21 January 2014
MPs across political parties are launching a new bill as part of a campaign to give people more control over public services. The Private Members' Bill is being led by Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, and is supported by Labour MPs Katy Clark, John McDonnell and Grahame Morris, Liberal Democrat MP John Leech and Rt Hon Elfyn Llwyd MP from Plaid Cymru.
The Bill, to be presented in Parliament on Wednesday 22 January, would make public ownership the default option, give the public a say over whether services are privatised and ensure private companies running services are more accountable and transparent. It would cover a range of services, including the NHS, public transport, and local services such as schools and libraries.
The Private Member’s Bill is based on work by We Own It, which campaigns to shift the debate on public ownership, and to be a voice for public service users.
It would:
- Make public ownership the default option before any services, national or local, are contracted out to the private sector
- Require there to be a realistic and thorough in-house bid whenever a service is put out to tender
- Ensure there is full consideration of public opinion before any service is privatised or outsourced
- Give the public a right to recall private companies running public services poorly
- Require private companies running public services to be transparent about their performance and financial data (as in the public sector)
- Make private companies running public services subject to Freedom of Information requests (as in the public sector)
- Give social enterprises and mutuals, as well as public sector organisations, priority in tendering processes
Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:
“Increasingly we’re seeing different ways public ownership can deliver high-quality, cost-efficient services The publicly owned East Coast line, for example, delivered over £200 million back to the taxpayer last year. Councils are starting to bring services back in house, because it’s more cost-efficient. ”
Grahame Morris, MP for Easington, said “This Bill is a first step towards giving public service users a voice and increasing transparency and accountability. I hope MPs will give it their full backing. Public services are too important to be delivered without any democracy, without input from the people who use them. If we're serious about saving the public purse, public ownership should be one of the first options we consider, not the last. It is important that the public sector is not put at a disadvantage and it is even more important that tax-payers know who is getting their money.”
Rt Hon Elfyn Llwyd, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said:
"Public opinion is strongly on the side of this Bill, and so is the evidence. Public ownership needs to be the default option, outsourcing companies must be held to account and privatisation shouldn't go ahead unless the public supports it. I'm very pleased to back this initiative."
Cat Hobbs, Director of We Own It, said:
“Public ownership is popular, and people are sick of the endless stream of sell-offs and outsourcing deals. This Bill would give all of us a real say over what happens to OUR public services. Privatisation has failed and now we need openness, transparency and accountability. All parties need to get behind the Public Service Users Bill and stand up for the rights of ordinary people, not dodgy outsourcing giants."
Last year We Own It carried out polling which showed that:
60% of the public support public ownership being a default option before services are contracted out
79% believe the public should be consulted before any service is privatised or outsourced
88% believe there should be a right to recall private companies doing a bad job
88% believe private companies running public services should be transparent about their performance and financial data
48% mistakenly believe that private companies running public services are already subject to Freedom of Information Legislation
The short title of the Bill will be: ‘Public Services (Ownership and User Involvement) Bill’
The long title will be: ‘Bill to promote public ownership of public services; to introduce a presumption in favour of service provision by public sector and not for profit entities; and to put in place mechanisms to increase the accountability, transparency and public control of public services including those operated by private companies.’
Photo used under Creative Commons licensing, thanks to Isofarro.
Comments
Edith Robson replied on Permalink
Great. I object strongly to things which belong to us all being sold off to a few. Especially when the public purse has to pay even more to maintain or support the private enterprise. Selling of East Coast trains - which do a fabulous job - is worse than appalling. None of the bidders come anyway near that quality of service. Why can't the public ie the current owners have a say.
Good luck with the bill
Jim Snowball replied on Permalink
I whole heartedly support this initiative which has been long overdue. Well done Caroline Lucas
Mick Hawes replied on Permalink
The saddest thing in my lifetime has been the giving away of national assets so that profits can be made while workers are treated badly and service to the public suffers. As soon as it started under Thatcher the Labour Party should have said that all such assets would revert to public ownership with NO COMPENSATION when they got back into power.
John Taylor replied on Permalink
Well, it has been l o n g awaited, like a decent summer. But WHY has it had the need in the first place? WE DO OWN IT, by virtue of high taxation. Let's not loose the plot.
Es Will replied on Permalink
So far, so good. a persisting problem is belief in private sector competance,motivation and the power of contracts.1.Since Private Health Care (and its bogus implications for better outcome, backed up by the NHS) is worth tolerating as a benchmark for the NHS so a public East Coast Mainline is worth running as an exemplar of public service possibilities (as a benchmark for private rail companies) 2.It is apparent that contracting is a complex series of processes and applying successfully, using formats often provided by govt (the very means by which G4S developed),is only a first step in ensuring performance,affordability and viability. Making policy and agreeing contracts is perhaps easier than maintaining supervision of standards and costs, yet those are the steps that govt hands over to QANGOs. The need for govt then to beg the privatised companies to do the best thing for the population is part of the privatisation process. 'Blunders of our govts' (Anthony King) shows only too clearly the pitfalls of the mindset, when disdain for practical implementation is added to an idealising zeal for destroying public services. The latter can readily become another, obsessional version of 'keell zem all', without being funny.
Richard Campbell replied on Permalink
I feel the wholesale privatisation of our public bodies and utilities has been an unmitigated disaster for the country and the majority of its people. You only have to regularly read and investigative journal like "Private Eye" to see the whole shabby exercise laid bare. Is it not time for our elected members of parliament to represent us, the people, and not simply pander to the interests of big business? Enough is enough, the gravy train has run into the buffers.
Paul Philo replied on Permalink
This cross party and no party campaign is well overdue.To our detriment public ownership is being pushed back.The campaign is needed to turn the tide the other way
Paul Philo Green party
John Melhuish replied on Permalink
I support this. The selling off of public assets at below their value (e.g council houses, Royal Mail etc.) is simply a form od taxation on we, the electorate, who are the owners. The whole privatisation model is failing. It simply produces more giants such as Serco, G4S etc. which like the Banks cannot be allowed to go bust and hence are spared the ultimate punishment for bad management.
Austin Harney replied on Permalink
This bill is important because Barnet Council is outsourcing its public services with, hardly, any consultation with the public by producing the most unreadable documents and then ignoring protests from residents. Also, this outsourcing is an underhanded attempt to bust the local unions who are about to lose all their time for Trade Union duties that save the taxpayer £5 for every payment of £1. We must stop this outsourcing categorically. Austin Harney, Resident and Secretary of Barnet Trades Union Council.
alan milne replied on Permalink
if we look at the east coast rail line as an example it is the only line that has raised a profit and that 600milion plus goes directly to the treasury . we all are not stupid a lot of taxpayers money has been and continues to do so subsidise privatised busses water electric exetra and the profits go to other county's or some fat cats pocket
David Bacon replied on Permalink
Time was when we had a mixed economy. Sometimes the private sector is better than the public sector, but this is not always the case.
Aneurin Bevan thought that the 'commanding heights of the economy' should be in the public sector and events have shown how right he was. Since privatisation, the railways, water companies and energy companies have all produced poorer services at greater cost. The Royal Mail appears to have been sold for around one third of its real value - the taxpayer will lose out here - and NHS costs rise with privatisation of some of its services. Education looks as though it could one day enter the private sector and so called 'free schools' are not accountable to local taxpayers who fund them. Lets have a government who will take some of these back into the public sector and run them efficiently.
Vanessa replied on Permalink
This Coalition is taking away ALL of OUR PUBLIC services which were put in place to protect us, the private sector cannot do this as well as the PUBLIC sector can and I wish to preserve the public sector
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