The Socialist 17 October 2007

National Health Service: cutbacks and privatisation kill

National Health Service Cutbacks and privatisation kill

National NHS demo

The vultures are circling ever closer

10,000 march in Sussex

Swansea fights the cuts

Rally for Socialism

Exposing Royal Mail's lies

Postal workers waiting to assess Royal Mail deal

Fighting Royal Mail management's attacks

Solid unofficial action in East London

National Shop Stewards' Network meetings

Daylight robbery in Scotland!

Save Bolsover Post Offices

Brown's blues

Students on trumped-up charges

Scrap fees for all students

Young workers and students need to get involved

"You've got to stick together"

Stop the placement rip-off now!

Tony Benn evades the issue

Trade Union Freedom Bill: Banishing Thatcher's anti-union legacy?

Working longer hours for less pay

ITV2 - making a good deal out of women's bodies

Workers' struggle and political instability sends Polish government into meltdown

Australia: Liberals v Labour - no choice for working people in election

Children's homes at risk of buy-outs

Previous issues, etc

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Children's homes at risk of buy-outs

IT IS like a scene out of Oliver Twist. A big private equity firm (which are notorious for their high profits and cost-cutting attitudes) bought up a profit-seeking company in 2000 that ran 45 care homes for sexually abused and autistic children. That subsidiary has now gone bankrupt (Observer, 14 October 2007).

The unfortunate children were then shunted back and forth between different local authorities – many had no place to go after school ended.

Cuts in council budgets, and the government's love of privatisation have caused a stampede of private equity firms into both the foster care and elderly care sectors. Private equity firms now control 30% of the 'independent' ie profit-seeking foster agency 'market'! How many other children's homes are in danger of bankruptcy or of private sector buy-outs?

This government's laissez-faire approach to private business has made London the world's buy-out capital. Most capitalist firms, particularly crudely in the case of private equity firms, run for profit and flourish or crash on the anarchy of the market.

Foster agencies look to private sector firms because their high profits give them the chance to expand – or alternatively go belly-up. But why is there a market in children's misery? Why aren't local authority social services departments well enough financed and staffed to deal with tragic cases of sexual abuse or the problems of severe autism?

No more privatisation of vital social and health services! Care homes owned by private corporations should be taken into public ownership and become part of the NHS or of a well-financed local authority social services department.