Thanks to Sue Atkins for this link and her point that the real intention of outsourcing needs to be taken on board, “especially at a time when central government is pushing Mutuals through the Delivering Differently programme to local authorities .”

Outsourcing: same job, same hours, same clients, less pay | Society | The Guardian.

Outsourcing is often held up by those who propound it as a miracle driver of public service efficiency and innovation. But according to a new study, the primary motives of contracting out are far less noble.

The most salient consequence of outsourcing, indeed, is not to drive up quality but to drive down wages. Low paid workers bear the brunt, in one case losing up to 40% of take home pay after being transferred to new employers.

Analysis by the Smith Institute think tank of five recent instances where NHS, local government and police services were contracted out shows that in each case that the key objective of offloading services into the private sector was to make cost savings in direct response to steep public spending cuts.