UNION leaders walked out of a meeting in disgust on Monday as councillors approved a £260m business plan to outsource a major department in less than five minutes.

Unison had put together an objection to the business case for privatising the regulated services department, which includes services like environmental health, licensing and cemeteries.

The 170 page document is the first business case to be put forward under the One Barnet plans to outsource several council departments to the private sector.

In the cabinet resources committee meeting resident John Dix, who has sent time scrutinising the project, asked a series of questions about the business plan and assumptions made in it.

He was told by the chairman, Councillor Daniel Thomas in a written answer: “Councillors are not making any assumptions about the anticipated level of investment by a partner.

“We do expect that in order to make the cost savings investment will be made by any future partner, for example in technology and equipment.”

Mr Dix also raised issues over the sensitivity of the data, which has a ten per cent range for costs, which he was told was a “logical range” for the expenditure to operate.

During the meeting the councillors refused to discuss the union response to the plans, which they fear threatens hundreds of jobs.

Councillor Richard Cornelius, presenting the report, said: “It’s a moving feast, in many ways this rests on the assumptions about cost savings and increased revenues.

“If they can’t be delivered it’s a non-runner.”

He said the cemetery service may be pulled out of the cluster going out to tender as it is a “jewel in the crown”, and added the council would get “the best possible deal for Barnet” from the contracts.

Councillor Brian Coleman described the project as “exciting and innovative” adding “sometimes we forget that with all the trivia thrown in”.

After the meeting John Burgess, Unison’s Barnet branch secretary, said he was “disgusted” at the lack of debate at the meeting about the proposal, which is worth around £260m over the course of the contracts.

He said: “It does nothing for local democracy, I came away thinking there’s nobody’s questioning anything here. “