now im aware that there are plenty of examples public sector greed and dishonesty but it really is quite upsetting….

taking millions from the tax payer to get people a job in asda?
and then it turns out some of the jobs didnt even exist

The chairman of A4e, Emma Harrison, who is believed to be worth £70 million, was named “back to work tsar” by David Cameron and has run the scheme under Labour and Conservative.

Last week, it was reported that Mrs Harrison received a dividend of more than £8 million after the company’s turnover reached £234 million.

When the public accounts committee held its recent session about A4e, Margaret Hodge – the MP for Barking, a former work and pensions minister and now the committee’s chair – was on feisty form. “You are one of the first examples we have had of a company which is entirely dependent on public contracts for your existence,” she told A4e’s chief executive, Andrew Dutton. “The profits you make come from the taxes that ordinary, hard-working people pay.” She went on to question not just the company’s track record, but the cut it takes from the charities and social enterprises with which it works: “sheer profit”, she claimed.

When I speak to her, Hodge does not exactly hold back. She says she first came across A4e in her east London constituency, where it is sub-contracting Work Programme activity to a charity. “It seems like a scam,” she says. “They win the contract, and all they do is sub-contract – to a perfectly adequate organisation in my borough called LifeLine, which has developed out of a church. A4e slice off 12.5%. When I met A4E in Barking, I kept asking: ‘What do you do for that money?’ They said: ‘Well, we put people in touch with national employers.’ But this outfit know Asda and Tesco. They’ve been placing people there forever anyway. A4e has no risk, its contribution is minimal, and it still slices off that money. To you and me, that will feel like a scam.”

Its the “Big Society” personified. Expect to see a lot more of this.

Private Companies and Charities are invited to bid to provide Local Authority or government services. Except the rules are skewed so there is no way the charities can even begin to compete.

Result: G4S, Capita, or whoever the latest Tory Party contributor is, gets awarded the contract. Then immediately subcontracts out the work to said charities, first taking a massive cut for doing **** all!

Coming soon to the NHS of course. The same system is being set up so that charities and GP consortiums cannot hope to compete with private healthcare providers

Sorry, I was going to read the story properly but then I got distracted by the Busted! story 🙂

You left out the best bit, for all that cash they reported a 9% success rate.

It ill definitely work with the nhs though, Dave and Andrew say so. 🙄

I worked for them (A4e) briefly as a temp, they were dodgy as, and fired me for making a manager look incompetent (he was) in front of the entire office. Even the temping agency thought it was funny…

i too was sucked in by the danish princess’ cleavage 😳

yeah their 9% success rate is laughable

as a balance, part (IMHO a large part), is the fact that the public sector are incapable of getting a decent contract (ie payback clauses, correct reward structure and general vfm), e.g PFI (which will crucify us in the future) took two parties to arrange and the one holding the purse strings was the public sector

the public sector are incapable of getting a decent contract

That’s not always true. For example, take a look at how we handle the pricing of branded pharmaceuticals. Under the PPRS scheme, profits for pharma companies in the UK are tightly controlled, and a balance is struck between allowing private companies to make money (which they kind of need to do, they won’t supply at a loss) and getting a decent price on drugs for the NHS. I’m not saying it’s a perfect system, but it’s not half bad: we in the UK get some of the cheapest prices on branded drugs in the world, to the point where we have a problem with pharmacists and wholesalers exporting essential medication because they can make more selling the stuff abroad than supplying it to NHS patients.

So: the public sector can negotiate effectively with big businesses, and can set up strong deals in our interest if it wants to. It doesn’t happen magically though, you need to use the right people and make sure they can do their jobs properly. Unfortunately from what I’ve heard recently it looks like the gov’t have just got shot of all the people who used to handle PPRS at the DH so this could all get ballsed-up shortly.

Just to be clear I am not defending private business milking the public sector, at all. At first glance the A4e story is nauseating. I despair of the governments this country seems doomed to end up with, I really do. Money money money and **** everything else. 🙁

At first glance the A4e story is nauseating

Doesn’t get any better with scrutiny.

But it has the Private Sector involved so must be more efficient and better value for money! It’s simply inconceivable that there is any other way (if you’re a member of the Tory Party).

That’s all that matters with religious nutters (of which the Tories are a good example) – follow the mantra and never question anything to do with your religion.

e.g PFI (which will crucify us in the future) took two parties to arrange and the one holding the purse strings was the public sector

That’s a bit disingenuous – there was plenty of opposition from the public sector towards PFI. The likes of Allyson Pollock predicted exactly what was going to happen, and criticised it for that very reason. IIRC, she was dismissed by the likes of the CBI as being a union lackey.

As for rubbish public sector procurement: it doesn’t help when i. the Gov pretty much enforces this kind of thing, using dodgy comparators to make such schemes appear better value than they are & ii. when policy is pretty much being written by revolving door management consultant berks, who benefit hugely from the outcome (see both DoH & MOD). It’s no surprise that McKinsey’s dirty paws are all over the new NHS Bill.

sobriety – Member
I worked for them (A4e) briefly as a temp, they were dodgy as, and fired me for making a manager look incompetent (he was) in front of the entire office. Even the temping agency thought it was funny…

It seems the police think so too:

‘Family champion’ Emma Harrison steps down from role

Entrepreneur Emma Harrison has stepped down as the government’s “family champion” amid a police probe into irregularities at her company A4e.

As part of its work, A4e handles millions of pounds worth of government contracts for welfare-to-work schemes.

Her decision comes after four ex-members of staff of A4e were arrested on suspicion of fraud at the company.

A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said he respected the decision and thanked Ms Harrison for her work.

In a statement, Ms Harrison said she did not want the probe to distract from the government’s attempts to help unemployed people.

She said: “I have asked to step aside from my voluntary role as family champion as I do not want the current media environment to distract from the very important work with troubled families,” she said in a statement.

“I remain passionate about helping troubled families and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute in an area where I have been active for many years.”

David Cameron appointed Ms Harrison to the role in 2010.

On Thursday, after Ms Harrison revealed her decision, his spokesman said he “thanked her for all her work up to now”.

On Wednesday it was revealed former workers at the company – two women aged 28 and 49 and two men, aged 35 and 41 – were arrested last month and bailed until mid-March.

The government said then it understood the investigation into A4e’s offices in Slough, Berkshire, did not relate to its Work Programme, which helps the jobless find employment.

A4e said the alleged fraud dated back to 2010 and had been uncovered by its own internal investigation.

A4e had referred a total of nine cases of possible irregularities to the Department of Work and Pensions.

The company said the DWP cleared all but but the two remaining cases of possible malpractice.

The second police investigation reportedly involves a subcontractor of the company.

There are now two police investigations into the allegations of fraud.

Mr Cameron has told Parliament there needs to be a “thorough investigation” into what happened.

“It needs to get to the truth and then we can take into account its findings.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17145225

Its the “Big Society” personified

Tony’s big society?

In recent months we’ve heard some dangerous rhetoric creep into our national debate that wealth creation is somehow anti-social, that people in business are out for themselves,”
“We have got to fight this mood with all we’ve got. Not just because it’s wrong for our economy because we need the jobs and investment it brings, but because it’s wrong for our society. Business is not just about making money, as vital as that is. It’s also the most powerful force for social progress the world has ever known.” Call me Dave earlier today…except A4E of course!

On Thursday, the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 82% state-owned, announced a loss of £2bn for last year.Last month chief executive Stephen Hester turned down his bonus of nearly £1m following political pressure. The bank announced on Thursday that its investment bankers would share £390m in bonuses – of a total bonus pool for staff of £785m.

During my last holiday job which I’d done for three years in a row between university semesters, I lost my job because the Hotel started taking unemployed workers that they didn’t have to pay on this back to work scheme.

Brilliant **** idea! Introduce slave labour…..that’ll decrease unemployment and create new jobs….not!

Cameron et al have their heads in cloud cuckoo land, it’s what you get when you vote in a bunch of Etonian **** who were part of the Bullingdon club at Oxford.

I know people who work for A4e and they know it is a truly dodgy business, they are commission based and expected to work 80 hours a week, i’ve been told of regular 3am working to hit deadlines. They could employ two people for every one they have currently and help the Govt out with it’s jobless figures.

The staff also fear that this is a house of cards and they are ambitious people who may have a big black mark on there CV’s.

It is not surprising that such obvious greed at the top of the pile is going to filter down. The pay structure is designed to encourage systematic fraudulant activity.

The staff are also told how to answer questions regarding their leaders wealth and apparantly it all comes from her husbands brewing industry.

The concept of someone who is taking an £8 million dividend knowing about how to help the long term jobless is what gets me…. I find it difficult to imagine anyone with less idea of what might be needed frankly.

Whats most incredible about the whole thing is that the government appointed her to a senior civil service position in the first place. When she’s in charge of a company that benefits from huge multi-million pound government contracts that are… and lets be generous her…. controversial

They’re so lazy, conceited and arrogant that they’re not even bothered about this utterly glaring conflict of interest

I see she’s had to resign

dodgy as anything

as another high quality employer bails out

slave labour

Emma Harrison has resigned.

Regarding awful contracts that the public sector enters into with the private sector, here are a couple of little anecdotes from my little corner of it…

I work for the National Probation Service (as was), more accurately my local Probation Trust indeed I’m sitting bored to tears in one of our 24/7 outposts right now. We used to have our own maintenance division who would handle all manner of facilities management. In the interests of ‘efficiency’ the Home Office decided to put facilities management out to tender some years ago. Various companies bid for it and an outfit called Interserve won. The contract is worth many millions of pounds per annum (far more than the cost of X number of counties/municipalities arranging their own).

Last August we had a minor issue with the roofing on one of our offices, we phoned it in to Interserve HQ as we were bound to do. Some days later three men arrived with a sophisticated hydraulic lift and proceeded to remove and replace precisely 5 roof tiles. Noticing their accents we enquired as to where they had travelled from, their answer was Gateshead. Well, we’re a major conurbation that couldn’t be any further from Gateshead without being in France! 😯

Everytime one of our striplights burns out we are duty bound to follow the same procedure. Two recent instances of this resulted in electricians travelling here from Exeter and Milton Keynes respectively. One of them stayed in a hotel overnight, all paid for by ‘us’ and by logical extension you, the tax payer.

This process is repeated many times over across our organisation and the public sector at large. It’s utterly laughable. In the past we would have simply replaced the striplights ourselves with the only expense being the cost of the new bulb. Additionally, as with the minor roofing problem and everything else we would have used local tradesmen and/or local businesses to supply our needs, thereby benefitting the local economy. Not any more.

Important to have a balanced view of life isn’t it? google A4e and spot the mp, and former cabinet minister, that advises them and is paid for his time. Which party do you think he is from??

blunket ? Yup he’s part of the same privatisation obsessed government we’ve had since the 80s

another shining beacon of profit uber alles?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/mar/08/forensics-blunder-convictions

Gotta make the working classes work! Of course, we want to work, it’s a pride thing. But you have to make work pay.

There are 5 different versions of the Workfare programmes in place, Tesco got the backlash when they (mis?)advertised a warehouse night shift worker job paying JSA plus bus fares…..

There is a right way to do it, and we can forget about party allegiance, particularly when labour do this:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-tries-to-outflank-tories-on-welfare-7546203.html

2.7mil unemployed, 470,000 jobs max. How many of those jobs listed are full-time permanent jobs though? A worker in a West Midlands jobcentre anonymously gave the situation in his office.

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/13661

Overtime for those in work may be going down as a result of this. Workers are already on reduced pay, being asked to take days off, yet the cost of living continues to go up. I don’t get paid overtime, yet when the keyholder turns up late, my hours are docked! And in unfortunate cases, as above, Bwaarp lost his holiday job, replaced by these Workfare workers. Workers the tax payer is funding, not the businesses.

It’s pretty obvious the government cannot administer all this. The civil service is a bloated monstrosity due to the successive Labour governments but these tenders will go to companies like A4e. Private doctors from ATOS will be failing to look up from their desks to properly interview disabled people, and striking them off when they are in a coma and couldn’t manage to make the booked appointment.

We’re all going to live in fear of our jobs now, and our family lives will suffer accordingly.

Hahahaha!

Things still not working out then, don’t worry and stop over analising 😯 everything.

Trust in the government and thier lackies 😆

Assholes in charge shits gonna happen 😀

Kimbers

Its a tough question isn’t it? Which is worse – when the private sector gets involved in the government or when government gets involved (euphamism – content) in the private sector? 😉

There’s no such thing as the private sector.

There are milions of companies, big and small, all trying to make a living in their own way.

kaesae

Hahahaha!

Things still not working out then, don’t worry and stop over analising everything.

Trust in the government and thier lackies

Assholes in charge shits gonna happen

Grumble, grumble, grumble (apathy takes over) <bend over and spread em!> We’re English, remember when the world map was covered in red? It didn’t get that way by lying down in front of a steamroller driven by laughing politicians and their money grubbing mates. So many people saying there’s nothing they can do. No surprise with the recent NHS petition that got the signatures yet was denied time.

It’s like Foxconn and Apple. Apple check Foxconn is working correctly, but Foxconn has sub contracted to other companies that exploit without being checked. Our government is handing over juicy contracts to for-profit companies who we know are going to tear the fabric of our society apart with greed at the fore. They get their money and ‘resign’ to live the life.

@ bravohotel8er

Everytime one of our striplights burns out we are duty bound to follow the same procedure. Two recent instances of this resulted in electricians travelling here from Exeter and Milton Keynes respectively. One of them stayed in a hotel overnight, all paid for by ‘us’ and by logical extension you, the tax payer.

Sounds true to me. Colleague worked in a training center built and run by PFI. Leaving aside the fact that 30 years down the line the public will have paid for the building but won’t own it any time they need to make any alteration even as small as getting a new whiteboard they have to go through the contractor which costs several times as much.

In another area I have heard several people both former staff and prisoners state that in some privately run prisons there is no great effort made to find contraband in the cells as the private operator is then fined since this is a performance measure. Many blind eyes are being turned.