Forget the services so long as profits are ok

The Guardian reports that Capita, Britain's largest public sector outsourcing group, has insisted that its recent talks with Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude will lead to ‘dilution in the quality of public services rather than denting the company's profit margins’. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/18/capita-francis-maude-public-sector-cuts

"We've had an intelligent conversation about whether there were ways that services could be delivered differently — albeit to a more appropriate standard than had maybe been procured — with a view to saving money," said Capita chief executive Paul Pindar. "So that's things like saying: 'Do the turnaround times of services need to be as fast as they've been specified?' Or: 'Is it necessary to have a telephone call answered 95% of the time within 10 seconds?' We've had a very intelligent engagement and looked at a whole raft of contracts that we had with a view to how we could save money in a way that was not going to impact on our profits."

Last month Capita and other major contractors signed a memorandum of understanding with the Coalition Government’s efficiency unit, setting out how existing contracts can be watered down to ease pressure on public finances.

Capita’s growing share of public service back office functions is analysed in a UNISON positively public briefing: http://www.unison.org.uk/file/PP-briefing-December-2009-final.pdf