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Hurry, hurry, hurry! Book now to avoid disappointment, and you can head off to Cardiff on 18 March to a conference on Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults in Wales being organised by one of the UK's favourite outsourcing companies, Capita plc. For a mere £420 (£350 + VAT for local government representatives) you can hear a number of guest speakers, including Carmarthenshire's own Jane Tremlett, Executive Board Member for Social Care and Health.

This is indeed a rare opportunity because Mrs T does not normally have very much to say for herself in council meetings.

Caebrwyn reported last week that Jane Tremlett had recently attended a Crapita conference, and she was apparently so impressed that she has now agreed to address one of their events. Speakers normally receive a hefty fee plus expenses for these onerous duties, and so in those famous words it shouldn't cost us a penny. Except that Mrs T is likely to be accompanied on the outing by a small posse from County Hall, and they will all no doubt submit claims for tickets.

Wikipedia, admittedly not the most reliable of sources, coyly and correctly notes that, "Capita Group has not always been received well by the public and in the media. It has gained the alternative nickname, Crapita, particularly from the coverage in the satirical/investigative magazine, Private Eye, of its many failures and setbacks in the public sector."

Crapita recently took over the running of many services in the London Borough of Barnet amid a great deal of controversy and courtroom activity, and it was of course in Barnet that our own chief executive began his ascent up the greasy pole of local government mandarinhood.

This therefore has all the makings of a wonderful marriage with golden parachutes and handshakes all round for the top brass. To see how things have shaped up in Barnet, you can read the tamping Mrs Angry, or for a wider perspective just Google "Capita+scandal".

A rather less rosy future awaits low paid council staff and us, the reluctant customers/council tax payers.

If you are fortunate enough to speak Welsh, here is an alternative event.

Os na allwch chi fforddio £420 i wrando ar Mrs Tremlett, beth am barti Cymdeithas yr Iaith yn uned y Cyngor Sir ar faes yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol ym mis Awst? Cewch hwyl a sbri wrth ddathlu agwedd newydd y Cyngor tuag at y Gymraeg. Yn rhad ac am ddim!


Dewch yn llu.