Oct 17th, 2018
Carillion
By Becca McCarthy
When the company Carillion collapsed, the hospitals, care homes, prisons, and railways it was working on were thrown into chaos. [1] Taxpayers had to foot the bill to clear up the mess, to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds. [2] This is what happens when big businesses are allowed to run our public services badly.
The Business Minister, Greg Clark, has just publicly announced that he’ll “learn the lessons” from Carillion and “apply them without delay.” [3] He’s considering changing the rules so that the finances of companies like Carillion are independently checked. [4] It could mean businesses with dodgy finances can no longer hide before being allowed to run public services.
Already big companies that profit from the current system are lining up to shoot down the idea.[5] To tighten up the rules so that our care homes, schools and hospitals aren’t put at risk again, we need a big public outcry to show Greg Clark that taxpayers expect him to do the right thing.
Will you sign the petition now to make sure companies that run out public services are fit for purpose?
We all know what can happen when big financial companies are allowed to mark their own homework. They make reckless decisions that mean people lose their jobs and their homes – and taxpayers have to step in and foot the bill. [6]
Right now politicians are publicly arguing about whether they want to keep letting big businesses write their own rules – or stand up for voters and taxpayers like us. [7] If we can show Greg Clark that voters expect action – we could swing the argument.
One of us alone could never be a match for big business lobbyists resisting any rule changes. But together, we can make a difference. Only last month more than 270,000 of us petitioned the government to tax online retail giants fairly – and forced the Chancellor to say he will. [8]
NOTES:
[1] BBC: Carillion: Six charts that explain what happened:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42731762
[2] BBC: Carillion collapse to cost taxpayers £148 million:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42731762
[3] CityAM: Business secretary Greg Clark orders competition watchdog to carry out review of audit sector:
http://www.cityam.com/264088/business-secretary-greg-clark-orders-competition-watchdog
[4] FT: UK to press for shake-up of Big Four auditors (paywall):
https://www.ft.com/content/73a7bb34-c338-11e8-8d55-54197280d3f7
[5] FT: UK finance chiefs raise concerns over audit shake-up proposals:
https://www.ft.com/content/91287d0a-c663-11e8-ba8f-ee390057b8c9
Reuters: PwC says more tech is solution to higher audit standards:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-accounts-pwc-moritz/pwc-says-more-tech-is-solution-for-higher-audit-standards-idUSKCN1MB3Y3
[6] See Note 2
The Guardian: Reality Check: How much did the banking crisis cost taxpayers?:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2011/sep/12/reality-check-banking-bailout
[7] Independent: Boris Johnson to woo Tory members in speech ahead of leadership bid:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-tory-party-conference-speech-conservative-leader-theresa-may-leadership-bid-a8564131.html
CityAM: Philip Hammond says Tories are the “party of business” as he takes fight to Jeremy Corbyn:
http://www.cityam.com/264213/philip-hammond-says-tories-party-business-he-takes-fight
[8] 38 Degrees: Make Amazon pay their fair share:
https://38d.gs/amazon_fair_share
Daily Mail: Chancellor Philip Hammond vows to hit Google, Amazon and Facebook with new tax:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6229189/Chancellor-Philip-Hammond-vows-hit-Google-Amazon-Facebook-new-taxes.html
