Two audit reports looked at contract management across government. The general report said that there were weaknesses in the management of most of the contracts reviewed, with problems found in their administration, including poor governance and record keeping and capacity issues. The second report compared the responses of the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to the problems each had identified with their contract management, and the recent progress made with their improvement plans.
Source: Transforming Government's Contract Management, HC 269 (Session 2014–15), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | Guardian report
Source: Transforming Contract Management, HC 268 (Session 2014–15), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | NAO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Sep
A report provided the findings from the first independent review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, which examined, in particular, the quality of its main annual publications, the capacity and capability of its staff, and stakeholder confidence in the organization.
Source: Kevin Page, External Review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, Office for Budget Responsibility
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Sep
The government responded to a report by a committee of peers on the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, in particular on the aspects of the Bill that related to 'leapfrog appeals' to the Supreme Court, and to judicial review.
Source: Government Response to the Second Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution Session 2014/15: Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, Cm 8927, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Response | Peers report
Date: 2014-Sep
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Green Deal finance scheme, designed to support improvements in the energy efficiency and warmth of United Kingdom homes, had not delivered as intended over its first eighteen months, and had caused frustration and confusion for both consumers and businesses in the supply chain through a combination of financial, communication, and behavioural barriers. The report called on the government to prioritize the Green Deal and to consider new incentives to encourage energy efficiency, such as stamp duty discounts and variable council tax rates.
Source: The Green Deal: Watching brief (part 2), Third Report (Session 2014–15), HC 348, House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | NLA press release | Inside Housing report | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Sep
The police service inspectorate said that there was significant variation in the way in which police forces in England and Wales approached police attendance in response to calls from the public, and around one-third of forces were failing to identify vulnerable and repeat victims of crime. The report raised concerns about the level and nature of recording of responses, service demand, performance and workload of officers, and outcomes. It said that, nationally, the provision and use of technology was inadequate, that there was no national police information strategy, that there were delays in setting up the police information/communications technology company, and there was a lack of modern mobile technology in many forces. The report made forty recommendations for urgent improvements.
Source: Core Business: An inspection into crime prevention, police attendance and the use of police time, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | HMIC press release | ACPO press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A new book examined changes in higher education policy in England, drawing on comparison with the systems in the United States of America and across the European Union. The book concluded that a strategy of marketization needed to be accompanied by state regulation in order to function effectively.
Source: David Palfreyman and Ted Tapper, Reshaping the University: The rise of the regulated market in higher education, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2014-Sep
The government auditor began consultation on a new draft code of audit practice for the audit of local public bodies. The consultation would close on 31 October 2014.
Source: Code of Audit Practice (Draft) – Consultation document, National Audit Office
Links: Consultation document | Draft code | NAO press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A report examined challenges facing the Work Programme, particularly in working with those participants who were the hardest to help. The report discussed shortcomings in the design of the existing scheme and suggested new models for future schemes that would better use the expertise of voluntary organizations.
Source: Ramzi Suleiman, Stepping Stones: The role of the voluntary sector in future welfare to work schemes, National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Links: Report | NCVO press release
Date: 2014-Aug
An article examined the network governance approach in public policy and administration in England. Drawing on case studies of economic development and affordable housing provision, it said there was little evidence for a paradigm shift and that bureaucratic and hierarchical structures, and centralised power, remained evident, with policy change driven or constrained by the interests of politicians and the influence of business. The article proposed an alternative framework for the study of public administration and management.
Source: Martin Laffin, John Mawson, and Christianne Ormston, 'Public services in a "postdemocratic age": an alternative framework to network governance', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Volume 32 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs said that whistleblowing was an important source of information for the government on wrongdoing and risks to public service delivery, but whistleblowers had too often been 'shockingly' treated. The report said that departments' own attempts at changing whistleblowing policy and processes had not been successful in changing a bullying culture, or in combating unacceptable behaviour such as harassment of whistleblowers, and a lack of cross-government leadership on whistleblowing had resulted in an inconsistent approach across departments. The committee welcomed the announcement of an independent policy review into whistleblowing in the National Health Service.
Source: Whistleblowing, Ninth Report (Session 2014 15), HC 593, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Aug
An article examined the third sector's role and involvement in the Work Programme, and government-funded quasi-markets more generally.
Source: Christopher Damm, 'A mid-term review of third sector involvement in the Work Programme', Voluntary Sector Review, Volume 5 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Aug
A report said that housing associations and local authorities were well positioned to benefit from the creation of social value through creating jobs, stronger local economies, healthier residents, and vibrant communities. However, it said that despite this context, and the introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act, one-third of organizations surveyed did not consider social value across all the services they procured. The report made a range of recommendations, including: for organizations to have written policies and nominated leads for social value; for the integration and consideration of social value across all services; for organizations to work with, and support, social enterprises to deliver social value; and for impact to be measured.
Source: Nick Temple and Charlie Wigglesworth, Communities Count: The four steps to unlocking social value, Social Enterprise UK
Links: Report | SEUK press release
Date: 2014-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs said that it recognized the progress made by the Major Projects Authority (MPA) in strengthening project assurance and improving the transparency of information, but that serious weaknesses in the government's project delivery capability and increasing numbers of projects created significant challenges in achieving further improvements. The report said that the MPA, in certain areas of its work, had to rely too heavily on informal means to influence departments. Although a previous committee report had said that MPA reviews should recommend whether or not a project should be continued, and that the Treasury should ensure this was adhered to, the report said this was not found to be happening in practice. It said that the decision to reset the Universal Credit project was taken by ministers, and that the committee was concerned that this was an attempt to hide information and prevent scrutiny. Other points raised in the report included: a lack of prioritization and portfolio management at both a departmental and a cross-government level; insufficient up-front planning of projects; and concerns over the number of higher risk projects in the Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence. The report made a range of recommendations, including that the Treasury should take ownership and responsibility for overseeing the government portfolio as a whole, that there should be a more formal and transparent system to document instances where MPA recommendations were rejected, for the improvement up-front project planning, for more frequent and detailed published information on project delivery, and for the improvement of project delivery skills of ministers, shadow ministers, and permanent secretaries.
Source: Major Projects Authority, Tenth Report (Session 2014 15), HC 147, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Aug
The Welsh Government published a Bill designed to: set a framework within which public authorities would seek to ensure the needs of the present were met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (the sustainable development principle); put into place well-being goals (defined in the Bill); set out how the work towards those goals would be demonstrated; put Public Services Boards and local well-being plans on a statutory basis and simplify existing requirements as regards integrated community planning; and establish a Future Generations Commissioner for Wales to advocate for future generations, and to advise and support Welsh public authorities in carrying out their duties under the Bill.
Source: Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Bill, Welsh Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Written statement
Date: 2014-Aug
A report examined complaints handling in immigration removal centres in the United Kingdom, and whether this had improved since the publication of a critical report in 2008. It said that, while some areas had improved, time scales for replies to complainants were not being consistently met, and there were frequent problems with the quality, scale, and impartiality of investigations. Recommendations included: to increase transparency and scrutiny of complaints handling, with an independent overview of the process and a strengthened and clarified role for independent monitoring boards; to introduce standards for investigation, and for healthcare complaints to meet National Health Service complaints standards; to improve learning from complaints; and for direct access to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, rather than through MPs.
Source: Christine Hogg, Biased and Unjust: The immigration detention complaints process, Medical Justice
Links: Report | Summary | MRN press release
Date: 2014-Aug
The government began consultation on proposals to introduce a legal power contained in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill to require certain prescribed persons to report annually on public interest (whistleblowing) disclosures that they had received. The consultation would close on 30 September 2014.
Source: Prescribed Persons: Annual reporting requirements on whistleblowing, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2014-Aug
An audit report said that government spending on grants accounted for 41 per cent (£292 billion) of its total expenditure of £715 billion, but its effectiveness was undermined by a lack of co-ordination and by central government not having information on the grant programmes that were currently operating. It said that different parts of government provided grants to the same recipients and a lack of information meant that the government typically could not identify whether recipients were receiving other payments. Some departments were found to use grants without systematically considering alternatives, and departments did not consistently evaluate the implementation and outcomes of their grant programmes. The report made recommendations, including for better information sharing.
Source: Government Grant Services, HC 472 (Session 2014–15), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release
Date: 2014-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that although the Treasury and the Cabinet Office were developing a cross-government strategy for debt, government inaction on the collection of monies due to the Exchequer had led to large volumes of old debts building up in departments that were unlikely to be collected. It called on the government to make changes to ensure future prompt action, real co-operation across departments, better data for a more detailed understanding of debtors and their circumstances, and a more strategic approach to the use of debt collection agencies.
Source: Managing Debt Owed to Central Government, Seventh Report (Session 2014–15), HC 555, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that there were a number of weaknesses in the management of the student loans system, and that the committee was concerned that the system was rapidly approaching a tipping point for its financial viability. The report called for an urgent review of the sustainability of the system and recommended that the government should look abroad for examples of best practice.
Source: Student Loans, Third Report (Session 2014–15), HC 558, House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined how a central government policy imperative (the reduction of alcohol-related hospital admissions) led to 'government at a distance' responses, including the introduction of regional alcohol managers (RAMs) to work with local partners on evidence-based interventions. It said that the processes involved were indicative of a 'complex, interactive policy network model', with three levels of policy network (central government, regional, and local) that left RAMs situated in the middle, pulled between conflicting agendas, but able to have an impact on central and local policy.
Source: Charlie Lloyd, Betsy Thom, Susanne MacGregor, Rachel Herring, Christine Godfrey, Paul Toner, and Jordan Tchilingirian, 'Soft methods, hard targets: regional alcohol managers as a policy network', Journal of Substance Use, Volume 19 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jul
An audit report said that the Work Programme had a poor start but was now 'at similar levels to previous programmes', although behind the original forecasts. The report noted difficulties with contracts and performance indicators, which were not operating as originally intended, and said that the Department for Work and Pensions had also found it difficult to improve outcomes for harder-to-help groups. It said that the programme had the potential to offer value for money if it could achieve the higher rates of performance that the department now expected.
Source: The Work Programme, HC 266 (Session 2014–15), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | DWP response
Date: 2014-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Crossrail programme to deliver a new rail service in London and the south east of England was proceeding well and was on course to deliver value for money to the taxpayer. It said that the programme provided an opportunity for the government to learn valuable lessons about delivering major projects, such as the importance of careful early preparation, but raised questions about how government compared different transport projects when making investment decisions. The committee noted that, with work ongoing, considerable risks remained in delivering the programme by 2019.
Source: Crossrail, Eighth Report (Session 2014–15), HC 574, House of Commons Transport Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills had underestimated the market value of Royal Mail, and it expressed concern that there had been an inadequate return for taxpayers upon privatization of the company's assets.
Source: Royal Mail Privatisation, First Report (Session 2014–15), HC 539-I, House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release
Date: 2014-Jul
A report said that many people subject to benefit sanctions were forced into poverty and ill-health, and often had to rely on foodbanks. The report said that many were not told (or did not understand) the reason for the sanction, or how to appeal against it, and some benefits advisers reported sanctions being applied when claimants had good reasons for not meeting their requirements.
Source: Sanctioned: What benefit? A report on how sanctions are operating from the experience of Scottish Citizens Advice Bureaux, Citizens Advice Scotland
Links: Report | CAS press release
Date: 2014-Jul
The police service inspectorate said that most forces had risen to the budgetary challenges of austerity, but there were growing concerns that neighbourhood policing, in particular, was at risk of being eroded and that the response to major events such as riots or murder investigations would become more difficult to achieve. The report said that collaboration between forces, public, and private sector organizations remained patchy, fragmented, overly complex, and too slow, and that changes were required if forces were to achieve further substantial cost reductions in the future. The report said that the capacity for the same level of cuts, distributed in the same way and with the same structures in place, was unlikely to be sustainable for all forces in the longer-term, and called for a considered and open debate about how policing was best funded and organized in the future.
Source: Policing in Austerity: Meeting the challenge, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | HMIC press release | ACPO press release | Police Federation press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report (by an official advisory body) said that the existing law relating to data sharing was complex and inconsistent, having been developed in an ad hoc way and with previous reform having been piecemeal, often compounding inconsistencies. The report recommended that a full law reform project should now be carried out in order to create a principled and clear legal structure for data sharing to meet need, accord with emerging European law, and cope with technological advances. It said that the scope of the review should extend beyond data sharing between public bodies to the disclosure of information between public bodies and other organizations carrying out public functions, and that the project should be conducted on a tripartite basis by the Law Commission of England and Wales, the Scottish Law Commission, and the Northern Ireland Law Commission.
Source: Data Sharing between Public Bodies: A scoping report, LC351, Law Commission
Links: Report | Law Commission press release | RSS press release
Date: 2014-Jul
A report provided findings from a review of the handling of police complaints of discrimination in three large police forces in England (West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire). It said that all three forces did not investigate allegations properly, in a customer-focused way. The review had found that, of 170 complaints from the public alleging discrimination, 94 were investigated and, of those, no discrimination allegations were upheld. The report said that eight out of ten cases had been found not to be properly investigated, and two thirds of case decisions were poorly communicated. The report said that insufficient training in diversity had been a contributing factor to the way in which complaints were investigated. Recommendations included the better use of IPCC guidelines, and the improvement of training and the complaints procedure, in collaboration with local communities.
Source: Police Handling of Allegations of Discrimination, Independent Police Complaints Commission
Links: Report | Summary | IPCC press release | BBC report | EHRC press release
Date: 2014-Jun
The borders and immigration inspectorate examined the efficiency and effectiveness of the application process for European Economic Area nationals seeking registration certificates, as well as for non-EEA partners and spouses applying for residence cards. The report also looked at Home Office practices around fraudulent applications for European documents, in particular applications through marriages of convenience (sham marriage), and the investigative and enforcement activity that took place in such cases. The report said that the refusal decisions made were of good quality, with 28 of 29 refusals deemed reasonable, and the backlog of cases had been cleared by April 2014, but there was a lack of strategy on sham marriages across departments and prosecution levels of those found to be using deception were low. It made recommendations for improvements in a wide range of areas including: the retention of documents; management information on performance; more timely issue of registration certificates and residence cards; the removal of refused applicants; and investigation of sham marriages (which had been the subject of an earlier report).
Source: The Rights of European Citizens and their Spouses to Come to the UK: Inspecting the application process and the tackling of abuse, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
Links: Report | Sham marriage report | ICI press release
Date: 2014-Jun
An audit report said that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had given good support and guidance to the local authorities involved in three private finance initiative (PFI) waste contracts. However, all three projects had experienced significant delays stemming from a range of problems (such as planning permission, complex commercial considerations, opposition from local groups, and uncertainty over technology), and there had been a lack of clarity over aspects of the projects and over the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved. The report said that the nature of the department's funding agreements for two projects, which the department had inherited from predecessors, made it difficult to withdraw or amend the financial support to the contracts.
Source: Oversight of Three PFI Waste Projects, National Audit Office
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A report provided the interim findings from year one of a three year evaluation (2012-2015) of the European Social Fund Local Service Board Development and Priority Delivery Project, which aimed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public services in Wales through more effective collaborative working and by building the capacity of public services to deliver higher quality services.
Source: Valeria Guarneros-Meza, James Downe, Max Munday, Steve Martin, Lorna Adams, Katie Spreadbury, Erica Garnett, Carol Hayden, and John Houghton, Evaluation of the ESF Local Service Board Development and Priority Delivery Project: Interim report, Research Paper 58/2014, Welsh Government
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Education Funding Agency needed to improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the education sector, especially in respect of the growing number of academies. The report acknowledged the context of budget cuts, and noted the difficulties the Department for Education had in reconciling different financial year ends, of clarifying ownership of academies' land and buildings, and of improving the data it received from academies. It said that the Agency needed better systems to provide more timely, accurate, and complete data, needed to improve its monitoring and enforcement of financial management in free schools and academies, and needed to respond to any evidence that may suggest conflicts of interests where academy trusts bought goods and services from individuals and organizations connected to their schools.
Source: Education Funding Agency and Department for Education Financial Statements, Sixty-first Report (2013-14), HC 1063, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Jun
An audit report said that the Major Projects Authority had responded positively to earlier recommendations regarding its annual report on the status of major projects. It said that the revised guidance issued by the Authority had helped to improve the quality of the data published by departments and had contributed to reducing the amount of undisclosed data by nearly a third, although there was still room for further improvement in the quality of departmental narrative disclosures. The report said that there had been a marked increase in the number and value of projects rated as amber-red (at higher risk), while the corresponding figures for green rated projects (with high confidence levels) had fallen – this was in part due to 39 mature projects (which tended to have higher delivery confidence ratings) leaving the portfolio while 47 new projects (which tended to be rated as higher risk) had joined. However, the rating of ongoing projects had declined slightly, with 27 projects receiving an improved delivery confidence rating and 32 receiving a lower rating. The report said that the Authority had introduced a new category of 'reset', which it had applied to the Universal Credit project, following the development of a 'reset plan'.
Source: Major Projects Authority Annual Report 2013-14, National Audit Office
Links: Report | February 2014 report | MPA Annual Report
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined the decision taken by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey to terminate a suite of crime, case, intelligence, and custody technology improvements, known as the SIREN information/communications technology project, in 2013. It said that the delays suffered by the SIREN project had caused it to be overtaken by changes in external and strategic considerations. At the time of cancellation, it had incurred a cost to date of £14.86 million, and the report said that the decisions to terminate the project and proceed with a different solution were reasonable as an exit strategy. The report examined weaknesses that had impacted on the project's delivery, including the lack of experience of the Force and its supplier in managing a project of this size, and inexperience in the chosen delivery methodology (Agile), which had led to delays and poor management of risk, as well as the non-delivery of project benefits. The report made recommendations for the PCC and Chief Constable to consider when undertaking future large scale projects.
Source: Termination of the Siren ICT Project, Grant Thornton
Links: Report | Grant Thornton press release | Surrey Police press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-Jun
A new book examined partnership working and governance under the New Labour government in the United Kingdom. It said that, despite substantial investment in the partnership agenda, there was little evidence that this had significantly improved outcomes. It examined three areas of policy (child safeguarding, urban regeneration, and the modernization of health and social care), applying a new framework to the analysis before making recommendations about effective collaboration.
Source: Helen Dickinson, Performing Governance: Partnerships, culture and New Labour, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined quality assurance in the higher education system in England. It said that the sector was undergoing rapid change and that the assurance system needed to evolve to ensure the maintenance of qualities such as high educational standards and the independence of the sector. It said that the assurance system needed to balance the risk of stifling innovation with the risk of the growth of poor quality provision, in a system complicated by United Kingdom-level reference points alongside England-specific funding, policy, and regulatory changes. The report made recommendations.
Source: How Do We Ensure Quality in an Expanding Higher Education System?, University Alliance
Links: Report | University Alliance press release
Date: 2014-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that there had been no statistically significant change in the overall levels of benefit fraud and error since 2005/06 and there were uncertainties around the Department for Work and Pensions' existing capability to administer the housing element of universal credit without increased risks of fraud and error. The committee said that the government would need to have a fully developed and tested system in place prior to the national implementation of universal credit, and would need now to build on the successful use of real-time information on earnings and other innovative measures, aligned with the known risk factors of each benefit, if fraud and error was to be reduced further. The report said that the government should publish summaries of estimated levels of fraud and error separately, to reduce the risk of confusion or conflation of statistics in media reporting and public perceptions of benefit fraud.
Source: Fraud and Error in the Benefits System, Sixth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 1082, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2014-May
A report evaluated the Invest to Save Fund, a Welsh Government initiative that provided financial support to public service organizations for strategic improvement projects. It said that the fund was making substantive progress towards delivery against its overarching aims and objectives, had supported good projects, and had delivered a wide range of benefits, including savings. It noted areas for development, including performance monitoring. The report made a range of recommendations, including that the fund should be continued, with a review of its overall intent and a more developmental focus.
Source: Simon Pringle, Joe Duggett, Chris Wilkinson, and Geoff White, An Independent Evaluation of the Invest to Save Fund: Final report, Research Paper 40/2014, Welsh Government
Links: Report | Case studies | Interim report | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2014-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that changes to rehabilitation services for prisoners, that aimed to introduce new private and voluntary providers, payment by results, a new National Probation Service, and additional probation services for short-term prisoners, were being introduced on an ambitiously short timescale. The committee's report discussed risks that would need to be managed, including a lack of piloting and the service procurement process.
Source: Probation: Landscape review, Fifty-eighth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 1114, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that it was still too early to determine how successful the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners had been and that, given the low turn-out for their election, the concept was still 'on probation'. It said that police and crime panels had found it difficult to understand their powers and define their role, and recommended that aspects of their role regarding appointments should be strengthened and extended. It also recommended: training for new commissioners; the election of named deputy commissioners alongside commissioners at the 2016 elections; that commissioners should review urgently the auditing arrangements for performance targets; for greater legal clarity regarding the grounds on which a chief constable might be suspended or removed; and for the development of a third party mediation process for instances where the relationship between a commissioner and chief constable had broken down.
Source: Police and Crime Commissioners: Progress to date, Sixteenth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 757, House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | CFPS press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-May
A think-tank report examined commissioning in the public sector, and developed a 'user guide', based on practice in Northamptonshire County Council. It outlined a need for further work to develop capacity to identify desired outcomes that could be translated into meaningful and enforceable contractual requirements, alongside a more pragmatic approach to risk sharing between the commissioning body and the service provider.
Source: John Nicholson, Effective Commissioning: An NLGN white paper, New Local Government Network
Links: Report
Date: 2014-May
A report examined existing practice in Scotland regarding the review of child deaths. The report recommended that Scotland should introduce a national Child Death Review System to: review each death systematically in a multi-agency forum; collate a uniform data set to inform learning and policy development; and identify factors which might reduce preventable childhood deaths.
Source: Scottish Government Child Death Review Working Group, Child Death Review Report, Scottish Government
Links: Report | Summary | Scottish Government press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-May
A paper outlined the role and purpose of the Further Education Commissioner, how the FE Commissioner process operated in resolving underperformance in the sector, and lessons learned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from such interventions.
Source: Intervention in Further Education, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Paper | DBIS press release
Date: 2014-May
A report examined the views of recent home movers in Britain regarding the design and presentation of the Green Deal incentive scheme to encourage energy efficiency improvements to homes. It concluded that there was a need to reduce the cognitive burden on home-owners and 'reframe the offer', to increase understanding and remove barriers to uptake.
Source: Green Deal Incentives Research, Department for Energy and Climate Change
Links: Report
Date: 2014-May
An article examined projects funded by the United Kingdom Beacons for Public Engagement on the topic of environment and sustainability. It outlined factors that limited the capacity of the initiative in its efforts to achieve public engagement, as well as the practice of coinquiry.
Source: Audley Genus, 'Coinquiry for environmental sustainability: a review of the UK Beacons for Public Engagement', Environment and Planning C, Volume 32 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-May
Two reports outlined findings from phase two of the process evaluations of different payment by results pilots at Peterborough and Doncaster prisons. The pilot programmes were designed to introduce interventions to reduce reoffending by providing ongoing support following release from prison. The Peterborough project had informed ongoing reforms to the probation service, including the extension of supervision to all offenders on release from prison.
Source: Emma Disley and Jennifer Rubin, Phase 2 Report from the Payment by Results Social Impact Bond Pilot at HMP Peterborough, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | MOJ press release
Source: Evelyn Hichens and Simon Pearce, Process Evaluation of the HMP Doncaster Payment by Results Pilot: Phase 2 findings, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | MOJ press release
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined offender rehabilitation services, the use of payment by results, and the recent Transforming Rehabilitation reforms in the United Kingdom. It argued that the design of the payment by results scheme, level of payment, level of state investment, degree of control of the provider over outcomes, and the level of competition between providers were all essential to success. The report said that the government should seek to increase investment, and roll other schemes such as the work programme and prison services into the rehabilitation reforms.
Source: Nigel Keohane and Arthur Downing, Breaking Bad Habits: Reforming rehabilitation services, Social Market Foundation
Date: 2014-Apr
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman service needed to be updated, linking the issue with an earlier report on complaints about public services. The report's recommendations included: that the 'MP filter' needed to be abolished, so that people had direct access to the redress system; that the service needed to be able to receive complaints other than in writing; that the PHSO should be able to investigate areas of concern without having first to receive a complaint; that the government should consult on the creation of a single public services ombudsman for England; and that there should be a distinctive ombudsman service for United Kingdom non-devolved matters.
Source: Time for a People's Ombudsman Service, Fourteenth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 655, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Complaints report | Committee press release
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined knowledge exchange performance in the English higher education sector and the estimated impact of the Higher Education Funding Council for England's knowledge exchange funding.
Source: Tomas Coates Ulrichsen, Knowledge Exchange Performance and the Impact of HEIF in the English Higher Education Sector, Higher Education Funding Council for England
Links: Report | HEFCE press release | CBI press release | Durham University press release | Russell Group press release
Date: 2014-Apr
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government as a whole was not complying with best practice on complaints handling. It said that complaints about, and complaints handling in, the National Health Service had been described to the committee as a 'toxic cocktail' of a reluctance on the part of citizens to complain, and a defensiveness on the part of health services. The report said that the Cabinet Office should strive to change attitudes and behaviour in public administration at all levels in respect of complaints handling. It made recommendations, including that there should be a minister for government policy on complaints handling and that there should be a single point of contact for citizens to raise concerns about public services.
Source: More Complaints Please!, Twelfth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 229, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | NHS Confederation press release | PHSO press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Apr
An article examined the views of probation staff in England and Wales about the meaning(s) of 'quality' in probation practice.
Source: Gwen Robinson, Camilla Priede, Stephen Farrall, Joanna Shapland, and Fergus McNeill, 'Understanding "quality" in probation practice: frontline perspectives in England & Wales', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 14 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
An article examined media scandals involving nursing homes for older persons in Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, considering whether and how different social, political, and economic contexts might influence events. It said that a number of common factors were present in all of the scandals and, while government action was taken in each case, it generally did not address the underlying structural conditions.
Source: Liz Lloyd, Albert Banerjee, Charlene Harrington, Frode Jacobsen, and Marta Szebehely, 'It's a scandal! Comparing the causes and consequences of nursing home media scandals in five countries', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 34 Issue 1/2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government should: monitor the impact of limiting the up-rating of benefits, particularly in light of the rate of inflation; improve its assessment of personal independence payment claims, and clear the backlog; provide local authorities with sufficient funding to enable them to continue their local welfare support schemes beyond April 2015; ensure the open market provision of annuity schemes was a realistic option for all those who purchased annuities; monitor the impact of charging for the new statutory child support scheme; provide greater clarity on the schemes for voluntary child support arrangements and clarify how it proposed to deal with historic arrears; and be more objective in its use of official statistics about benefits, and avoid fuelling negative views about benefits recipients through their accompanying commentaries.
Source: Monitoring the performance of the Department for Work and Pensions in 2012-13, Third Report (Session 2013–14), HC 1153, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Mar
A special issue of a journal examined the governance of quasi-markets in welfare services.
Source: Social Policy and Administration, Volume 48 Number 2
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Katharina Zimmermann, Patrizia Aurich, Paolo Graziano, and Vanesa Fuertes, 'Local worlds of marketization – employment policies in Germany, Italy and the UK compared'
Isabel Shutes and Rebecca Taylor, 'Conditionality and the financing of employment services – implications for the social divisions of work and welfare'
James Rees, Adam Whitworth, and Elle Carter, 'Support for all in the UK Work Programme? Differential payments, same old problem'
Date: 2014-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government was failing to manage performance of private sector providers of public services. It said that a more professional and skilled approach was required to managing contracts and contractors, and that contractors needed both to demonstrate high standards of ethics and to be more transparent about their performance and costs. The report said that the contracting process at present excluded small and medium sizes businesses and that the granting of contracts had led to the evolution of 'privately-owned public monopolies'. The committee would return to this issue in future work.
Source: Contracting Out Public Services to the Private Sector, Forty-seventh Report (Session 2013–14), HC 777, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that the transition of public health responsibilities to Public Health England had been smooth and that service delivery had not suffered as a result. It raised a number of operational concerns, including concerns about capacity at the local government level, and discussed the political independence of the body.
Source: Public Health England, Eighth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 840, House of Commons Health Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Feb
A report called for reform of the way in which public services were organized, to create a 'relational state' that operated at a more devolved but interconnected level. The report argued for: decentralized budgets; more pooling of funding; integration of professionals into multi-disciplinary teams; greater frontline autonomy and accountability; new collaborative infrastructures to share knowledge and learn from innovation; linking service users with lead professionals with whom they could develop a relationship over time; the allocation of professionals to neighbourhood-based patches; and strengthened relationships between citizens.
Source: Rick Muir and Imogen Parker, Many to Many: How the relational state will transform public services, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | IPPR press release
Date: 2014-Feb
A paper examined public sector reform. It said that the debate about whether or not to reform had now became sterile. It outlined a strategy, or roadmap, for reform that would pursue improvement through a 'disciplined pluralism' that recognized the value of diverse institutions, communities, and places. It called on the Labour Party to work towards a clear economic and social rationale for reform, with the resources to make changes, the development of capacity to develop tailored and personalized services, and sustained political support for organizations while the changes progressed.
Source: Patrick Diamond, Joe Goldberg, Hopi Sen, and Jacqui Smith, Reform in an Age of Austerity: A journey, not a destination, Progress
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Feb
The government responded to the outcome of a consultation on reforms to the system of judicial review. It said that the government had concluded that reform was necessary. Proposed changes (some of which had already been announced in the National Infrastructure strategy and the 2013 autumn statement) included: a specialist planning court within the High Court to deal with judicial reviews and statutory appeals relating to nationally significant infrastructure projects and other planning matters; a lower threshold test for when a defect in procedure would have made no difference to the original outcome; allowing appeals to 'leapfrog' directly to the Supreme Court in a wider range of circumstances; and restrictions in legal aid for judicial review cases, oral permission hearings, Protective Costs Orders, Wasted Costs Orders, interveners' costs and third party funding. Some of the proposals were included in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, and others would be taken forward by means of secondary legislation.
Source: Judicial Review Proposals for Further Reform: The government response, Cm 8811, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Report | Consultation paper | MOJ press release
Date: 2014-Feb
A report examined the processes and indicators for measuring the impact of equality bodies in the European Union.
Source: Niall Crowley, Processes and Indicators for Measuring the Impact of Equality Bodies, Equinet (European Network of Equality Bodies)
Date: 2014-Jan
The Williams Commission published its report on the governance and delivery of public services in Wales. The Commission had been asked to examine all aspects of public services in Wales and make recommendations on their future direction. The report made over 60 recommendations, including: to remove duplication and ensure that organizations worked together effectively, with shared services and greater collaboration; to reduce the number of local authorities; to strengthen governance and scrutiny; greater citizen and community involvement in design and delivery of services; and to strengthen leadership.
Source: Full Report, Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery
Links: Report | Summary report | Welsh government press release | WLGA press release | BBC report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2014-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs said that Jobcentre Plus should continue to provide a public employment service for the unemployed, but key performance indicators should be immediately revised to incentivize more clearly the support of jobseekers into work, rather than merely removal from receipt of benefits. The report also said that the department should: formulate performance measures to promote sustained job outcomes; launch an independent review of the consistency, accuracy, and fairness of the application of conditionality and sanctions; and publish a comprehensive Local Support Services Framework by autumn 2014 to enable local authorities to design and commission services in time for the national roll out of universal credit.
Source: The Role of Jobcentre Plus in the Reformed Welfare System, Second Report (Session 2013–14), HC 479, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO
Links: Volume I | Volume II | ERSA press release | Gingerbread press release | London Councils press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jan
An audit report said that the National Health Service waiting time standards for elective care in England had mostly been met nationally, although the picture was varied for individual trusts and the published waiting time figures were subject to recording inconsistencies and data coding errors. The report recommended actions for NHS England and commissioners, to improve data quality.
Source: NHS Waiting Times for Elective Care in England, HC 964 (Session 2013–14), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | NHS Confederation press release | RCN press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs said that it was deeply concerned about the use of confidentiality clauses and special severance payments in terminating employment contracts in the public sector. It welcomed some progress on the issue but said that the Treasury needed to take a more robust approach to the use of compromise agreements by the wider public sector and by private sector providers of public services.
Source: Confidentiality Clauses and Special Severance Payments, Thirty-sixth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 477, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jan
An article examined the effect of withdrawing incentives on recorded quality of care, in the context of the United Kingdom Quality and Outcomes Framework pay for performance scheme. It suggested that, after removal of incentives across a range of activities, performance remained stable, although all of the investigated activities had remained indirectly or partly incentivized in other indicators, such that further work would be needed to establish whether the findings held when incentives were fully withdrawn.
Source: Evangelos Kontopantelis, David Springate, David Reeves, Darren Ashcroft, Jose Valderas, and Tim Doran, 'Withdrawing performance indicators: retrospective analysis of general practice performance under UK Quality and Outcomes Framework', British Medical Journal, 348 January 2014
Date: 2014-Jan
A special issue of a journal examined the introduction and first year of police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.
Source: Safer Communities, Volume 13, Number 1
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Matthew Davies 'The path to Police and Crime Commissioners'
Liz Turner 'PCCs, neo-liberal hegemony and democratic policing'
Stuart Lister 'Scrutinising the role of the Police and Crime Panel in the new era of police governance in England and Wales'
Sophie Chambers 'Who is policing the Police and Crime Commissioners?'
Timothy Brain 'Police and Crime Commissioners: the first twelve months'
Date: 2014-Jan
A paper examined productivity levels in the National Health Service in England for 2011-12, over a range of measures. It said that productivity had grown between 2010-11 and 2011-12, despite a potential underreporting in some activities. The paper discussed fluctuations in productivity over time.
Source: Chris Bojke, Adriana Castelli, Katja Grasic, and Andrew Street, Productivity of the English National Health Service from 2004/5: Updated to 2011/12, Centre for Health Economics (University of York)
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs said that the performance of the Local Government Ombudsman had improved over the past 12 months, to became more accountable, efficient and transparent. The report said that the government would plan to restructure the organization if it could find parliamentary time, but made four interim recommendations, to: publish the staff survey in full; introduce external review of aspects of its operations; appoint at least one independent board member; and introduce an independent evaluator of complaints to focus on the operation of its systems and services, rather than its decisions.
Source: Further Review of the Work of the Local Government Ombudsman, Fifth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 866, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jan
An article examined reforms to the governance of local policing in England and Wales over the previous two decades. It said that the 'success' of regime changes was contingent upon the translation of regimes into practice, and thus far they had had limited success.
Source: Daniel Gilling, 'Reforming police governance in England and Wales: managerialisation and the politics of organisational regime change', Policing and Society, Volume 24 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jan
An audit report said that there were clear gaps in the new policing framework in England and Wales that had the potential to undermine accountability both to the Home Office and to the public. The report said that while some people in the sector believed that elected commissioners had potential to improve accountability and value for money, police and crime panels had limited effectiveness and lacked powers to act on the information they received, and the introduction of both commissioners and police and crime panels had increased the potential for local tensions. The report said that commissioners were not publishing all the data that the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 required, limiting the public's ability to hold commissioners to account. The report concluded that further work was needed to ensure that the system would provide value for money.
Source: Police Accountability: Landscape review, HC 963 (Session 2013–14), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Jan