves that privatisation is a risky experiment, as these councils revealed money was drained, standards were driven down and they had a lack of control over the services.
60% of council officers surveyed said the need to improve efficiency and reduce service costs had led them to consider bringing services back in-house. After cost, 44% of respondents said there was a need to improve service quality.
When the scale of savings was compared to the scale of the service back in-house, almost 13% of respondents said insourcing could lead to savings of up to £25,000 a year. A further 8% reported savings of up to £250,000, 6% said £500,000 and 5% said £1 million could be saved per year.
Other advantages of insourcing included flexibility (64%), greater local responsibility (52%), improved staff morale (33%) and better terms and conditions (25%).
Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said: “This survey exposes the real danger of outsourcing services to private companies. Councils currently seeking it out as an easy option must realise that it will cost them more in the long run.
“These private contractors have failed on their promises and the councils have been left with huge costs and lower standards of services. As well as the huge impact on the public, privatisation risks the jobs, pay, pension, terms and conditions of hardworking staff.
“The quality, efficiency, accountability, flexibility and economics of inhouse public services just cannot be matched. Councils under pressure to review their budgets must learn a harsh lesson from this research - keeping services inhouse is best for the community, workforce and the economy.”
This research commissioned for UNISON by APSE, gives evidence of major contracts being brought to an end and services coming back inhouse - benefiting workers and the public.
