Local libraries, schools, day care centres and fire stations are all public services. But all can be privatised or outsourced: run by companies that don’t have to tell you anything.
Campaign group ‘We Own It’ is lobbying for a ‘Public Service Users Bill’ to give you a say. It is supported by 102 MPs. Here are six reasons to support their campaign:
- Consultation: you would be consulted before any public service is privatised or outsourced (79% public support) and about the services you receive through public service contracts.
- In-house bids: when services are tendered, there would always be a realistic in-house public sector bid (80% public support).
- Needs not profit: organisations (such as public sector, cooperatives, genuine mutuals, charities, social enterprises) focused on meeting your needs rather than making a profit would be more likely to win contracts (57% public support).
- Data: you would be able to see performance and financial data from private companies running your public services. They would be as transparent as the public sector (88% public support).
- FoI: You would be able to make Freedom of Information requests to private companies running public services (48% of the public mistakenly believe this is already the case).
- Right to recall: you would have the ‘right to recall’ private companies doing a bad job (88% public support).
To find out more or add your voice to the campaign, go to: http://weownit.org.uk/