Taking it outside

This week, Swansea’s Lib Dem-dominated cabinet is very likely to sign up to some best-guess calculations that argue in favour of what unions have labelled back-door privatisation. Officially, the proposal is to form a Local Authority Trading Company to deliver adult social care in the city.

It’s a significant step along the ideologically driven path that takes the council from the role of provider to one of enabler several times removed. Yet it’s not an entirely unexpected one despite last year’s acute embarrassment when the council’s reassuring talk to staff about a ‘developing a social enterprise model’ turned out to be little more than an outsourcing exercise.

Whilst other local authorities elsewhere in the UK are getting increasingly concerned over falling regulatory care standards, social services cabinet member Nick Tregoning is urging his executive colleagues to continue preparing for externalisation. This recommendation comes regardless of there being no meaningful business plan available plus an open admission that initial running costs are likely to be substantially greater than present.

In keeping with Swansea’s renowned ability to turn policy-making into a pig’s ear, the report also suggests waiting until September 2012 in order to consider further progress updates and make a final decision (of sorts).

The only certainty involved in the entire sorry process at the moment is that it won’t be Tregoning making the final recommendations should the current administration survive next May's elections. He was recently deselected as a Lib Dem candidate.