Meric Apak

• YOUR June 21 edition is certainly not lacking in assertions of ideological doctrine. The Conservative’s Oliver Cooper claims that the private sector will always provide best value for money, while Labour’s Meric Apak offers a very different solution based on bringing services back “in-house”, (Housing chief calls for estate work to be brought in-house).

Yes, private sector operators will always seek to provide the best result for their shareholders. Councils can, in theory, provide a more responsive and cost efficient service as they do not have to make a profit: in practice how many column inches over the years have you given over to seemingly never-ending complaints of Camden’s delays, inefficiencies and lack of openness?

However there is a “halfway house”, which does not get a mention. Better Leisure, which runs several gyms and swimming pools both in Camden and throughout the capital, and does this in an affordable and efficient way, is an example of how public service provision can thrive while covering its costs, treating its staff well and making a sufficient surplus to both remain financially viable and expand the scope of its operations.

It is this model we should be looking at more closely to see how it could be adapted to meet a wider range of service provision.

We should be asking why councils cannot get together to jointly procure services is such a way to encourage the setting up and growth of charitable, not-for-profit organisations. Bring back the GLC? Well not really, we need to think in ways which look forwards.

PETER LYONS
Hartland Road, NW1