Two important reports came out this month on the future of public services. First is the 'Putting people into public services' report of the National Consumer Council. They look at the critical area of regulation, often not considered by commentators but crucial in ensuring services, whether publicly or privately provided, meet standards and expectations. Regulators are often remote, hidden and ha...

THE future of public services in Scotland was being debated today at a seminar run by the Scottish Parliament's think-tank.

Over at Ctrl-Shift Ive tried to sketch out the impact of VRM (buyer-centric commerce, customer-managed relationships, user-driven identity) on public services:It seems to me the effects of VRM on public services will be of four sorts. It will improve public services. It will cut costs. It will de-tox the “database state”. And it is the perfect basis for co-creation of our public servic...

Buried in the Observer this past weekend was support for mutual forms of ownership of public services in an editorial about the Royal Mail, as part of a range of means of provision:Arguments based on the intrinsic virtue or innate evil of private sector involvement in public services are increasingly irrelevant. Public institutions must in the future rely on a wide mix of structures, formed in rec...

Julian Ware-Lane, Labour's candidate for Castle Point, has added his voice to the Unison campaign to create a fairer society. "I believe we need public services to help our economy recover from the recession. Our services look after people in good times and in bad and are making our country a fairer place. Our public services need investment, not cuts and privatisation." "I have been a public...

By Gary Fraser. An Analysis of the Christie Commission Report on the Future Delivery of Public Services The case for public service reform has never been more urgent. The evidence is pointing overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the current way of doing things in the public sector, even without the cuts, is simply not sustainable. This article

People can check the quality of public services across England on a new website set up by the Audit Commission.

The fact that the UK leads the world in outsourcing public services is nothing to celebrate, the Public and Commercial Services union says.

Public services provision in Europe is set to be radically liberalised from bureaucracy but will at the same time come under more scrutiny from the EU executive following two proposals tabled by the European Commission yesterday (20 December). More »

Please go here and sign up to ask No.10 to employ John seddon as Public Services Tzar to bring his Systems Thinking methodology to public services. Spread the word. Or tell Call me Dave. If you don't know who John Seddon is, search my old posts or buy the book - "Systems thinking in the public services"