The government’s ‘troubled families’ initiative has great potential, but many practical problems must be addressed – not least how we account for the improvements made
Yesterday’s re-launch of the government’s policy to tackle the challenges of so called ‘troubled families’ is to be welcomed – in spite of the dispute over the government’s statistics and some of the more colourful...
As the Government and wider public sector continues to encourage staff and others to create mutualised businesses to deliver public services, it is time to make the case for long-term mutualism.
Understandably, concerns are being expressed by public sector employees and their trade unions that the creation of a ‘spin out’ mutual is just the first step to the enterprise...
The G4S Olympics security fiasco has rekindled the debate over private suppliers using ‘commercial in confidence’ excuses to avoid openness in public contracts. Now, more than ever, we need to make all our public services transparent and accountable
Last week I heard Margaret Hodge, the Chair of the House of Commons Public Account Committee, call for greater transparency and accountability...
The current fiasco over security at the Olympics and the reported failure of G4S to recruit sufficient staff is serious for the Olympics, London and the UK’s credibility, the security of athletes and spectators, and for an already overstretched police and security/armed forces.
There clearly needs to be a comprehensive enquiry into what went wrong, when and why this happened,...
This week’s Local Government Association conference needs to think positively about how to confront the challenges that local authorities face in these challenging times
This week, the Local Government Association assembles for its annual conference in Birmingham. Council leaders, councillors and senior officers will be gathering as the financial storm clouds (and given this summer’s track record, possible meteorological storm...
If the government wants local government to take local leadership and deliver the new ‘city deals’, it will need the tools and resources to do the job
The government’s intention to devolve more powers and, it is to be hoped, resources to cities and – in some cases – city regions is very much welcome.
Local determination for a variety of...
Plans to replace NHS Direct with a 24-hour helpline have faced opposition from potential private providers. So what has gone wrong with the outsourcing process?
Today’s reports that major outsourcing companies including Capita and Serco are not bidding for the NHS Direct call centre contracts should raise some serious alarm bells across government and the wider public sector.
Companies, and...
Tragically for those whom it is intended to assist, a programme designed in very different economic conditions and based on a belief that market incentives would drive a range of providers to secure long-term employment for those who have been inactive in the labour market for a long period may end up not delivering.
Similar programmes have worked in other...
Did you know that amongst the FTSE 50 and Fortune 100 companies, the majority of HR Directors spend 25% of their time focused on one specific activity – monitoring, nurturing and growing the best of their internal talent?
That’s quite a statistic – and indicative of top-level, home-grown talent being seen as an extremely high priority. So if that’s ‘best...