The MoJ has denied having plans for 'wholesale' privatisation of the courts. (Cue Mandy Rice-Davies:- "they would, wouldn't they?")
Until last Autumn my court had a nice little snack bar, looked after by a lady who supplied reasonably priced refreshments to court users, staff and magistrates. It was a meeting point for lawyers and others, and was run at no cost to HMCTS. Last Autumn the lady decided to move on, and the bar closed. We were assured that a replacement was being sought, but had to go through the full ponderous civil service procurement process. Then silence.
Recently a colleague was party to a conversation with someone from the court management side, in which he was told that the facility would not be replaced as a result of a "strategic" decision at MoJ level.
Could this be that it might be a tad harder to flog off the courthouse with a small business installed, or even that the deal might be tastier if the buyer could pop in a Costa franchise or suchlike?
Go on then, call me a cynic. In the wonderful world of the Civil Service, one man's cynic is another man's realist.
A cynic is described as being someone who can see prices but not values.
ReplyDeleteIf that is so, the MOJ is full of cynics.
I hope we don't lose our snack bar. It is run by volunteers from a local hospice and provides an excellent (mornings only) service for allcomers. Any profits go to the hospice
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