AS AN employee of North Somerset Council I am outraged at the authority s recommendation to members that internal support services should be privatised. I have seen first hand the appalling results of bringing in a private company to carry out vital se

AS AN employee of North Somerset Council I am outraged at the authority's recommendation to members that internal support services should be privatised.

I have seen first hand the appalling results of bringing in a private company to carry out vital services, the prime example being the housing and council tax benefit contractor, Liberata.

When a private company's ultimate goal is profit how can it have the interest of best value for the taxpayer at heart? They pay ridiculously low wages and invest little in training, so complaints soar while standards drop and staff morale plummets. It's not the employees' fault; it is just the nature of privatisation.

In my view the council is an incredibly wasteful organisation. Layers of middle management and unnecessary bureaucracy; huge amounts being paid to external consultants and high level temps; a scandalous waste of energy, paper, time and taxpayers' cash for staff 'perks'.

Huge efficiency savings could be made through an overhaul of how the authority is managed. I believe this was one of the 'special projects' that Councillor Peter Bryant was put in charge of some time ago, but nothing useful came of it.

I would urge members to see that privatisation is not the answer. Instead vote to make in-house changes that would save jobs and keep council services in the public domain where they belong.

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