Category Archives: public services

Labour’s proposals for an outsourcing revamp reflect a trend of insourcing

Reviews of outsourced public service contracts – as proposed by Labour – should involve a range of stakeholders, says outsourcing commentator John Tizard. John McDonnell and Andrew Gwynne announced this weekend that Labour will reset the default for local government services to be publicly owned, publicly managed and publicly accountable. The policy proposal with its associated guidance… Read More...

Summer reflections

It has been another challenging six months for those working in the public sector, as it has in other sectors too, but the accumulative effect of over ten years of austerity is taking its toll. Local authorities are reporting that they cannot guarantee to meet their statutory duties and are struggling to respond to increases… Read More...

Public services and hedge funds do not equate

At the end of last month Britain’s second-biggest care home operator, Four Seasons, appointed administrators to push through a sale in a last-ditch attempt to save the business that houses 17,000 residents. The administration of two holding companies — which were set up by the care home chain’s former private equity owner, Terra Firma —… 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...

The public must be assured its money is being well spent

As the public faces higher taxes, fundamental revisions are needed to public audit, argue John Tizard and David Walker. At a time of corrosive mistrust in parliament and public affairs, the National Audit Office stands solid. Under Amyas Morse it enjoys near mythical status as an honest and rigorous analyst of how public money is spent.… Read More...

Let 2019 be the year when the sector is bold and radical

The voluntary and community sector cannot duck out of the political debate. It should expose and challenge policies 2019 is going to be an eventful year and one when we will require the voluntary and community sector to draw on all reserves (and I don’t primarily mean our financial reserves – if we have any)… Read More...

Festive public procurement crackers

Even public sector procurement officials will be taking some time off over the next couple of weeks to sit around their Christmas trees, perhaps with a glass in their hands. Like all public sector officials, they deserve a rest and time to recharge. I hope that there will be lots of rest, good food and… Read More...