Edinburgh calls for outsourcing halt after care tender fiasco

In the wake of £250,000 wasted on a flawed bid to re-tender care services for vulnerable people, UNISON’s Edinburgh Branch has called on the Council to halt its ‘new business model’ outsourcing plans and open up the books on its figures.

Calling for the release of an £80,000 confidential report into a retendering process that saw the majority of users opting for direct payments instead of the tendered service, Branch President John Stevenson said, “How can we believe any of the claims the council is making about outsourcing?”

“There is a common sense doubt that most people must have. If services are delivered in-house with no need to make a profit, how can they be delivered more cheaply while making a profit on top?

“Something has to give and that is usually the quality of the service or indeed the whole service - along with any decency in the pay and conditions of those delivering the service.

“You still pay your taxes but instead of the money going on the service and those who deliver it, it goes to company profits.”

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