Community budgets that pool funding for services could dramatically improve mental health provision. This ‘whole place’ approach should be backed in the Spending review Read more
Politicians and the press are complicit in providing simplistic solutions to complex problems. The public sector should offer an alternative approach by shutting down PR departments, eschewing spin-friendly press releases and, instead, telling the unvarnished truth Read more
It’s good news that growth has returned to the public sector consultancy market. Outside advice can be vital to public bodies as they try to make savings while improving services Read more
Community co-production might seem like a touchy-feely 1970s concept – but in austerity Britain parts of the public sector are making it work Read more
‘Command and control’ is the default position for politicians and public service managers. But, as the tragic failures in Mid-Staffordshire show, it is a deeply flawed delivery model Read more
Anyone who seriously believes the new Clinical Commissioning Groups will be in charge of NHS services and funding hasn’t looked at the small print Read more
It might not seem like it to people working across the health service, but the NHS is one of the lucky ones when it comes to funding. Read more
The real test of this week’s Budget will be whether George Osborne strengthens the management of the public finances. He must avoid ringfencing, while committing to surpluses that are measured comprehensively and linked to new fiscal rules Read more
Over-reliance on targets has been suggested as a factor in the Stafford Hospital scandal. But managers and front-line staff should never use the ‘system’ as an excuse for behaving in an unacceptable way Read more
With so many changes taking place in social care, there’s a need to review how funding is distributed across local authorities. Research has been commissioned, and up to 50 councils will take part in the study Read more
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