All change for all of us!
I will be interested to see how Suffolk Council’s plans to outsource services will look in the future and how they will affect each of us on a day-to-day basis. There is no doubt that there should be as little waste as possible where the public’s money is concerned.
Of course, I do sympathise with those who will be considered ‘redundant’ and lose their jobs as result. I only hope that they will manage to see this as a chance to go ahead and do what they always wanted to do. This makes me think of George Clooney’s character (Ryan Bingham) in ‘Up in the Air’s who makes a living of firing people and spins them the same line each time about how they now have the chance to turn their lives around. I know it sounds patronising and isn’t what one wants to hear when you face redundancy but it can be the making of a person. Indeed, I am only a business owner myself and took voluntary redundancy years ago! Best decision of my life!
I am fearful of standards slipping in key areas too. I hope outsourcing won’t mean that there is a lack of commitment to public services. If most of the council’s services are outsourced and fragmented, I suppose there is a chance that no-one will ultimately feel responsible. Will it not require a great deal of checking up on behlf of government watchdogs to ensure the job is being done properly, particularly where children’s services are concerned. What are your views on this?
