Carillion and LS&S; the dangers of library privatisation.

Carillion

It's amazing how many people didn't know that Carillion ran 4 library services in London.
In 2012 Harrow, Ealing, Hounslow and Croydon outsourced their library services to John Laing Integrated Services who then sold the contract on to Carillion in 2013. In 2017 Hounslow terminated its contract with Carillion and in the last few days Croydon followed suit after news that the firm had been liquidated, but even before the final crash came about news was coming out of the borough that Carillion were doing a bad job and couldn't even pay their newspapers bills!
Harrow and Ealing have yet to play their hands both claiming that it would be too costly to take the services back in-house and look likely to re-outsource with GLL being mentioned in some quarters.
I've been keeping tabs on Carillion's library venture since 2013 and have consistently over this time heard from good sources that they were making a real hash of things. Right from the start Unison, the main union representing library workers, experienced barriers in negotiating recognition agreements which really isn't that surprising considering Carillion's involvement in a major blacklisting scandal. If you wanted tangible proof of their mismanagement you only had to visit Croydon Central Library, it was a mess with half-empty and untidy shelves, one of the worst children's libraries you've ever seen and a visible lack of staff or even self-service kiosks that worked, it was a disgrace.
Anyway Carillion are no more and i live in hope that this has acted as a wake up call to councils, especially Labour ones, who are considering privatising such a crucial statutory service.

LS&S (formerly LSSI)

The US private library firm LS&S have recently lost a contract in Santa Clarita, California. Staffing shortages, unfilled vacancies, low morale and a drastic drop in usage have been cited as the reasons for termination of the contract. Now this didn't come as a surprise to my comrade Lori Rivas and other campaigners/users in Santa Clarita who not only put up an epic battle against privatisation in the first place but have also been raising issues and concerns since the contract was signed. Solidarity and congratulations to Lori et al.
Last week, after a law suit and community protests, LS&S won the contract to run libraries in nearby Escondido. Campaigners have vowed to keep fighting and let's hope they do.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/17/london-libraries-assess-impact-of-carillion-collapse
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-library-outsourcing-20180110-story.html
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-library-opposition-20180116-story.html

Update on Carillion.

In response to my recent post entitled 'The law of the building site; Carillion and public libraries' I've received the following information;

Approx 100 individuals have been given "at risk of redundancy" notices across Croydon, Ealing, Harrow and Hounslow Libraries and Culture. Carillion employ about 500 people in Libraries in the four Boroughs, so this is about 20% of all staff.  The distribution of "at risk" individuals/roles is not evenly distributed across the Boroughs, some have less some have more.

These restructure proposals were written in early 2013 before the Carillion buy out of JLIS. The implementation date for the new structure, which would involve a minimum of 30 job losses across the four Boroughs, has been set for 1st of February 2014.

I've been told that there are both zero hours and agency staff in all the Boroughs. These people could theoretically be sacked with a week's notice, so may be that's where this comment came from.

In respect of Children's and Youth Services, and library services in general, I've been told that Carillion appear to have no basic interest in these and really only bought JLIS out to gain access to their 'Facilities Management' contracts.

I've also been told that negotiations are ongoing over restructuring and redundancies and that the zero-hours issue has also been raised.

The law of the building site; Carillion and public libraries.

If a recent comment posted on my site is to be believed, and I have no reason to doubt it, then it looks as if Carillion have tried to introduce the law of the building site into public libraries;

"Well in Harrow ALL the managers and qualified librarians and back room (stock services) staff were given their marching orders. Upwards of 20 staff sacked with 1 week notice. The union is involved now and the staff have not left yet. Carillion haven't finished yet, they are set to look at other groups of staff, eg schools + young peoples services next. Meanwhile new recruits are going on a zero hours contract."

I've heard stories from friends who work on building sites that they and other workers have been told to pack their tools with a days, a weeks or with no notice. This, and blacklisting, seems to be common practise in the construction industry. 

This shocking news about Harrow fits in with the other bits and pieces I've heard from Ealing and Croydon where staff are being threatened with redundancies and 'restructuring', many more will flee with ER/VR packages if they can get them? As yet i haven't heard anything from Hounslow, but that's not surprising as it's always been very hard to get inside information from that service.

The comment about zero-hours contracts doesn't surprise me, GLL also use these in Greenwich and Wandsworth Libraries, as far as we know? What is shocking is that they are no longer just being used to keep a pool of temps such as students and the retired, who may be suited by these arrangements, to cover busy periods but it's being claimed that they are now being used for all new recruits? This is a worrying escalation.

If this cull does take place then many skilled and professional staff will be lost and the staff who are left behind may find themselves having to deal with short staffing, increased workloads and low morale which will undoubtedly have an adverse effect on the quality of the service.

A Public Service Award for ignoring the public and privatising (and cutting) public services!

The Guardian have just awarded their Public Service Awards for 2013 and the one that immediately caught my eye was the winner of the 'Financial Excellence Award', Brent, Harrow and Ealing councils. They apparently won the award for;

"..combining their purchasing power and driving a hard bargain, three west London councils are turning loss-making leisure centres and libraries that were heading for closure into modern community hubs."

Now i can't really comment on the leisure centres part of this, won by all three councils, apart from saying that they should be managed in-house, but i can and will comment on the libraries part.

A short while ago Harrow and Ealing outsourced their libraries to John Laing Integrated Services (JLIS), who also ran Hounslow and Croydon Libraries, even though in Harrow 74% of those consulted said that they wanted the service to remain in-house and in Ealing, Unison and library users protested against the handover.
Then approx 4 weeks ago JLIS where bought-out by Carillion, the support services and construction firm who along with others where instigated in the blacklisting scandal, they have also been accused of bullying staff into accepting lower terms and conditions at a hospital in Swindon. This buyout was apparently done without consultation and apparently came as a surprise to the staff and service users effected.

I will also mention Brent, although they haven't outsourced their libraries they did close 6 of them despite huge public protest and according to recent CIPFA data the performance of the service has deteriorated considerably since then.

Whether you class outsourcing/privatising and cutting services as 'Financial Excellence' and thus worthy of an award really depends on what side of the political fence you sit on, something i wish the Guardian would make it's mind up about before making unsubstantiated statements such as;
"Contracting out the management of leisure centres and libraries to not-for-profit trusts through innovative, multi-borough contracts will create more modern and inclusive services, and save an estimated £30m over 10 years."

JLIS bought out by Carillion

A few weeks ago a couple of big birdies told me that JLIS, the company that manages Hounslow, Ealing, Harrow and Croydon Libraries, where soon to be bought out. And lo and behold;

"The company John Laing, which includes Croydon LBC and Tunbridge Wells BC among its contracted clients, announced it had sold its support services and facilities management business to Carillion plc because it no longer fitted with core business.
All staff in the division, called John Laing Integrated Services (JLIS), have transferred directly over.
The sale was unconditional and took place on 18 October 2013."

http://www.lgcplus.com/laing-sells-out-to-carillion/5064520.article?blocktitle=Latest-Local-Government-News&contentID=2249

What this will mean for users and staff who knows? Although it must be a little unsettling to say the least as staff and users in Ealing, Harrow & Croydon have only just got to know JLIS in the last few weeks (Hounslow has been run by them for over 5 years) and are now going to have to start again. A recent article also raises concerns about the lack of communication and consultation involved in the takeover;

"It is understood members of staff at the libraries were not informed of the sale and only realised a change had taken place after they noticed their emails had changed last weekend.
There is also confusion as to how the handover with Carillion will take place, with employees being told that previous arrangements with JLIS such as child credits are now suspended until further notice."
 

The other thing that might worry staff is the Carillion's reputation for being anti-union and for cutting jobs and terms and conditions, see;
http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/gmb-carillion-swindon-protest-over-cuts  

I'm sure we will find out soon enough!

For an excellent analysis see;

http://insidecroydon.com/2013/10/25/library-operators-carillions-shady-record-on-blacklistings/
http://insidecroydon.com/2013/10/22/laing-exit-library-business-after-taking-over-in-croydon/

Ealing Gazette readers say no to Library Privatisation

 

According to a quick poll (see below) in the Ealing Gazette the overwhelming majority of people who read the paper have said no to Library Privatisation, so why are the Council pushing ahead with it? A Council that has come out openly against the privatisation of the NHS!

 

Quick Vote

Is Ealing Council right to involve a private company in running the borough's libraries if it will save money?

Yes
24.8%
No
75.2%


see http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/ealing-news/local-ealing-news/2013/05/22/private-company-set-to-run-ealing-libraries-64767-33369205/

The Privatisation of Ealing Libraries (with an update)

Last night i attended a lobby against the privatisation of Ealing Libraries. The lobby, organised by Ealing Unison, took place outside the Town Hall and was well attended with a healthy mixture of Trade Unionists, staff and community activists turning up.

Statement from Ealing Unison on proposals to privatise the Borough's Libraries

KEEP LIBRARIES PUBLIC

On 21st May 2013 Ealing Council will be voting to privatise the Library Service. John Laing Integrated Services have been recommended as the preferred bidder. Ealing Unison and its members in the Library Service are urging the Council not to support this recommendation.
We are concerned that there has been no public consultation with Library users about how their service should be run. We fail to understand the indecent haste with which Ealing Council is happy to off-load a much loved service to the private sector. We fear that the public service ethos that has served the people of Ealing and their Library Service over many years will be replaced by the rapacious demands of the market place and the balance sheet. This, we feel, will inevitably lead to future job losses and a further dumbing down and hollowing out of the service, as old library buildings bequeathed to the people of Ealing by philanthropists such as John Passmore Edwards and Andrew Carnegie, are sold off to property speculators and replaced and relocated in the reception rooms of leisure centres and swimming pools.
We appreciate that Ealing along with many other councils has been placed in a difficult financial position by the coalition government, who are happy to make the public sector and the people who rely on these services, pay for the crimes of the banksters and tax avoiding spivs who created the current crisis. however, not many councils, even those under Conservative administration, have taken the decision to privatise their Library Services.
Why is the Labour council in Ealing in such a hurry? Ealing Council has been vocal in it's support of the campaign against privatisation in the NHS. It would therefore be a contradiction for them to support the privatisation of its Library Service. the record also shows that all the services that have been privatised in Ealing in the last fifteen years have failed in private hands and have been brought back "in-house".
the 250k savings that the council is seeking to make from the Library Service constitutes a tiny percentage of the overall council budget and will make little impression on the amount Ealing will have to find over the next few years. Ealing Council does however spend around £18m per annum on consultants fees and employing agency staff. Ealing Council is also in the fortunate position of sitting on a large reserve, of around £65m, which could be used to mitigate any cuts to services, all of which calls in to question the necessity of privatising the Library Service!

for an update on this story see;
http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/shared/eacounclib173.htm

Library and Leisure Services to be Contracted Out - Ealing Today - 16/5/13

http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/shared/eacouncil172.htm

"A meeting of Ealing Council on 21st May is to be asked to rubber stamp a proposal to contract out library and leisure services in the borough.

If the plan is approved, John Laing Ltd. will take over the running of the library service. They already run the libraries in Hounslow and Harrow and the latter borough would act as the client on behalf of London Borough of Ealing in what would be a shared contract."

Just to remind everyone that there is a lobby against the privatisation proposals outside Ealing Town Hall on 21/5/13 at 6.30pm.

Harrow and Ealing; an update

It seems that Harrow and Ealing have put of the decision to privatise their library services for another month, the decision was due in April but now wont be made untill May 2013.
I'm afraid i don't know the reason for this but it seems to be the norm in procurement processes.

For background see;
http://www.harrow.gov.uk/www2/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=77847
http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/ealing-news/local-ealing-news/2013/02/11/private-companies-could-play-role-in-running-ealing-libraries-64767-32788646/

also;
http://dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Harrow




 

'Private companies could play role in running Ealing libraries' - Ealing Gazette - 11/2/13

http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/ealing-news/local-ealing-news/2013/02/11/private-companies-could-play-role-in-running-ealing-libraries-64767-32788646/

"A TRADE union is calling on Ealing Council to reject plans to outsource the borough’s libraries which they say may lead to a worse service for little saving.
The council says it is not privatising the borough's 15 libraries and the service will not be affected. It says the plans are for a private company to run them in a similar way that Greenwich Leisure Limited operate the borough’s leisure centres.
Mary Lancaster, secretary of Ealing Unison, said: “They’re going to give an alternative provider a sum of money to run the libraries instead of the council, that’s privatisation as far as I understand it. Other providers don’t necessarily have a good record of managing council services, in recent years housing benefits, housing and highways all had to be brought back in house."

Statement from Ealing Unison on the privatisation proposals

I have just received this statement from Ealing Unison

Ealing's Labour Council invites tenders for privatisation of the Libraries

Two bids to take over Ealing Libraries are being considered by Ealing's Labour Council at this moment.  The saving the Council wants to make by this wholesale removal of a service and all 15 Libraries in Ealing from the public domain is only £250,000.  The majority of this saving is said to be from 'business rates'.  UNISON is dismayed that £6.4 million can be spent by the Council on consultants yet £250, 000 cannot be found to avoid  privatisation.

Considering this Labour Council was not voted in to privatise services, nor has its stated aims been a privatisation of services but the opposite, it seems strange that this is its first port of call to find a saving that is small compared to other savings it could make instead.  The Council also see no reason to consult the public about this as they say there will be no detrimental impact on the service offered to the public.

The history of  privatisation in Ealing is that it fails. The return to Council ownership in recent years of Housing Benefits, Housing and Highways are all examples of the failure of privatisation. All those services are better run and managed and producing a better service to the public now returned to direct control and management by the Council.  Private companies seek to make a profit and make savings by reducing staff numbers and pay the staff they recruit less money. In Libraries a private company taking over the service may also seek to use unpaid and untrained volunteers, rather than qualified and paid staff.

It is a risk to Council tax-payers money therefore to out-source a service that on the evidence of history will have to be brought back in-house in a few years with the costs this entails. It is our community that is disempowered by such actions.  As Ealing residents we own our libraries, outsourcing takes them out of our hands and out of accountable control.

Ealing UNISON therefore urges the Labour Council to reject any option to privatise the Library service at the Cabinet meeting on 18 February and to find other ways to save £250k than the wholesale privatisation of all Ealing's Libraries.

It is also Ealing Unison's understanding that the proposal to privatise the library service has been put back a month until March due to last minute complications and that Harrow Library service will be part of the bid and that Harrow will be in charge of administration resulting in three posts being put at risk in Ealing. I've also been told that the preferred bidders are the usual suspects and we all know who they are!

Is Harrow going to privatise its Library service?

Below is a conversation on Twitter I had yesterday with fellow Library Campaigner Shirley Burnham about Harrow Council's plans for its Library service, and their response;

Shirley Burnham‏@ShirleyBurnham

"great improvements" to libs promised in Harrow (hope these don't incl any *hollowing out* or staff losses) http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/10185524.Harrow_residents_are_capital_s_third_highest_book_borrowers/ … @UKpling

 

Alan Wylie‏@wylie_alan

@ShirleyBurnham @UKpling no privatise but you didn't hear it from me!

 

Shirley Burnham‏@ShirleyBurnham

@wylie_alan @UKpling Yours is a valid Libraries question for @harrow_council I trust they will respond. Or that @harrow_times will ask them

Borough of Harrow‏@harrow_council
@shirleyburnham @wylie_alan Thanks for getting in touch. This is just one of the options, we have to explore different proposals in order to run as efficient a service as possible & keep libraries open. Discussions are continuing & more details will follow in the near future.

It's no secret that Harrow (and Ealing) have been considering the option of privatisation for some time see my full correspondence with them on this matter
http://dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Harrow
the worrying thing is that it's Labour Councillors who are pushing this!

 

Are Harrow and Ealing joining together to privatise their library services?

Is Harrow planning to strike a strategic deal with Ealing with a view to privatise their library services, well it definitely looks as if it's being investigated if a Council Cabinet meeting document is to be believed;

"Commission both library and leisure management services (libraries with Ealing Council and leisure management with Ealing and Brent Councils) as the Brent, Ealing and Harrow Strategic Cultural Partnership. This option can maximise potential savings whilst at the same time reducing management costs for clienting arrangements across the three boroughs. The commissioning would be in three packages – libraries alone- leisure centres alone – libraries and leisure as one package. At this stage it is not possible to judge how many organisations in the market are able to provide effective management services for both libraries and leisure management."
http://www.harrow.gov.uk/www2/documents/s98416/Libraries%20Leisure.pdf

"The results of the Let’s Talk consultation had indicated that residents did not want

the libraries to be outsourced to anyone other than the Council. The Divisional

Director acknowledged this but advised that the proposal was that the

management of the libraries be commissioned but that the Council would retain

sovereignty over its library service and would continue to drive the strategic vision

for the service. The alternatives, given the current financial imperatives, could be

even more unpalatable for Members and residents."http://www.harrow.gov.uk/www2/documents/s98834/Ref%20to%20Cabinet%206%20-Strategic%20Futute%20of%20Leisure%20and%20Libraries%20Provision%20-%20Outcomes.pdf

This is an incredible statement, basically it's saying that even if users/public don't want their library service to be privatised the Council knows best and will do it anyway! Another sham consultation then and two fingers up to local democracy and accountability!!!!

Soft market testing has already taken place and three specialist library service providers (LSSI, JLIS and Essex CC or GLL?) and other leisure providers have shown interest according to an official council document;

"The second round of soft market testing confirmed that, while as

previously found, the libraries market is much less mature, it is very

much an area in which potential contractors are interested. During the

soft market testing phase, three specialist library service providers

attended whilst other providers better known for their leisure

management service provision also indicated how they had been

developing the library side of their business. The soft market test

showed that there was a definite interest from the market in the three

boroughs’ proposition for collaborative commissioning of both libraries

and leisure services. Since that time, a number of library services

(including in London) have been commissioned through external

providers."

Ealing's libraries and volunteers!

Something i spotted when trawling through Ealing Council's proposals for outsourcing its library services;

"14.7 The Library Service has also been selected as one of the ten London Boroughs to participate in the Mayor of London’s (Love Libraries) Team London Programme to develop best practice in working with volunteers in London’s libraries. Participating Boroughs were selected for their readiness to deliver a volunteer programme, a commitment to supporting best practice volunteering and willingness to contribute to a lasting legacy to help more people volunteer in their local library."

Team London is Boris's 'Big Society' venture and the 'Love Libraries' programme aims to

provide 2,000 volunteers with the opportunity to become 'library champions'! It talks of working with

a consortium of at least ten library authorities, who are the ten?, and its partner orgaisations include;

Association of London Chief Librarians, The Reading Agency, Volunteer Centres, London Borough

of Merton and the London Chief Culture and Leisure Officers Association.

It talks of a supporting role but as we all know this is far from the whole story, in many library

authorities volunteers are being used instead of professional and experienced library staff to run

libraries!

Very worrying!

The Save Ealing Libraries Campaign

"The Save Ealing’s Libraries Campaign was set up in 2011 in response to Ealing Council’s desire to decimate library services across Ealing Borough in order to save on costs."
http://saveyourlibrary.com/

Ealing Council in talks to out-source libraries - Ealing Gazette - 26/1/12

http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/ealing-news/local-ealing-news/2012/01/26/ealing-council-in-talks-to-out-source-libraries-64767-30204555/

"EALING Council is in talks with Brent and Harrow to establish a shared, privately-managed leisure service to save the libraries."

"The authorities met with seven potential providers last November to discuss taking over just libraries or sports facilities, or both. A formal decision is expected later this year."

In fact Ealing conducted a 'soft market testing' excercise last April with parties interested in the libraries and one of them was LSSI (as far as we know?)

Proposals to outsource Ealing's Leisure and Library Services

Just had a look at the proposals for outsourcing Ealing's Leisure and Library services, for libraries the usual names appear LSSI, Laing, GLL etc The paper goes to council on 24/1/12
http://www2.ealing.gov.uk/services/council/committees/agendas_minutes_reports/cabinet/24may2011-15may2012.html - item 12
What i didn't know was is that this process started in Apr11 with a 'soft-market testing' excercise, was this public knowledge?