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| Had you heard of Serco before? |
| Not sure |
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7% |
[ 7 ] |
| Yes |
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18% |
[ 17 ] |
| Yes - I work for Serco! |
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37% |
[ 35 ] |
| No |
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37% |
[ 35 ] |
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| Total Votes : 94 |
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| Author |
Message |
| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
 Posted: 26-02-2006 18:59 Post subject: Big Brother is Watching You - the Serco thread |
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I've never heard of this outfit before, but it seems as if I should have:
| Quote: | SO YOU THOUGHT IT WAS TONY AND GORDON IN CHARGE? WELL, THINK AGAIN, AND MEET THE MEN FROM SERCO WHO REALLY.. RUN BRITAIN
EXCLUSIVE
By Krissy Storrar
YOU will probably never have heard of Serco, but they almost certainly have heard of you.
Serco will be watching if you speed through traffic lights, they will be keeping an eye on you as you fly off on holiday and help monitor your children's school attendance records.
Oh, and they'll have emptied your bins, run your sports centre, tidied your park and made sure that Britain's nuclear deterrent is up and running.
And in their spare time Serco organises the Queen's flights around the world and makes sure that Greenwich Mean Time is ticking over nicely.
Never mind Big Brother ... this is Big Mother, a company that has so many fingers in so many pies it is almost impossible to pin them down. Run by two reclusive multi-millionaires Serco is, literally, everywhere.
From an office overlooking the Thames in Richmond, southwest London, Kevin Beeston and Chris Hyman manage an empire that runs... just about everything
Serco started out in 1929 when Radio Corporation of America founded a UK branch called RCA Services to support the cinema industry.
Today its tentacles stretch to operating National Rail Enquiries, managing Royal Navy ports, providing IT for the National Crime Squad and transport in Liverpool, London and Manchester.
Over 46,000 employees in 37 countries, including 29,000 here in the UK make sure Serco - an abbreviation of Service Company - keep Britain going.
Beeston and Hyman, virtually unknown outside the world of big business, cashed in on a government drive to harness private expertise for public services.
Beeston, 43, is the son of an Ipswich motor mechanic and joined the company in 1988. He's had a role in most of the corporation's sections before becoming executive chairman in 2002.
He is married with three children, and lives in Shepperton, Middlesex.
Chief executive Christopher Rajendran Hyman, 42, is a born-again Christian who grew up under the apartheid regime in South Africa. After qualifying as an accountant, he moved to Britain where "colour is not an issue" in the late 1980s. A teetotal fitness fanatic, he is married with two children and lives in Oxshott, Surrey.
"My faith is very strong. My whole life, I believe, is driven by God," he says. "I'm no genius. What I'm successful for is listening to God."
And in the meantime, Hyman, Beeston and presumably God, have run up vast profits...
Last year Serco posted a 22 per cent rise in firsthalf profits and revealed it has £12.9billion worth of contracts in its order book.
But despite the company's huge success Chris Hyman isn't especially interested in the bottom line. Service is the thing.
"I tell people here... don't give me a proposal that makes a shed-load of money - instead, will it be a better place when you leave than when you arrived?"
Hyman doesn't like to talk about it much, but he was in the World Trade Center when the terrorists struck on 9/11. He will only admit that it made a substantial personal impact on him.
"I decided to do things that previously I'd thought a bit naff, like taking my wife's birthday off to go shopping. I mean, how naff is that?"
Not many days off though - his company aims to further expand its already huge network. But until Serco decides where to get involved next, here's what it's up to now:
SERCO rakes in vast sums from the Ministry of Defence. It has defence contracts worth more than £2.5billion. One of the firm's first high-profile projects was running the UK Ballistic Early Warning System at RAF Fylingdales.
Serco is now directly responsible for maintaining the UK's nuclear warheads and dismantling redundant weapons - a £1.7billion contract.
Another major earner for Serco are the contracts to service naval and marine operations around the world, mainly for the Royal Navy. Its technology is also used to provide global satellite communications for the UK armed forces.
SERCO has around 7,000 offenders in its care every day, as it runs several jails and youth detention centres and is in charge of escorting thousands of prisoners to and from court.
Offenders with electronic tags often come under the control of Serco. Four out of 10 people with tags in England and Wales are monitored by the company.
The corporation also helps to catch crooks through its contracts with the National Crime Squad. One of its biggest projects is ChildBase, a state-of-the-art image recognition technology to tackle internet paedophiles.
SERCO is involved in a huge range of transport projects - from the awardwinning to the controversial. It imports Gatso speed cameras from Holland, which account for around 85 percent of the 6,000 cameras on Britain's roads, but was recently forced to admit that the cameras can give false readings. Britain's first toll motorway - a 27-mile stretch of the M6 near Birmingham - is also operated by Serco.
Most traffic lights in London are managed by the company, as is 60 per cent of motorway systems technology.
Thousands of rail commuters also rely on Serco services every day. The company has a lucrative £400million contract to run the award-winning Docklands Light Railway in east London.
It also runs the Manchester Metrolink and Merseyrail, a 75-mile network in Liverpool. And it has secured a deal to operate Northern Rail, a new franchise covering the north of England.
SERCO has a hand in flights made by almost every passenger from the Queen and Prince Charles to ordinary holidaymakers. It supports the Ministry of Defence at RAF Northolt, the base of the Queen's Flight and which is regularly used by Prince Charles.
It employs air traffic controllers around the world who handle six million aircraft movements every year.
Newquay airport in Cornwall and Scatsta airport on Shetland are operated entirely by Serco staff.
And experts from the company run the International Fire Training Centre in Teesside, which trains aviation firefighters to deal with air disasters.
PATIENTS at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and Wishaw General Hospital might be treated by doctors and nurses but almost every other aspect of their care is down to workers from Serco.
The company has a contract to provide catering, security, laundry, cleaning and waste disposal at the hospitals.
Scientists from Serco also help cancer patients. It operates the National Physical Laboratory, which makes sure cancer patients receive the right dose of radiotherapy.
SERCO helps manage the local education authorities in Bradford and Walsall and provides the technology to make it easier for schools to keep track of timetables, student and staff records and assessments.
And if you live in Winchester, Serco staff empty your bins, in Bolton they run your leisure centres - and in Moscow they're dismantling your old nuclear reactors.
All in a day's work for Serco.
features@mirror.co.uk
http://tinyurl.com/z5d2q |
I find all that puts other 'conspiracy theories' in the shade!
Last edited by rynner on 26-02-2006 19:42; edited 8 times in total |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-02-2006 19:28 Post subject: |
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Serco's main website:
http://www.serco.com/default.asp
I give up on the Poll - the MB's gone crackers!
There should be 4 options:
No
Not sure
Yes
Yes - I work for Serco!
But no matter how often I edit it, it comes out rubbish!
Perhaps a Mod could sort it? |
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lupinwick Joined: 24 Sep 2005 Total posts: 1883 |
| Posted: 26-02-2006 20:11 Post subject: |
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Hmmm yes I have heard of them  |
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| coldelephant |
| Posted: 26-02-2006 20:52 Post subject: |
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No I hadn't heard of them before, they're astonishing - they're very similar to L&G in South Korea.
They have fingers in many pies, basically are a household food brand name, and big name in electronics and electrical goods. |
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| jimv1 Great Old One Joined: 10 Aug 2005 Total posts: 2734 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-02-2006 22:37 Post subject: |
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Hmmmmm. New one on me.
You'd think that with all the coverage of large successful businesses in this country, they'd have a bit more of a mention in the news.
But there again...judging by their growth and success, it doesn't look like they need the publicity. |
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| TheQuixote Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Total posts: 4085 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 26-02-2006 23:09 Post subject: |
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| I've heard of them before but didn't realise how diverse their operations were. They took over the running of the majority of the schools in my local borough and have done so for a few years after our particularly crap local authority was forced to hand them over by the government. |
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| Leaferne Defrost indoors
Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Total posts: 4785 Location: Graceland, mama Age: 43 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 26-02-2006 23:16 Post subject: |
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| Dumb question: why are "yes" and "no" each listed twice as poll options? |
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| Mighty_Emperor Divine Wind
Joined: 18 Aug 2002 Total posts: 19943 Location: Mongo Age: 42 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-02-2006 23:49 Post subject: |
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| rynner wrote: | Serco's main website:
http://www.serco.com/default.asp
I give up on the Poll - the MB's gone crackers!
There should be 4 options:
No
Not sure
Yes
Yes - I work for Serco!
But no matter how often I edit it, it comes out rubbish!
Perhaps a Mod could sort it? |
I can't explain that - I had to fight it but got the options in just not in the right order and don't want to try editting again as it seems to want to make the options disappear.
I can only imagine you are on to something and They don't want you to get the word out. If we don't hear from you for 24 hours we'll send someone around to Chez Rynner.
Stay safe and look both ways when crossing the round. |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-02-2006 00:34 Post subject: |
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| Mighty_Emperor wrote: | | rynner wrote: | I give up on the Poll - the MB's gone crackers!
There should be 4 options:
No
Not sure
Yes
Yes - I work for Serco!
But no matter how often I edit it, it comes out rubbish!
Perhaps a Mod could sort it? |
I can't explain that - I had to fight it but got the options in just not in the right order and don't want to try editting again as it seems to want to make the options disappear.
I can only imagine you are on to something and They don't want you to get the word out. If we don't hear from you for 24 hours we'll send someone around to Chez Rynner.
Stay safe and look both ways when crossing the round. |
Right! Keep me covered - I'll investigate deeper.  |
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| Mighty_Emperor Divine Wind
Joined: 18 Aug 2002 Total posts: 19943 Location: Mongo Age: 42 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-02-2006 02:22 Post subject: |
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| rynner wrote: | | Right! Keep me covered - I'll investigate deeper. |
~dusts off sniper's rifle and disappears into the woods~
I think the poll is still screwing up though. I voted no after I'd fixed things up and it was showing a vote for no and a vote for yes I work for them. It no shows 6 votes for both options. Keep an eye on this. If its still screwing up I'll remove the poll make a new one in a new threa and merge the poll in and see if that works.
Is it a coincidence its happeneing on this thread (and that I can no think of a way that the board could go sufficiently wrong that it would be acting quite so strangely - can't happen. And yet it is....). |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-02-2006 08:22 Post subject: |
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Now showing 7 votes each for the No and the I work for Serco options.
The evil empire of Dennis isn't part of Serco, is it...?  |
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| lupinwick Joined: 24 Sep 2005 Total posts: 1883 |
| Posted: 27-02-2006 08:50 Post subject: |
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| Not into maintstream publishing just yet (as far as I know anyway). So you can't yet blame Serco for Dennis. |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-02-2006 10:05 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Newquay airport in Cornwall and Scatsta airport on Shetland are operated entirely by Serco staff. |
Now there have been many reports on activities at Newquay airport in the local press, but I don't recall seeing Serco mentioned before. So I just did a search on the Western Morning News website to see if Serco is mentioned.... and got 21 hits!
But strangely enough, I can only see the first page (10 stories) of these hits - subsequent pages are blank!
Here's the latest story:
| Quote: | 'CORNISH DOCTORS WILL TREAT CORNISH PATIENTS'
11:00 - 23 February 2006
The organisation poised to run Cornwall's GP out-of-hours service has pledged to employ local doctors and not medics from overseas.
It had been feared that when Serco took over the contract from Kernowdoc that cheaper doctors from Germany and Poland would be drafted in.
But Serco bosses say they would be employing local GPs because of their skilled knowledge of the area.
Tim Flanagan, managing director, said: "It is not our intention to bring GPs in from outside the Cornwall area. We want Cornish doctors to treat Cornish patients. Doctors and nurses will be paid competitive rates of pay."
Serco, a British firm with overseas operations, won the three-year contract, with an option to extend it to five years, when it was put out to tender after it convinced Cornwall's Primary Care Trust chiefs that it could undercut Kernowdoc and run an improved service.
The Kernowdoc bid was £7.5 million a year to run services while Serco's was £5 million.
Serco, set up in 1973, already run out-of-hours GP services in Cardiff and Oxfordshire.
Peter Curnow, out-of-hours project manager for all three Cornish PCTs, said: "We have a duty to provide the best service we can for the Cornish taxpayer. Serco offered efficiency and the best value for money."
Health bosses say improvements include a patient transport system for people who are vulnerable and don't have transport to take them to clinics.
Mr Flanagan said: "The call centre will remain at Truro where it will be run by a team of NHS trained nurses. But there will be an improved computer system which will help the nurses decide the best course of action to take."
Since October 2004 GPs have not been required by the Government to carry out an out-of-hours service. GPs can earn extra thousands of pounds a year on top of their salaries if they sign up to work out-of-hours.
When the recent contract was put out for tender there were 20 expressions of interest and five bids were made.
Kernowdoc currently deal with 140,000 calls a year using 300 GPs in Cornwall. Serco won the bid after a panel of eight people - made up of a doctor, nurse, patient forum member, PCT director of operations, PCT financial director and PCT chief executive, PCT non executive director and a director of public health - voted seven to one in favour.
Cornish MP Andrew George, Lib-Dem for St Ives, said: "I do hope that this episode gives local GPs and Kernowdoc the opportunity to reflect on whether the offer they made was the best they could have made.
"Next time when the contract is put out for tender I hope local GPs and clinicians get together to make sure a locally based, more accountable provider is successful because I believe only GPs with local knowledge can provide the best service."
The transfer of services is due to have taken place by March 31.
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http://tinyurl.com/erkfk
I find it surprising that such a big company, with fingers in so many pies, can be as low profile as Serco. If anyone wants to invade Britain, all they have to do is take over Serco - job done! |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-02-2006 10:14 Post subject: |
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| rynner wrote: | So I just did a search on the Western Morning News website to see if Serco is mentioned.... and got 21 hits!
But strangely enough, I can only see the first page (10 stories) of these hits - subsequent pages are blank! |
Checking more closely, the first 3 of these 10 stories are the same one as I posted above..... 
And although the next two pages of hits still have a link, clicking them does not take you to the blank pages I found before, but back to the main website!
Perhaps other Forteans might like to investigate their local press websites for more Serco Strangeness! |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-02-2006 10:22 Post subject: |
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I tried again, and found page 2 of the search hits - with one story repeated 6 times!
Edit: Thinking this might be WMN weirdness rather than Serco Strangeness, I ran a search on Tesco:
I got many more hits than with Serco, and NO duplicated stories! |
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