PRESS RELEASE - LABOUR EXPRESSES DISGUST AT UNDERHAND PRIVATISATION

The Labour councillors at County Hall are expressing their disgust at the underhand and unconstitutional manner in which the proposed privatisation of the role of Director of Children’s Services is being handled.

Next week there will be a special Council Cabinet meeting - to which it is recommended by the Deputy Leader of the Council that a preferred private company be appointed to replace outgoing Director, David Pettitt - initially on a daily basis, but with a view to a longer-term contract – costing £200k per annum.

Labour Councillor’s Deborah Gardiner & Geoff Lumley said,

“The way this is being handled is disgusting. We were told at the November Council meeting that there was ‘no business’ to trouble a December Council meeting, so they had cancelled it. And yet we now have a major decision about the future direction of education and children’s services about to be bounced through a Cabinet on the same date. Clearly more a case of ‘none of your business’ rather than no business.

Our main concerns are:

1. This privatisation was not mentioned in the Tories manifesto and there has been no consultation whatsoever with opposition Councillors, schools, governors, parents or the general public;
2. The privatisation is being rushed through out of claimed necessity, purely due to the unseemly haste with which the Conservatives are getting rid of David Pettitt and Kim Johnson;
3. This was not publicised in the Cabinet’s ‘Forward Plan’ even though they have known about Mr Pettitt’s departure for at least four weeks;
4. It is constitutionally for the Full Council to appoint senior officers through a politically balanced appointment panel, but the Tories are bouncing this through their Cabinet;
5. Council standing orders for private contracts have been ignored and will only be waived retrospectively by next week’s Cabinet. Appropriate advertising has not been placed to secure the preferred contractor and it makes you wonder what connections there might be with whoever gets the contract;
6. The Tory-appointed Scrutiny Committee will be banned from blocking this decision for 6 weeks by the Cabinet, which is the very body making this disgusting decision;
7. £200k seems to be an inordinate amount of money compared to the joint salaries of those officers who are leaving. A huge sum of money in relation to the way this contract is being let.
   

We have sought clarification from the Council’s legal advisor, but have effectively been fobbed off.

If the Cabinet proceeds with this decision next Wednesday, then the Labour Group and (we are sure) councillors from other groups will do everything they can to ensure that this dictatorial and arrogant Tory Council is held to account."