Murky and many of you will remember the fight put up by the Labour Group and the Trade Unions from 2010-2012 in opposition to the IMPOWER report a privatisation scheme being worked up by the LibDem Councillor Andrew Tebbutt, and his contracted cohort in their partnership, Councillor Peter Jackson, with Councillor Wayne Daley used as the go between by both Northumberland and North Tyneside Councils.
They were fashioning a public private partnership deal with their friends neighbours and colleagues, the Tory Group and Mayor from North Tyneside MET in order to level down Council workers wages to that of the competing contract sectors and in doing so slash the future retirement benefits of thousands of Northumberland local government workers pensions.
They worked on this project for over two years and eventually commissioned a report through the offices of a well known local government consultant in order to soft market test all services in readiness for their coup.
The following services were to be exposed to full competition and Councillors from the partnership group of Tories and Lib Dems were to become paid directors of the new companies set up to do the work. This would effectively give them paid employment when the political merry go round removed them from office:
1) ICT Services
o
Information Service Group
o
Information & Applications
o Infrastructure
2)
Financial Services
o
Head of Financial Services
o
Transactions Management
o
Accounts Payable
o
Accounts Receivable
o
Pensions Administration
o
Council Tax and NNDR
o Benefits Service (excluding Fraud Investigations)
o
Insurance Administration
o
Cashiers
o
Systems Administration (AP, AR,
Employee Services)
o
Revenues & Benefits
Management
o
Alnwick and Berwick databases
o
Area Management
o
Quality Assurance
o
Business Systems
3) HR
& Employee Services
o
Employee Services (including
Payroll)
4)
Front Office Services
o
Libraries
o
Tourist Information Centres
o Customer Access Points
o
Customer Services
5)
Procurement
o
Procurement Admin – Sourcing
& Requisitioning
o
Category management &
Controllable 3rd Party Spend
6)
Property Services & FM
o
Property & Estates Services
(excludes Land & Assets)
o Facilities Management
o
Schools Crossing Patrols
7)
Transport
o
Fleet Management
o
Parking
8)
Highways & Engineering
o
Highways Services
o
Engineering Services
o
Street Lighting
9)
Neighbourhood Services
o
Street Scene
o Countryside
10) Regeneration
The
Partnership aimed to deliver services as cheaply as possible and got up to the
stage of soft market testing these services when the proverbial happened and
the battle between the not included Social Services section of both Councils
were caught out with the public exposure by officers who’s careers were to suffer
fighting against those who still sat safe and sound under the Council banner
followed by an e-mail from Councillor Ian Lindley to staff, copying in
Councillor Grant Davey the trade unionist leading the Labour Group on
Northumberland County Council at that time which culminated into the scheme
faltering via a proper royal mess at County Hall in Morpeth forcing a split in
the love story between the LibDems and the Tories whose Leader Councillor Peter
Jackson regularly forgot the process when approached by the press.
The story surrounding the IMPOWER report is well documented but what has been kept under wraps until the suspension of CEX Daljit Lally was the scope of the project and an explanation in leaked e-mails of the Tories wish to replicate IMPOWER in a rush to safeguard their own incomes prior to the May 2021 elections hidden in a report issued within this years budget papers days before the lockdown commenced.
The aims
of the LibCon pact were as follows:
The link
to the Tories new report:
http://committeedocs.northumberland.gov.uk/MeetingDocs/45991_M9494.pdf
As you will see the similarities with the IMPOWER report are many, 10 private companies, Directors running the companies, no Trade Union involvement, the only thing really missed out of this plan is ‘soft market testing’ the report explains contracts are already in place as the Tories of two administrations ago learned that soft market testing was the weak link in the process as the advertisements had to be let out into the press and the publics outcry at losing the people who keep Northumberland running being handed over to who knows whom would be dreadful.
Several questions have arisen that we must point out to the public:
1 Leaked e-mails show that the disgraced Councillor Oliver
who has not paid his obligatory taxes to the Council even after he was sent a
bill during the Xmas period of 2019 by the suspended CEX has been running this
process under the cover of Covid 19 his disgrace will ensure he does not win
his seat in Corbridge 2021 yet he will possibly be a lead director of a company
that will run your Council for evermore unless this process is stopped?
2 Was the falling out between the secret Tory cabinet and their CEX and then the resignations from Councillor Wayne Daley (Childrens Services portfolio) and Councillor Veronica Jones (Adult Care/Health and Wellbeing portfolio) the result of Social Services and Childrens Services being scoped into this privatisation scheme that will lead to lower staff wages and reduced pensions? Or was it that the CEX and her officers suddenly found out they would have their influence slashed by the outcomes of this two page report?
3 The now well known threat from Councillor Sanderson that he will bring back Councillor Jackson into his cabinet if elected as Leader by the full council, is that to ensure the No2 behind Councillor Oliver’s plan for personal cash protection is not blackballed out of a seat on the future Council Companies?
4 What is the Labour Party Leader Councillor Susan Dungworth
and the Trade Unions doing about this? To safeguard properly paid employment
and Council Services in the County, as well as the long term protection of
retail jobs which will be severely damaged if pension payments from
Northumberlands largest employer slip down in value through this process, which
they will. The latest from them seems to be ‘Lets dissolve Advance
Northumberland’ we at the real Murky expect that its scoped into some of the
yet to be leaked appendices to the published report so the new Company
(Northumberland Enterprises Limited) can scope in the full IMPOWER processes.
Even if your not interested in your fellow man or what
happens to the public purse in your County you will be when the your Council in
future can’t get the work you need completed without being ripped off by
companies managed by directors who have already proven to fail you and in some
cases change policy to dodge paying their taxes.
Here at real Murky were sure a myriad of other questions will
be asked by employees of the Council, those who need the Councils services and
those who are being kept in the dark by the Tories ‘Secret Council’ we ask that
you keep them coming out on social media to ensure that the culprits and
protagonists of what has been labelled a corrupt council can’t hide from view.
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