Bon Accord Care

Today's Guardian advertises the £100,000 a year job of managing director of something called Bon Accord Care, seemingly something to do with the provision of adult social care in Aberdeen. Do the Scottish Nationals share a penchant with our Tories for privatisation of core public services on the quiet?

Puzzled, I turned to Bing, who turns up reference 1. Where I learn that Bon Accord Care is actually two limited companies, Bon Accord Care Ltd and Bon Accord Support Services Ltd, which have been trading since 2013 - with trading meaning the supply of 'care at home, housing support, residential care homes, rehabilitation, reablement, occupational therapy, SVQs [Scottish Vocational Qualifications] through Learning and Development, community equipment, telecare, day care, responder, respite and community meals'.

Companies which are wholly owned by Aberdeen City Council, which employ getting on for 1,000 people and which are managed by a board containing people with both private and public sector backgrounds. Including, for example, the HR director of Imperial Tobacco.

So not really privatisation at all, although it would presumably be relatively straightforward to sell these companies off, should the city fathers veer to the right. And presumably the 1,000 staff are on private sector terms and conditions, maybe zero hours terms and conditions, rather than on local government terms and conditions. Nevertheless, maybe a good balance to try for, combining public sector decency and rectitude with private sector oomph and enterprise.

It would be interesting to know whether this model is widely used in the UK for the delivery of local services and it will be interesting to keep an eye on how these companies get on.

Reference 1: http://bonaccordcare.org/.