Consulting giant McKinsey brought in to advise on new agency launched without a plan by Hancock
Matt Hancock has shut down Public Health England – in the midst of a pandemic – apparently without having done any planning at all for what its replacement will do or how it will be run. Hancock said he planned a ‘full consultation’ on the role of the new body, which means he hasn’t decided anything about it before doing away with its predecessor.
Hancock has appointed Tory peer Dido Harding to run the new body, fresh from a data breach catastrophe at Talk Talk and the complete fiasco of the coronavirus test-and-trace app. Even the Tory-supporting Daily Telegraph is appalled at the evident ‘chumocracy’ of appointing someone with such a track record to such a key position.
The one thing Hancock does seem to know is that the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) will focus on ‘external’ health threats as its ‘single and relentless mission’ – which of course begs the question who will now protect against domestic threats to the public’s health (of which the Tories are of course one):
To compensate for the lack of any planning that an actual government might be expected to do, for the vagueness of consulting on everything – and in spite of NIHP already having a ‘single and relentless mission’ – Civil Service World reports that Hancock has decided to pay giant consulting firm McKinsey £563,000 to advise on the NIHP’s “vision, purpose and narrative”.
McKinsey is the former employer of new NIHP boss Dido Harding – and of her husband, a Tory MP and government ‘anti-corruption champion’. All’s fine there then.
Of course, the purpose of an organisation is normally decided before you create and launch it, especially when you are instantaneously vapourising its predecessor. But that’s about what everyone has come to expect with this Tory shambles.
A half-decent opposition should, of course, be making mincemeat of a government continuing to be so inept, not to mention a lot of noise.
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Not another The WORLD BEATING the UK in any aspect healthcare provision.
Deja Vu yet another “” some country ready to take off its Clark Kent spectacles and leap into the phone booth and emerge with its cloak flowing as the supercharged champion” moment.
Its really great seeing the Section 75 of the Health and Social care act being totally circumvented-no need to even tender then. Was this provision in the Corona Virus act of parliament?
I would like to congratulate David Cameron all his stirling work in acting on the findings of Operation Cygnus and cowtailing away from any responsibility and accountability from his time in office.
What was it. Michelle Obama said the other day: ‘And if anyone thinks things can’t get any worse, they can.’ Hancock lurches seamlessly from one piece of ineptitude to the next, this one tainted heavily with jobs for the boys, and dismal disregard for the ‘people,’ Anything to throw a smoke screen around his government’s fuck-up…blame someone else and then get rid of them, just like that. Quite remarkable. And he does it, THEY do it, because they can. It’s the behaviour of a banana republic government. Totally corrupt and self-serving. Where are Labour? Who are Labour . . ?
Where’s Labour? Starmer the stupid is to busy rooting out those pesky Lefties to know what’s going on. He is rapidly becoming the chocolate fireguard of British politics. Hold the Tories to account? He couldn’t hold a piss up in a brewery .
Sir Spanners Starmer, don’t think he’s stupid , just imo he genuinely believes that being so far up Johnson’s arse is somehow what constitutes opposition.
Good to see JC on his Twitter feed belting out heartfelt genuine support for the many not the few , there is the real Leader of the Socialist Labour party, not that right wing arse licking Tory wannabe Sir Spanners
With the announcement of Harding’s appointment it all became clear as to why Hancock had been heaping praise on her during the Covid briefings. For three months he had been planning to abolish PHE and replace it with another world beating f up.
Not only has Harding been rewarded by the govt she has made sure one of her previous employers has shared her good fortune.
I look forward to the Jockey Club being awarded a contract to advise the NHIP on how to manage the health of the public
According to this report:
https://www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article/mckinsey-banks-560000-consulting-on-vision-purpose-and-narrative-for-new-test-and-trace-body
“Under the deal, McKinsey is authorised to process personal data for test and trace personnel, contractors, customers, users and suppliers, for seven years after the work is completed. The data includes people’s names and addresses, driving licence details, pay, biometric data, next of kin contacts and medical conditions.
Once the work is finished, McKinsey will own all concepts, tools and databases and other outputs it has generated. It has agreed to give DHSC a worldwide, royalty-free licence to use and copy any tools developed through the work.”
Stratospheric wages the bourgeoisie pay themselves & the BBC never complains nor objects because that’s what they pay themselves.
To my knowledge neither BBC or Ch4 have touched on this story or the general one of dishing out massive tender-less orders for stuff like PPE. The recipients are, in the main, middle men who believe their market sourcing knowledge is worth its weight in gold.
Meanwhile UK manufacturers shout that they do not need middle men but their calls fall on deaf ears. That’s what you get for not going to Eaton, not working with a cabinet minister some time in the past, or not being a member of the right club.
Govey, Govey’s department alone has spent £50,000,000+ on consultants during the Covid crisis,
Michael Gove’s department alone paid private firms £50 million of taxpayers cash for consultancy and marketing during the coronavirus crisis, new analysis shows.
The Mirror found a string of government contracts signed by the Cabinet Office for “consultancy services”, “intelligence” and “media analysis” related to the Covid-19 epidemic from May to August 2020.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/michael-goves-department-alone-spent-22559150
There is a long list of cronyism exposed in the article
An update – 1st September, 2020, 7:24 pm
Labour accuses government of “rewarding private sector failings” in test and trace
Labour’s shadow health team railed against the failures of the Conservative government’s privatised coronavirus testing regime as MPs returned to parliament today
https://labourlist.org/2020/09/labour-accuses-government-of-rewarding-private-sector-failings-in-test-and-trace/
The performance differences exposed between the quite successful public sector and the failed private sector are scandalous.