Serco is, according to Guardian journalist Jane Martinson, “the biggest company you’ve never heard of“. Chances are though, you’ve come across their services several times before, maybe without even knowing.
If you’ve ever been on the Docklands Light Railway, or most of the commuter trains in northern England (such as those in the picture above), you’ve been on a train run (or run as a joint venture) by Serco. If you prefer to drive, you may have been caught by a Serco speed camera, or seen a message on a matrix display operated by Serco.
You may find that your local hospital’s facilities are managed by Serco, or that your local education authority (which looks after schools) is run by Serco. And if you’ve been really naughty, you may have spent time in a Serco prison or young offender’s institute, or had to wear a Serco electronic tag as part of a curfew order.
Wikipedia has a big list of Serco’s operations, which include some businesses outside the UK. But many of the services that Serco provides are ones formerly provided by the state.
Today, our prime minister David Cameron announced that more private companies should be allowed to run almost any kind of public service. I would suggest buying shares in Serco, if I were you.
Related Posts:
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.