Author Archives: John Tizard

What should ex-councillors do next?

This week across the country there will be hundreds and probably thousands of former councillors coming to terms with having lost their seats in the local elections. There will also be a further cadre of ex-councillors who will have freely decided not to seek re-election. And there will be some who, for whatever reason, have… Read More...

The sector cannot stand aside from the Brexit debate

It’s time for us to engage with the most existential issue of our time Last week I had the privilege to speak at an excellent conference on our sector and Brexit, organised by the think tank NPC, the Lloyds Bank Foundation and the Brexit Civil Society Alliance. I was struck not only by the broad… Read More...

You don’t build partnerships through competitive tendering

The voluntary and community sector, especially small local VCS groups, can offer so much – and ‘partnership’ between a vibrant and confident local voluntary and community sector and the public sector, especially local government but also the NHS and police, is critical to securing community wellbeing. In any ‘place’ the VCS will not be homogeneous,… Read More...

Compassion is not enough – we must act on our words and thoughts

It is all very well being compassionate and passionate, but social action and hard decisions are needed to create lasting change Compassion is a great motivator for social activists and those active in the voluntary and community sector, and almost everyone I meet in the sector demonstrates such, in as much as they display their… Read More...

Interserve raises big questions for public service outsourcing again

The public sector must be prepared for the risks or not entertain outsourcing at all, says consultant John Tizard. The recent events at Interserve have highlighted many concerns about the efficacy of of public service outsourcing. Many of these have been well rehearsed and frequently repeated, especially since the collapse of Carillion last… Read More...

David Lidlington’s five public interest objectives for outsourcing are welcome; will he go for a dozen?

It is very encouraging to hear the following words and commitment from David Lidington, Minister for the Cabinet Office: “Every year, the Government spends £49 billion with external organisations and it is morally right that we make sure none of that money goes to any organisations who profit from the evil practices of modern slavery.… Read More...

Wales can lead the way and move on from outsourcing public services

This article is based on a report which I co-authored with Dr Megan Mathias for the Wales Centre for Public Policy on public service stewardship and moving beyond contracting. The report was published earlier this month. It can be found at https://www.wcpp.org.uk/commentary/beyond-contracting-public-service-stewardship-to-maximise-public-value/. John Tizard The public sector in Wales spends over £6bn per year on the… Read More...

We should call time on the marketisation of public services

The current situation means the expertise and representative voice of the sector is lost Over the past decade or so, the voluntary and community sector has too often accepted without challenge the prevailing ideology and practice of applying market mechanisms to public services and the associated view that the key role of the VCS is… Read More...

Time for an overhaul of public audit

The crisis in company audit has knock on consequences for public audit – and now is a good time to review the remit of the National Audit Office, say John Tizard and David Walker Sir John Kingman hit the Financial Reporting Council hard in his report on the professional watchdog a couple of months ago. His… Read More...

Beyond contracting: public service stewardship to maximise public value

In this blog, John Tizard, co-author of our latest report Beyond contracting: public service stewardship to maximise public value, introduces some key issues and arguments. This is part of our series on public procurement – find out more here. The public sector in Wales spends over £6bn per year on the procurement of services, works and goods.… Read More...