Paul O'Brien

Councils can lead green deal

2 May 2012 | Paul O'Brien

The government has gone cool on green issues. Whitehall must do more to support council initiatives Read more

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Mutuals: where’s the proof?

18 August 2011 | Paul O'Brien

Ministers are keen to promote mutuals as the way forward for the public sector, but there is little evidence to suggest that these will help to improve the quality and efficiency of services Read more...

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Off target on housing, by Paul O’Brien

19 July 2010 | Paul O'Brien

It is no surprise that recession breeds poverty and inevitably puts pressure on social housing. And although we have actually done better at stemming the number of repossessions than in previous recessions, social housing is still in chronically short supply with in excess of 1.8 million names already on council house waiting lists. Read more...

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Ensurance agents, by Paul O’Brien

27 November 2009 | Paul O'Brien

Councils must be more active in reducing tensions that can arise when local issues clash with wider considerations Read more...

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Bringing it all back home

16 January 2009 | Paul O'Brien

PF’s round table on outsourcing discussed burning issues for the future of public services. But it barely touched on insourcing, an option that more and more councils are considering in these difficult times Read more

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