Child services in Devon

The news that Devon children's health and social care services are being outsourced to Virgin causes real concerns - not least because the experience of some private contractors - G4S and A4E spring to mind - have proved less than successful. As another example, Walsall are re-internalising their education services from Serco.

The short-term impact will be small, as TUPE will operate, but as the contract bites and profits are sought, in a time of continuing budget pressure, it will be interesting to watch what happens. Interesting, of course, for the independent observer, but possibly rather more than that if you are a child in Devon. I await the news of Virgin holding to the small print in the contract, and some children and young people falling through the gaps between agencies.

I'm not pretending that everything was and is rosy in the traditional local authority/NHS system – but the atomisation and privatisation of service providers is a real worry.

It reminds me a little of the railway system - and I am sitting on a Virgin train as I type, travelling at 20 mph through the Hertfordshire countryside - when I could always complain to British Rail when things went wrong - now - have a choice between the operator and Network Rail, often with each able to blame the others. Too often I am on a fast service running slowly behind the train of another operator...

So, a child with special needs may fall too easily between Virgin and an autonomous academy without anyone able to take decisive action. You can think of your own examples.