Torbay LG Branch - Reshaping Portal

After the recent, highly successful Reshaping or Pearshaping campaign conducted by UNISON, it would appear that the re-shaping agenda is no more.

This isn't to say that it's gone away: indeed it has re-appeared under the nifty banner of Transform Torbay. Catchy, huh?

But is it substantially different from the Reshaping campaign? Indeed not. Public Services are still under threat from the Private Sector, there is still little evidence to support the idea that Private Sector involvement in Public Sector work provides improvement in services, value for money or better accountability to service users.

In actual fact, Reshaping was simply 'Phase 1' of the whole process; putting commissioners in place. Phase 2 which is known as Transform Torbay is all about selling off the Public Services in Torbay. Sorry, we mean 'commissioning' of services.

UNISON and its' members are very concerned about a number of things. Firstly, the process itself - or rather the business model it's based upon. It has been clearly established in a report by APSE that the much vaunted 'Grant-Thornton' report is seriously flawed. In the current climate, the chances of a financial institution supporting such a flawed business model (if say, Torbay Council were a small business) are very slim indeed. But this is what we, the council tax payers and electorate are being asked to do at the behest of our 'visionary' mayor.

The APSE report clearly shows that Torbay Council is not a poorly performing council and is not losing money 'hand-over-fist' as some would have us believe. So the case for 'Radical Change', we believe, is driven by politics and dogma rather than the best interests of the service users and our our communities.

The second is the absolute lack of consultation with communities, service users, employees and the electorate/council tax payers. We believe that telling people what's going to happen is 'information' NOT 'consultation'. Consultation is a process where opinions are canvassed and policies altered. Information, which is what has occurred so far, is informing people of how things will change, regardless of they feel about it.

That sounds more 'Autocratic' than 'Democratic' and we are very concerned that dogma and politics are circumventing democracy in Torbay.

Finally, we are concerned about our members jobs. As mentioned previously, it would appear that we are being led down the path of Profit-geared public services, with reduced or negligible accountability, and the only people who are likely to suffer any bad effects are the Service Users and employees. Neither UNISON or service users have been asked if they think that privatisation (sorry - commissioning) is going to deliver better public services. Neither UNISON or service users or communities have been asked whether 'in-house' service delivery plans will offer better public services. Our major concern is that private companies will tender for 'contracts', discard staff to produce 'efficiencies' (which will then be claimed by those in power as 'savings'), and when the 'contract' stops paying profits to share-holders, we the council tax payers will have to buy them out.

UNISON wants consultation not information. Publicly accountable in-house service delivery plans before sell-offs (sorry - commissioning). Democracy not Autocracy - keep our public services publicly accountable. Public Service efficiency savings put back in to Public Services, not handed to private profiteers.

Transformation - What does it mean? Well according to a well known dictionary it means to change in form or appearance. This would suggest that the idea is to paper over the cracks with Private Sector investment, rather than achieve any tangible improvement in public services for the council tax payers of Torbay.

We would prefer to see a reform of Public Services in Torbay. Using the same ever popular Dictionary: Reform - the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory. This seems like a much better way of improving the value for money, accountability and level of Public Services in Torbay.

Let those who know how Public Services work, who know what the council tax payers of Torbay want, who listen to council tax payers every day, who want to deliver efficient customer-centric Public Services, that are value for money help to deliver them.

Let your councillors and elected mayor know that we don't want to transform Torbay by changing the appearance of local public services. Let them know that we don't need to lose the control of Public Services we have by selling them to the highest bidder.

Let them know that we don't want a superficial 'change in appearance' for public services in Torbay! We want Publicly accountable Public Services, driven by the needs of our customers, not by profit-driven private sector 'Partners'

Join the campaign! E-mail your support to reshaping@unisontorbay.org.uk