Government adviser Martin Narey is quoted in Children and Young People Now as saying:
“There is, in my mind, no reason why a properly managed
private sector organisation – by itself, or more likely, in partnership with a
public or voluntary sector provider – could not compete to play a role in child
protection.”
Could there be a more convoluted and equivocal statement on
the issue? It says that there is no reason why a private firm should not ‘compete to play a
role’, but does not provide a reason why it should or could. On top of that any private organisation would probably be in partnership with
public or voluntary bodies, but we are not told how.
One is left wondering what such outsourcing would look like
and why anybody thinks that something as vague and unclear as this should be
the focus of policy, let alone that it could deliver any tangible benefits.
