A survey examined public attitudes to the principles behind taxation, and tested attitudes to potential options for reform of local government funding. There was high awareness of income tax, council tax, and VAT. Levels of awareness (including the amount individuals paid and different types of taxation) were primarily affected by socio-economic group and income: more affluent respondents were more aware of taxes on savings, inheritance, and capital gains. There was confusion over which services were funded by local government and which by central government. There was a strong feeling that local authorities were bureaucratic, inefficient, and wasteful of public money.
Source: Alison Palmer and Michael Thompson, Public Attitudes to Taxation & Public Services: Report of qualitative research findings, Lyons Inquiry into Local Government (020 7270 5214)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
A think-tank report examined the implications for public services regulation of policies to develop a mixed economy of provision, with greater autonomy for providers and greater choice for users. The key goal was to ensure that regulation both supported the needs of service users and reflected the operational realities confronting commissioners and providers.
Source: The Future of Public Services Regulation, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
A report said that private finance initiative (PFI) contracts were operationally effective, and their compliance with service level agreements was high.
Source: Effectiveness of Operational Contracts in PFI, KPMG (020 7311 1000)
Links: Report | KPMG press release
Date: 2005-Nov
The Northern Ireland Executive announced the results of a review of public administration. It proposed a series of changes to public services, based on the principle of a smaller core civil service, with responsibilities passed to local government and other organizations in the public, community and voluntary and private sectors. Services would be delivered regionally only when there were over-riding efficiency or equality considerations.
Source: Statement by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the outcome of the Review of Public Administration, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 22 November 2005, columns 106-119WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Statement | Hansard | NIO press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report said that voluntary and community organizations were well placed to provide high quality public services, especially those that targeted excluded sectors of the community.
Source: Investment with a Difference, Futurebuilders England Limited (020 7680 7880)
Links: Report | Futurebuilders press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article said that research into partnerships in social policy remained theoretically undeveloped. It proposed a theoretical framework that focused on the dynamic and contextual nature. A case study on partnerships in sport policy was used to illustrate the analysis.
Source: Ian McDonald, 'Theorising partnerships: governance, communicative action and sport policy', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 34 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Oct
A think-tank report said that co-operatives were well-placed to compete for public service delivery contracts.
Source: Howard Reed and Kate Stanley, Cooperative Social Enterprise and its Potential in Public Service Delivery, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Report (pdf) | Children Now report
Date: 2005-Oct
A report said that children's centres, extended schools and youth projects were the prime places where voluntary organizations could deliver public services. But it identified a range of barriers, including local authorities bringing Sure Start in-house, uncertainty about children's trusts, and the impact of extended schools.
Source: Investment with a Difference: First Learning Report, Futurebuilders England Limited (020 7680 7880)
Links: Children Now report
Date: 2005-Oct
A paper examined the reform of public sector welfare services, comparing a mix of private and a public service provider with full privatization. Under full privatization prices escalated to the highest possible level. As a consequence, consumer welfare was higher with a mixed institution unless the proportion of low-cost customers was high.
Source: Hans Gersbach and Maija Halonen-Akatwijuka, Mixing Private and Public Service Providers and Specialization, Working Paper 05/131, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A paper examined how competition and market forces could be used to improve the way that public policy was implemented.
Source: Robert Hahn, Justin Coombs, Ciara Kalmus, Carlos Razo and Katherine Curry, Public Policy: Using market-based approaches - Lessons and guidance for policy makers, Department of Trade and Industry (0870 150 2500)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
A think-tank report (by a Liberal Democrat spokesman) said that the debate over public services reform was too doctrinal. It said that decentralization, competition and choice should be at the heart of reform.
Source: Vincent Cable MP, Public Services: Reform with a Purpose, Centre for Reform (020 7222 5121)
Links: No link
Date: 2005-Sep
A think-tank report examined the government s use of targets in four public services: education, health, housing, and the criminal justice system. It set out the design flaws in the existing targets regime, but concluded that these flaws were the result of specific design problems.
Source: Claudia Wood et al., To the Point: A blueprint for good targets, Social Market Foundation (020 7222 7060)
Links: Summary | PWC press release
Date: 2005-Sep
A report set out a strategy for improving public services, based on listening to what people wanted and how they experienced services.
Source: Ed Mayo, A Playlist for Public Services, National Consumer Council (020 7730 3469)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
A report (containing two papers) reviewed both the political impact and the practical effect of the proposed expansion in the role of the voluntary and community sectors in delivering public services.
Source: Will Paxton and Nick Pearce, Julia Unwin and Peter Molyneux, The Voluntary Sector Delivering Public Services: Transfer or transformation?, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
A think-tank report said that radical new forms of volunteering could be the secret to rejuvenating communities and delivering better public services.
Source: Paul Skidmore and John Craig, Start with People: How community organisations put citizens in the driving seat, Demos, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary | Demos press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A think-tank report analyzed opportunities for public authorities to implement human rights principles more effectively, with a view to improving the provision of public services, and the ways in which such developments could be measured and encouraged.
Source: Frances Butler, Improving Public Services: Using a Human Rights Approach, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary
Date: 2005-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the role of customer choice in public services.
Source: Choice and Voice in the Reform of Public Services: Government Response to the PASC report ? Choice, Voice and Public Services, Cm 6630, Cabinet Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response (pdf) | MPs report
Date: 2005-Jul
A report said that greater voluntary sector involvement would put the public and communities in charge of public services. But an umbrella group for voluntary organizations expressed concern, saying that the future of the sector did not lie solely in the delivery of public services.
Source: Nick Aldridge, Communities in Control: The new third sector agenda for public service reform, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (0845 345 8481) and Social Market Foundation | Press release 26 July 2005, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: ACEVO press release | NCVO press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jul
The Cabinet Office published its annual report for 2004-05.
Source: Departmental Report 2005, Cm 6543, Cabinet Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
An audit report said that substantial improvements were needed in the way government departments provided funding to 'third sector' organizations to deliver public services.
Source: Working with the Third Sector, HC 75 (Session 2005-06), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | NAO press release | NCVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jun
A think-tank report examined how information and communications technology could help to improve public services. In order to improve both customer satisfaction and value for money, public servants needed to match the right technology with different groups.
Source: Alexandra Jones and Laura Williams, What ICT? Providing more citizen focused services, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report (pdf) | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2005-Jun
A book chapter examined the relationship between consumerism and public services reform.
Source: John Clarke, Nick Smith and Elizabeth Vidler, 'Consumerism and the reform of public services: inequalities and instabilities', Social Policy Review 17: Analysis and debate in social policy, 2005, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2005-Jun
A research report examined the performance of public-private partnerships ('PPPs') in Scotland, and made detailed recommendations for improving evaluation procedures.
Source: Cambridge Economic Policy Associates Ltd, Public Private Partnerships in Scotland: Evaluation of Performance - Final report 2005, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Date: 2005-May
A report said that an increased role in the delivery of public services offered voluntary organizations an excellent opportunity to reach more of the individuals and communities they existed to support. But those that engaged in public services delivery should do so because it helped them meet their objectives, not as an end in itself.
Source: Public Services: The Role of the Voluntary Sector, National Council for Volunteering (020 7520 8900)
Links: Report | NCVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-May
A paper analysed the shifting balance between public sector and private sector welfare provision since 1979, focusing on five sectors education, health, personal social services, housing, and income maintenance and social security. Changes had been relatively small and gradual: around half of all welfare activity, dropping from 52 per cent to 49 per cent, was entirely public; around a quarter, rising from 24 per cent to 29 per cent, was entirely private; and the remainder involved a mixture of both sectors. Within the latter group, there was a notable increase over time in the contracting-out of public services, which rose from 6 per cent to 10 per cent of all welfare activity.
Source: Rachel Smithies, Public and Private Welfare Activity in the United Kingdom, 1979 to 1999, CASEpaper 93, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion/London School of Economics (020 7955 6679)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Abstract
Date: 2005-Mar
The government announced new principles that would underpin future public service pay and workforce modernization negotiations. The principles, which had been agreed with trade unions, promoted action in a number of areas including investment in skills, equal pay, pension reform, systems of pay incentives, and a constructive approach to increased workplace flexibility and adaptability.
Source: Press release 31 March 2005, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Cabinet Office press release | Principles (Word file)
Date: 2005-Mar
The government announced an extension of the code of practice preventing the emergence of a two-tier workforce in cases where public sector employees were contracted out to a service provider. The code, which had been operating in local government, would be extended to the wider public sector - including the civil service, National Health Service and maintained schools - with immediate effect.
Source: Press release 18 March 2005, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Cabinet Office press release | Code of Practice | TUC press release | UNISON press release
Date: 2005-Mar
A study examined whether increased choice would improve outcomes in education and healthcare. It concluded that a successful choice policy in education would improve standards for most school students, and might mean that the working class gained and the middle class lost, as the house price premium from living near a good school was reduced. In healthcare, hospitals might react by merging, thereby reducing the benefits of competition.
Source: Simon Burgess, Carol Propper and Deborah Wilson, Choice: Will more choice improve outcomes in education and health care? - The evidence from economic research, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that although choice was regarded by the public as an important feature of good public services, it was not necessarily their highest priority.
Source: Choice, Voice and Public Services, Fourth Report (Session 2004-05), HC 49, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Mar
Researchers examined the effectiveness of public-private partnerships in the provision of public service infrastructure. They found that such partnerships could provide benefits in some circumstances. However, in some situations such as those where a building would have little residual value at the end of a contract more traditional procurement models were likely to be better.
Source: John Bennett and Elisabetta Iossa, Public-Private Partnerships: An Incomplete Contract Approach, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: ESRC press release
Date: 2005-Mar
The charities regulator announced that charities would be permitted to deliver public services which public authorities had a statutory duty to provide. Charities could previously only use charitable funds to supplement such services.
Source: Press release 21 February 2005, Charity Commission for England and Wales (0870 333 0123)
Links: Charity Commission press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Feb
The full findings were published of the 2004 Voluntary and Community Sector Review - designed to explore the role of the sector in public service delivery and reform. Three reports were produced. The first summarized the review outcome: it suggested the way forward to build understanding, strengthen local partnerships, and press for progress in particular service areas. The second was a discussion document on how the sector could realize its full potential contribution to service delivery, including involvement in the design and evaluation of public services. The third was a practical checklist for local practitioners to consider in the development of local compacts, or in entering partnership arrangements with the voluntary and community sector.
Source: Working Together, Better Together, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558) | Exploring the Role of the Third Sector in Public Service Delivery and Reform, HM Treasury | Effective Local Partnerships, HM Treasury and other departments
Links: Working Together (pdf) | Exploring Third Sector (pdf) | Local Partnerships (pdf) | HMT press release
Date: 2005-Feb
A think-tank report contained a free-market manifesto for the next 50 years, covering a diverse range of policy areas - including health, education, social security, pensions, labour markets, tax policy, Europe and the environment.
Source: Philip Booth (ed.), Towards a Liberal Utopia?, Institute of Economic Affairs (020 7799 8900)
Links: Report (pdf) | IEA press release
Date: 2005-Feb
A think-tank report said that only reform on a greater scale than that offered by any of the political parties would improve the performance of public services, and open the way to significant reductions in tax. Huge public spending increases since 1999-2000 on almost wholly unreformed services had achieved little improvement in standards. Taxes were being driven up to their highest level for 25 years, and the strong fiscal position achieved by the end of the 1990s had been 'squandered'.
Source: Manifesto for Reform, Reform (020 7799 6699)
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | Briefing (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Feb
A think-tank report brought together research findings on the impact of choice in public services, focusing on health and education. It examined how user choice had been implemented; how well it had functioned; and the benefits and disadvantages it had delivered.
Source: Jonathan Williams and Ann Rossiter, Choice: The evidence, Social Market Foundation (020 7222 7060)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Jan
A report compared the size, structure and responsibilities of public sector organizations in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Source: Deloitte MCS Limited, Review Of Public Administration: Comparative Study, Review of Public Administration/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9027 7675)
Links: Report (pdf) | NIE press release
Date: 2005-Jan
A report by an official advisory body said that the government's modernization programme for public services did not pay enough attention to the environment, social justice, and quality of life. More should be done to ensure long-term improvements to public services and real benefits to taxpayers.
Source: Sharing the Value: A sustainable approach to the modernisation agenda, Sustainable Development Commission (020 7944 4964)
Links: Report (pdf) | SDC press release
Date: 2005-Jan
A report contained the findings of a national study in England which examined progress in the development of 'compacts' between government bodies (at national, regional and local levels) and the voluntary and community sector. It recommended that compact development should continue to be promoted across all public bodies and services.
Source: Gary Craig et al., The Paradox of Compacts: Monitoring the impact of compacts, Online Report 02/05, Home Office (web publication only)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jan