Author Archives: John Tizard

Pip And ESA Assessments Are Failing And It Is Time To Assess All Public Service Outsourcing

The report from the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee on the operation of the outsourced PIP and ESA assessments is yet another significant blow public service outsourcing. Though in reality, these blows are being inflicted not by the Select Committee but by poor contractual arrangements, poor contractor performance and, as in the… Read More...

John Tizard: The Outsourcing Debate: strategic ‘make or buy’ decisions can protect the public interest

The efficacy and even the ethics of public service outsourcing are being seriously questioned across the political divide but especially by the left. Similar deliberations are going on amongst public sector executives. And it would be no surprise to learn that investors, staff and executives in major outsourcing companies are wondering if this business model… Read More...

John Tizard and David Walker: Time to stop the ‘love-in’ with public service outsourcing

In a new Smith Institute report, Out of contract: Time to move on from the ‘love in’ with outsourcing and PFI, we are calling for an immediate pause in all public service contracting followed by a root-and-branch review of all existing deals. David Walker This report, published on 22 January. comes in the wake of… Read More...

Charities have a role in public services, but not as surrogate businesses

An urgent review of this model of public service delivery is needed, argue David Walker and John Tizard. The landscape of the UK and in particular England’s public services has changed dramatically over the past few decades. It has been changed by the growth in outsourcing to the business sector and, to a lesser extent,… Read More...

Carillion: Companies can go bust, councils cannot

Carillion has crashed; it’s winter for social care provider Four Seasons. The National Audit Office, using polite accountant speak, has condemned PFI as a giant scam and, implicitly, convicted HM Treasury of gross negligence. For the first time in the 30-year advance of outsourcing in public services, a principal political party is now officially opposed.So… Read More...

Let’s shed some light on public sector contracting

Carillion’s collapse shows public sector outsourcing is risky and limited. It’s time for a rethink and greater scrutiny and transparency, argue John Tizard and David Walker. If last year the charred stump of Grenfell Tower symbolised the failure of arm’s length management of public services, then the collapse of Carillion shows the limits of the… Read More...

Reach out for long-term relationships

When I speak to leaders and activists from the local voluntary and community sector (VCS), I am increasingly struck by the similarity of questions and concerns they are raising. Many of them relate to local government and the localist agenda.Of course, there are the inevitable (and justified) concerns about the lack of sufficient funding and… Read More...

Use dormant funds for systemic local change

Last week the government announced – or was it re-announced? – that it was unlocking £330m from dormant accounts, with the Big Lottery Fund and Big Society Capital distributing cash to initiatives tackling many social challenges. It announced that these funds would address a range of issues including the housing of vulnerable people, helping disadvantaged… Read More...

Public procurement professionals must step up and speak up in 2018

2018 will be another challenging year for the public sector. Austerity, cuts to funding, staffing and services will continue unless there is either a change of government in Westminster or the current government very surprisingly undergoes a Damascene conversion. Demand for services, especially social care, will continue to grow. There will be ridiculous calls for… Read More...

Charities and councils being at loggerheads won’t help local people

Across the country, relationships between the councils and charities seem strained or even, in places, broken beyond repair. Some commentators attribute this depressing picture to the impact of austerity, as well as the spread of neoliberal politics and a fixation with competitive tendering. Sadly, there are indeed many instances of misunderstanding and a breakdown in trust between… Read More...