The former Government ‘Nudge Unit’ has been privatised into a joint venture with a small Government stake being retained and the remaining two thirds of the organisation going to employees and to NESTA. Ironic then that this ‘behaviour change’ unit is not changing its behaviour one iota from the vested interests in other privatised services with Maude refusing to disclose what, if any, payment the Government received for what is clearly a commercial sale of a former public service. Once services are floated off into these pseudo ‘mutuals’ they have a commercial value and taxpayers have an absolute right to hold Government to account on what these deals mean for the public purse.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26030205
And this from the same Government which has the audacity to attack trade union accountability to its members. Such secrecy has the potential for fraud, corruption and cronyism on the grandest of scales.
These public service spin outs are clearly ripe for the attention of Margaret Hodge and her Public Accounts committee. We have a right to know if services, invested in by the public purse, are being sold off at knock down prices, to cronies.
Anna Rose
