Although collaboration between public sector organisations is often understood as a response to cross-cutting policy needs that cannot be met individually, collaboration can also reduce costs, write Muiris MacCarthaigh, Thomas Elston, and Koen Verhoest.
Why do public sector organisations work together? There are some immediate and obvious answers to this question, such as the need to avoid service overlap and […]
The pressures of competition, together with the growth in the use of performance data, keep service providers on their toes: if they want to keep customers and their money, they need to keep them happy. But this is not good news in a public services context, writes Catherine Needham and outlines four key problems created by the customer language.
Once […]
If used appropriately, the state’s purchasing power could result in new terms and a better deal for taxpayers when it comes to the government’s PFI contracts. The CHPI research team explain why it is necessary to renegotiate and how this may be done in order to limit the leakage of profits and avoid additional upfront costs of buyouts.
A Smith […]
Although public bodies invevitably have to make supply decisions that involve third parties, the law must allow them to impose public interest conditions, write John Tizard and David Walker. They explain why outsourcing has so far failed, and what should be done about it.
Following the collapse of Carillion comes an authoritative judgement by the National Audit Office that – […]
Drawing on empirical research on the recent Work Programme, Rebecca Taylor, James Rees, and Christopher Damm explain how providers from the public, private, and third sector experienced delivering it; and how the supply chain model worked.
In spring 2017 the government’s main welfare to work initiative – the imaginatively titled Work Programme – reached its unheralded conclusion. It was replaced […]
Banks have economic features similar to those of utility service providers – which are typically regulated more heavily than other companies – writes Phil Molyneux. He explains how banks ought to be regulated with this point in mind, and concludes that greater regulatory oversight of bank pricing and service provision is necessary.
It has been nearly a decade since the […]
Could Public Service Mutuals fill a gap in the public service market? Andrew Laird writes that, because they look to take the best from the public and private sectors, they empower staff to use their judgement on the one hand, and encourage service users to influence the services they use on the other. He explains how they could be […]
Is Jeremy Corbyn the new Centre in British politics? Ed Straw explains how years of privatisation, uncontrolled immigration, and deterioration in public services – combined with the lack of choice that comes with First Past the Post – all call for a leftward turn, and could rejuvenate the Labour Party.
Turning a signpost through 90 degrees at a crossroads in […]
Exploitable loopholes: how the self-employed non-resident status can be a route to child maintenance evasion 
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: the betrayal of a whole generation? 
The spectre of automation? Three strategies to ensure automation works for the common good 
EU citizens in the UK are in a particularly weak position and need an independent authority to monitor their rights 
How effective is Parliament in controlling UK government and representing citizens? 
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