Thursday, July 17, 2014

Serco Group

Serco Group

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Serco Group plc
Serco logo.svg
Type
Public limited company
Traded as
LSE: SRP
Industry
Government Services
Founded
1929
Headquarters
Hook, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
Key people
Alastair Lyons (Chairman)
Rupert Soames (CEO)
Revenue
£4,288.1 million (2013)[1]
Operating income
£234.3 million (2013)[1]
Net income
£95.4 million (2013)[1]
Employees
100,000 (2013)[2]
Website
www.serco.com
Serco Group plc is a British[3] Outsourcing company based in Hook, Hampshire. Among its operations are public and private transport and traffic control, aviation, military and nuclear weapons contracts, detention centres and prisons and schools. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Serco operates in Continental Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific region and North America, but the majority of its turnover still comes from the UK.

Contents

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History[edit]

Serco was founded in 1929 as a United Kingdom division of the Radio Corporation of America and initially provided services to the cinema industry.[4] It changed its name to Serco in 1987[4] and has been a London Stock Exchange listed company since 1988.[4]
On 29 December 2008, Serco completed its acquisition of SI International.[5]
Serco publishes a magazine, Ethos Journal, to stimulate thought and provoke reaction to the big issues shaping the world of public services. Ethos is aimed at public sector leaders, politicians, academics and policy specialists debating the future of public services today.[6]

Tagging[edit]

Serco, as well as its rival G4S, was accused of having overcharged the Ministry of Justice on its contract to tag offenders. It is now under criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over the contract, where the Ministry was allegedly invoiced for tagging work that was never carried out. In some cases this was because the offender was apparently dead. The firm issued a profit warning for 2014 as a result of the costs of becoming embroiled in the electronic tagging scandal. Serco repaid £68.5m to the government for its overcharging on the contract.[7] In May 2014 a Survation poll for campaign group We Own It, found that 63% of respondents thought Serco should be banned from bidding for any new public contracts after the firm was investigated for overcharging on government contracts.[8] We Own It held a protest outside the company's Annual General Meeting on 8 May called 'Sick of Serco'. The group brought sick bags and proposed a Public Service Users Bill that would provide better, more transparently run services.

Home Affairs[edit]

Serco operates the National Border Targeting Centre for the UK Border Agency and provides the Carrier Gateway – the interface between carriers and the Agency.[9]

Transport[edit]

Serco operates London's Docklands Light Railway,[10] Woolwich Ferry[11] and the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme[12] (all for Transport for London), the NorthLink Ferries Northern Isles lifeline ferry service[13] in Scotland. Serco also has a joint venture with Abellio, the international arm of Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, to operate passenger trains in the UK: Serco-Abellio has a 25-year concession for Merseyrail in Liverpool and operates Northern Rail services in the north of England.[14] Serco's Home Affairs division, run by Tom Riall, also operates speed camera systems throughout the UK and designs, writes and tests the software that controls the matrix message signs, signals, emergency roadside telephones (SOS) and traffic monitoring on England's motorway network including the National Traffic Control Centre.[15]
It runs Great Southern Railways in Australia.[16][17] Serco also operates the Dubai Metro.[18] Serco formerly operated the Copenhagen Metro with Ansaldo STS, until selling its share with effect from 1 January 2008.[19]
It secured an eight-year contract in 2013 with its Swedish joint venture partner Strömma Tourism & Maritime to operate four Djurgården ferries on behalf of Stockholm County Council and public ferry company Waxholms Ångfartygs.[20]

Science[edit]

Serco manages the UK's National Physical Laboratory.[21][22] and also provides IT Services, Industrial Support and Cryogenic Operations Support and Maintenance at CERN.[23] Serco also was part of a consortium running the National Nuclear Laboratory under contract, until October 2013.[24]

Criminal justice[edit]

In Britain Serco supplies electronic tagging devices for offenders and asylum seekers.[25] It runs four prisons, a Young Offenders Institution and a Secure Training Centre.[26] It also operates two Immigration Removal Centres.[27][28] Serco is also responsible for the contracted-out court escort services in the south-east area (formerly a role undertaken by HM Prison Service).[29]
In September 2013, Serco was accused of extensive sexual abuse cover-ups of immigrants at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre prison in Bedfordshire, England [30]
Serco runs partly privatised Hünfeld Prison in Hesse, Germany.[31]
In Australia Serco runs Acacia Prison in Western Australia[32] and Borallon Correctional Facility in Queensland[33] as well as the national contract for immigration detention centres, including Christmas Island and the Villawood detention centre in Sydney.[34][35]
The Union of Christmas Island Workers highlighted the systemic failure by Serco to manage the Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. The centre detains a large number of refugees including 1,000 children.[36] Under Serco, there has been an increase of deaths in custody, self-harm, and of Serco staff beating prisoners. As well, there has been a deterioration of facilities leading to the decline of the physical and the mental health of detainees and of staff. Ombudsman Allan Asher on the Australian radio show AM said, "In the first week of June when I visited Christmas Island, more than 30 incidents of self-harm by detainees held there were reported."[36] Serco, in a staged memo leaked to The Australian, blamed the detainees for "creating a culture of self-harm," in order to use it as a "bargaining tool."[36] The former manager of the Serco run detention centre stated the centre was grossly understaffed whereby it was "typically 15 staff members short every day."[36]
In Auckland, New Zealand Serco runs the Mt Eden remand prison[37] and in March 2012 was awarded the contract to build and operate a 960 bed prison at Wiri.[38]
Serco has a contract with the City of Chicago, Illinois to enforce parking meter regulations.[39]

Defence[edit]

Serco holds defence contracts worldwide including the UK Government's first modern outsourced contract for the maintenance of the UK Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at RAF Fylingdales;[40] contracts are also held for the operation and maintenance of RAF Brize Norton,[41] RAF Halton[42] and RAF Northolt[42] in the UK and RAF Ascension Island in the mid-Atlantic.[42] Serco also provides support services to garrisons in Australia.[43] Serco also manages many aspects of operations at the Defence College of Management and Technology in Shrivenham.[44] Serco is one of three partners in the consortium which manages the Atomic Weapons Establishment.[45] Serco also has a 15-year contract worth £400 million to provide facilities management services to Dstl.[46]
Serco Denholm, a joint venture with the Denholm Group, is responsible for fleet support at the three main UK naval bases, HMNB Portsmouth, HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde.[47]

Aviation[edit]

Serco provides air traffic control services at international airports in the United Arab Emirates[48] and at some smaller airports in the USA and Canada.[49][50] Since 2004 Serco have also had £5m a year from the US government to manage airports in Iraq.[51] Serco also operate Scatsta Airport on Shetland.[52] In June 2010 Serco signed a £4million contract to operate all air traffic control services for Coventry Airport.[53]

Health in the UK[edit]

Serco provide facilities management services at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital,[54] Leicester Royal Infirmary,[55] Wishaw General Hospital[56] and at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.[57]
Serco is involved in a joint venture called Viapath, formerly GSTS Pathology, providing pathology services to Guy's and St. Thomas' and King's College NHS trusts.
The company had contract for out-of-hours GP services in Cornwall from which it withdrew in December 2013 after the company left the county short of doctors. The company also said it would stop running Braintree hospital in Essex as it pulled out of managing GP services and large hospitals.[58]
In health services, Serco's difficulties include the poor handling of pathology labs and fatal errors in patient records. At St Thomas' Hospital, the increase in the number of clinical incidents arising from Serco non-clinical management has resulted in patients receiving incorrect and infected blood, as well as patients suffering kidney damage due to Serco providing incorrect data used for medical calculations.[59] A Serco employee later revealed that the company had falsified 252 reports to the National Health Service regarding Serco health services in Cornwall.[60]
It emerged in November 2013, Serco, which won a contract for Suffolk Community Healthcare in 2012, had 72 vacancies after earlier cutting 137 posts. Problems identified by Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group include “staff capacity, skill mix, workload, succession planning and morale, training, communication, mobile working, care co-ordination centre processes, incidents and near miss incidents”.[61]
In April 2014 Serco revealed that it would lose almost £18 million on three of its NHS contracts. The firm has made provisions for losses in its Braintree and Cornwall contracts, which were cancelled early. It has also made provisions for losses in its contract for services in Suffolk. The company claims it will take longer to deliver the operational efficiencies it hoped for, despite saying in May 2013 that it expected to make a profit on the three-year, £140 million contract for community services.[62]

Health in the USA[edit]

In July 2013 Serco was awarded a $1.25 billion contract to manage the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[63]
Serco is one of the 55 contractors hired by United States Department of Health and Human Services to work on the HealthCare.gov web site.[64]

Education[edit]

Serco held a 10-year contract with Bradford City Council between 2001 and 2011 to manage and operate the local education authority,[65] providing education support services to the City's schools. This period was marked with "real problems" according to senior council officials and was taken back in house by the local authority after this period.[66] Serco similarly manages and operates Walsall[67] and Stoke-on-Trent local education authorities.[68] Serco is one of Ofsted's three Regional Inspection Service Providers, responsible for school inspections in the English Midlands.[69] Serco is also the provider of a Student information system, Facility, used in schools and colleges in several countries.[70]

Drivers' licensing[edit]

Serco, through a purpose-made division Serco DES, holds a 10-year, $114 million contract with the Province of Ontario to operate the province's DriveTest driver examination centres. These tests include vision, road, and knowledge tests for all persons seeking to become a licensed automobile driver in the province.[49]

Leisure[edit]

Serco operates a number of leisure centres across the UK including Wet N Wild and the Manchester Aquatics Centre, the aquatic venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.[71]

Information Technology[edit]

Serco also administers a number of publicly funded websites in the UK, including the Business Link website.[72] It presently runs the IT Infrastructure for the London Borough of Southwark winning the 5-year tender in 2007.[73]

Waste[edit]

Serco operates waste collection services for local councils.[74]

References[edit]

1.  ^ Jump up to: a b c "Preliminary Results 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 23 March 2014. 
2.  Jump up ^ Serco: At a glance
3.  Jump up ^ "Where We Operate". Retrieved 10 May 2013. 
4.  ^ Jump up to: a b c "History". Serco. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
5.  Jump up ^ Hubler, David (30 December 2008). "Serco wraps up SI International buy". Washingtontechnology.com. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
6.  Jump up ^ "EthosJournal". Serco. Retrieved 11 February 2011. 
7.  Jump up ^ "Sick of Serco: Meet the Protesters Outside the Outsourcing Giant's London AGM". International Business Times. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014. 
8.  Jump up ^ "Bucking the trend: Poll shows huge opposition to privately run public services". Politics.co.uk. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014. 
9.  Jump up ^ Government snared in fight over scrapped £742m e-Borders contract
10. Jump up ^ "Transport for London: Franchise". Tfl.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
11. Jump up ^ Serco to operate Woolwich Ferry Services[dead link]
12. Jump up ^ Hill, Dave (12 August 2009). "Boris Johnson bike hire scheme: and the winner is". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
13. Jump up ^ "Serco confirmed as Northern Isles ferry operator". UK: BBC News. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012. 
14. Jump up ^ "Department for Transport: Serco NedRailways announced as Preferred Bidder". Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
15. Jump up ^ Shah, Saeed (21 February 2001). "Serco to run Britain's first traffic control unit". The Independent (UK). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
16. Jump up ^ Australia's Great Train Journeys
17. Jump up ^ The Ghan – Australia on line
18. Jump up ^ Serco preferred bidder for Dubai metro operations contract[dead link], Railway Gazette International 2007-06-19. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
19. Jump up ^ Milanese run København Metro[dead link], Railway Gazette International 2008-01-08. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
20. Jump up ^ "Serco:Strömma manage ferries". Cruise and Ferry. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014. 
21. Jump up ^ "Managing NPL". Npl.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
22. Jump up ^ "National Physical Laboratory". EthosJournal.com. Retrieved 11 February 2011. 
23. Jump up ^ Contract News Update
24. Jump up ^ New management team takes over at National Nuclear Lab
25. Jump up ^ Home Office: Electronic tagging
26. Jump up ^ Paterson, Craig. "Virtual Private Prisons". Corporate Watch. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
27. Jump up ^ "Home Office: Yarls Wood". Ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
28. Jump up ^ "Home Office: Colnbrook". Ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
29. Jump up ^ "Wackenhut Corrections wins prisoner escort contract". Prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
30. Jump up ^ Detainees at Yarls Wood Immigration Centre facing sexual abuse, The Observer, Mark Townsend, 14 September 2013, Retrieved 15 September 2013.
31. Jump up ^ "Prison Privatisation". Strafvollzugsarchiv.de. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
32. Jump up ^ "Department of Corrective Services: Acacia Prison Contract". Correctiveservices.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 22 September 2010. 
33. Jump up ^ "Government of Australia: Criminal Justice System". Aic.gov.au. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
34. Jump up ^ Private contractor Serco to run detention centres Crikey, 1 July 2009
35. Jump up ^ Companies Use Immigration Crackdown to Turn a Profit The New York Times, 28 September 2011
36. ^ Jump up to: a b c d O'Keeffe, Patrick. "Nightmare on Christmas Island: Serco's Australian Detention Center". CorpWatch. Retrieved 2 January 2013. 
37. Jump up ^ "Serco says Mt Eden prison contract worth $300M". NZ News UK. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011. 
38. Jump up ^ New private prison at Wiri given green light, The New Zealand Herald, 8 March 2012
39. Jump up ^ "Serco Inc. Secures Two Contract Renewals from the City of Chicago". Retrieved 23 February 2012. 
40. Jump up ^ Terry Macalister (2 September 2004). "PFI deals help Serco to record order book of £10bn". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
41. Jump up ^ "Airport of Embarkation". Raf.mod.uk. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
42. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Serco Business Review Page 20" (PDF). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
43. Jump up ^ Serco Sodexho and the real story about work choices
44. Jump up ^ "Defence Academy". Da.mod.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
45. Jump up ^ Harrison, Michael (21 June 2001). "BNFL consortium seeks 15-year extension to Aldermaston contract". The Independent (UK). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
46. Jump up ^ "Dstl Inspire Contract release". Serco. Retrieved 2 November 2010. 
47. Jump up ^ "Marine Services". Serco. Retrieved 20 February 2009. 
48. Jump up ^ Serco – Middle East
49. ^ Jump up to: a b Serco – North America
50. Jump up ^ Goose Bay Airport – Control Tower services
51. Jump up ^ Terry Macalister (3 March 2004). "Serco wins Iraqi Air Traffic Deal". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
52. Jump up ^ "Scatsta Airport control tower not fit for purpose". Shetland Times. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
53. Jump up ^ Coventry Airport Gears Up For Business Coventry Airport, 15 June 2010
54. Jump up ^ "Private Finance Initiative – Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital" (PDF). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
55. Jump up ^ "Leicester Royal Infirmary: Hospital Cleaning". Uhl-tr.nhs.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
56. Jump up ^ Krissy Storrar (25 February 2006). "So you thought it was Tony and Gordon in charge?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
57. Jump up ^ "New company vows to clean up Derriford Hospital". 3 June 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2011. 
58. Jump up ^ "Serco to lose out-of-hours GP services and hospital management contracts". The Guardian. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013. 
59. Jump up ^ Ramesh, Randeep (30 September 2012). "NHS lab failings followed Serco-led takeover". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2 January 2013. 
60. Jump up ^ Lawrence, Felicity (20 September 2012). "Serco gave NHS false data about its GP service 252 times". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2 January 2013. 
61. Jump up ^ Serco seeks NHS help to fill vacancies, Health Service Journal, 20 November 2013 , Retrieved 22 November 2013.
62. Jump up ^ "Serco to make £17.6m losses on NHS contracts". Health Investor. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014. 
63. Jump up ^ "Obama Administration Defends Serco, Firm With $1.2 Billion Obamacare Contract, Amid U.K. Probe". Huffington Post. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013. 
64. Jump up ^ USAtoday, front page October 24, 2013, “Hot seat for stealth website builders
65. Jump up ^ Catcheside, Kim (10 November 2003). "Bradford: Concerns about education privatisation". BBC News. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
66. Jump up ^ http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/9547507.Bradford_Council_s___100_000_tribunal_pay_outs/
67. Jump up ^ "Chris Hyman: Can Serco take over the World?". The Independent (UK). 2 September 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
68. Jump up ^ Best school in town and still they want to close it Ed Caesar The Sunday Times 11 November 2007
69. Jump up ^ "New inspection contracts signed" (Press release). Ofsted. 25 March 2009. 
70. Jump up ^ "A window opens on pupils' progress". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
71. Jump up ^ "Serco picks agency to help it beef up marketing". Marketing Week. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
72. Jump up ^ "Enlightenlive". Enlightenlive. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
73. Jump up ^ "Southwark voluntary and community groups to receive PCs from serco". Findarticles.com. 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
74. Jump up ^ "Breckland contractors". Breckland District Council. 07/09/2012.  Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links[edit]


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FTSE 100 ← United KingdomFTSE 250 companies of the United Kingdom
As of 23 June 2014
Posted by John MacHaffie at 8:09:00 PM

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