Council throws blacklisters out

In an unprecedented move, prominent local authority Islington Council, ripped up its contract with notorious blacklisting construction firm Kier. Now, all home repair services in the local authority will be run in-house.

Unite applauded the council for booting Kier, a construction firm involved in last year’s blacklisting scandal which had been running Islington’s home repair services for 14 years at £16.5m a year. The 140 staff employed on the contract will now be council employees.

Although many public bodies have committed to blocking known blacklisting firms from receiving public contracts, Islington council is the first in the country to end its dealings with a firm engaged in the illegal practice.

Unite has called on other councils to follow suit by auditing their contracts for blacklisting and, when appropriate, bringing services back in-house.

Bringing it all back home

Islington’s decision to move all of its home repair services in-house signals a growing trend among local authorities against contracting services out to private firms.

After disastrous, ideologically driven policies of the 1980s, which saw many of the country’s public services held at ransom by profit-hungry firms, local authorities are increasingly turning inward.

A 2009 report by the Association of Public Service Excellence (Apse) found that moving services in-house—“insourcing”—can have a profoundly positive impact on the community.

Since the publication of the Apse report, many local authorities have brought key services, such as recycling, housing management, education, accountancy and IT, back in house.

On Islington’s bold decision to cut ties with Kier, Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said, “Today’s move by Islington council is extremely significant. Residents of that borough can now look forward to a housing repair service that is publicly run with no profit-motive.”

Unite regional secretary, Peter Kavanagh, said, “Bringing services in-house will mean direct accountability of the service provider and workforce to the council. It can invest in training, raise standards, and directly enforce its own equal opportunities policies around employment. For the community, there’ll be the knowledge that part of the council tax will no longer be going towards building the profits of Kier.”

Kavanagh added, “We will be approaching all other councils, particularly Labour ones, holding up the example of Islington and urging them to follow this morally correct route. We will not hold back from campaigning if necessary to expose councils who continue to use blacklisting companies.”

Blacklisting the blacklisters

 

Many workers on blacklists were unable to find work for decades. And as Islington council makes this important move to tell blacklisters that their odious, illegal practices will not be tolerated, more than 100 public bodies have passed resolutions that will blacklist the blacklisters.

Islington council vowed in March that it would no longer do business with any contractors involved in blacklisting.

But Islington is not alone is attempting to eradicate blacklisting. Last year the Welsh Assembly issued guidance to public bodies on excluding blacklisting firms from bidding on public contracts. So it seems at last the message to say no to blacklists is at last beginning to get through.