Letter: The privatisation of Civil Service work

Sir: Madsen Pirie's article 'On job cuts it has to be no, Minister' (20 May) is predicated on two fallacies fashionable with the ultra-right. The first is that government processes and private business are the same, and that most of the former could therefore best be carried out by the private sector. But they are palpably different. And in many cases the functions of the state are wholly unsuitable for privatisation.

Three widely chosen examples illustrate my point: compulsory purchase of land, planning appeals and immigration controls. The decision-makers on these and many other matters must be accountable to the electorate through ministers. The second fallacy is that tightly written contracts with private providers of services are better than direct in-house control. Many with experience of default by contractors will know that enforcement is both time-consuming and a lawyer's happy hunting ground. And in the event of a contractor's financial collapse, contractual terms may count for nothing.

Yours faithfully,

R. J. LATHAM

Wedmore, Somerset