Plumber travelled 320 miles to mend a toilet seat due to Government contract
A PLUMBER made a round trip of over 320 miles from Birmingham to Norwich to mend a toilet seat – because of a Government contract.
The worker’s marathon journey to fix the lavatory at the East Anglian probation hostel is highlighted in a report compiled by probation officers’ union Napo.
In another case, an electrician made a total journey of hundreds of miles from Newmarket to Birmingham and back to mend an electrical switch. A repairman drove from London to Cheshire to replace bulbs in an office, a total of 175 miles.
The extraordinary cross-country journeys are revealed in the Napo report drawn up to highlight the effects of the decision by the Home Office Property Group to outsource the maintenance and repairs contract for probation hostels and officers. The report surveyed staff in 26 of 42 probation areas in England and Wales, unearthing a large number of journeys undertaken by contractors for Interserve and Amey, who currently operate the contract for the Home Office Property Group.
The survey encompassed more than 1,000 probation hostels and officers throughout the UK.
Napo assistant general secretary Harry Fletcher said said Government policies of centralisation lay at the heart of the issue. The Home Office made no comment.
