Michael Burton Editorial Director, Hemming Local Government (publishers) Author, The Politics of Public Sector Reform from Thatcher to the Coalition (June 2013)
Why write a book on public sector reform? 30 years of reform – what does it mean? Wanted to put it into perspective Wanted to put it together in one book with an overview At a crunch time in public finances – big changes ahead
Previous reforms The Conservatives: Thatcher and Major New Labour: Blair and Brown The Coalition: heirs of Blair or a new direction in reform?
The overview Crunch time in public finances – austerity plus rising demand Big cuts in local government. Health and education protected but a cut due to rising demand Need transformation – but what does it mean?
The drivers of reform Treasury No 10 The Treasury Select committees The consumer Private sector competition
Key services where reform has taken place Whitehall NHS Local government Police Welfare Education
How the UK compares internationally Civil service: survey of OECD Health Education: PISA
Has reform worked? Public sector more responsive Big IT projects and procurement remain a problem Whitehall silo-working impedes joint working NHS still regarded as in need of more efficiencies Local government coping with 30% less
Key conclusions: my 10 points Transformation means less staff Suppliers’ margins will be cut Ministers are part of the problem Reform dogged by ‘not invented here’ Importance of leadership Don’t go for easy savings…
..and the remaining conclusions Get over territorialism Long-term socio-economic challenges must be addressed Public must get real about what they can expect from public services Break down silos –go for a total place approach to service delivery
A brief summary of 276 pages! And if you want to read the book it’s on websites at Amazon Palgrave Macmillan Other book sites you can find on Google