...As indeed has almost-all public service Needhelp. It's one thing buying goods and 'out-of-scope' services from specialist suppliers. Quite another to deliberately abdicate responsibility for core functions that could and should be performed in-house at a primary level. and you cite a good example.
It's a simple fact that the end-cost of goods and services provided on a commercial basis must include the overhead of a profit which is then diverted back to the owners of that commercial entity. And for the avoidance of doubt, by that I mean a profit over and above the cost of relevant labour and materials. The purpose of public service, in contrast, should be to provide essential services, with economies of scale, on a national basis to agreed standards and specifications, wholly in the interests of the owners of the nation - i.e. the citizens of that nation. Essential services being those which are absolutely necessary to drive and maintain a fair and civilised society
There is no weight whatsoever in the argument that commercial companies can better-achieve economies of scale nor that they can eliminate corruption and mismanagement. Quite the opposite in fact, they are more likely to incubate it, as many will tell you to your face "they're in it to 'make' money" - or more accurately, extract money from the system.
That is not to say everything needs to be driven in-house. But clearly, when (for example) a works has a canteen for the purpose of meeting the needs of its workers, the works ought to run it! There is no justification for the jail vans (as another example) belonging to any other entity than the prison service and/or police. Or the jails themselves for that matter!
Invariably, these huge monstrosities are ultimately owned by the well-heeled and well connected. They are then about diverting (redistributing) the wealth and resources of the nation into the pockets of people who make, do or produce absolutely nothing of any use or worth whatsoever; they merely play and gamble with digits on a balance sheet... This is why public services are simultaneously collapsing and failing ( never mind what the pauchled statistics and spin of politicians say) and costing more and more each day; service is not being provided because the money we've paid just isn't being applied for that purpose.
Weightwatchers... In a hospital? An absolutely non-credible quack-diet promoter being paid for by the public purse. To me that's plain, simple corruption writ large. What happened to legitimate clinicians? - I suspect they don't line the pockets of the cronies!
We are approaching an end-game here... The collapse of Carillion was just the first creak on the stairs.
any excuse to stop someones money, I told her if she went down that road she would end up looking stupid. In fact there was the opportunity to have a look for Jobs, because I was assisting running Digital Workshops for Shelter Scotland in Dundee, So I was showing people who had no skills on computers how to do different things, Create an email account, office applications, how to search for jobs or courses. The benefits worker soon backed down).