Acheiving World Class Public Services: a Cabinet Office report
From Future of Local Services to the Public
Contents |
Summary
In June 2008, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown set out his vision for a new wave of public service reform with the aim of making public services truly world class.
The ‘Excellence and fairness: Achieving world class public services’ report published by the Cabinet Office sets out a possible framework for further improvement and provides a clear indication of the direction in which the Government plans to take public service reform
The report identifies three strands of reform that the Government feels are essential in the formula to produce world class public services:
1) empowering citizens,
2) encouraging a new professionalism, and
3) having a strong but strategic leadership from central Government.
If implemented aspects of each of the three strands of reform are likely to shape how public services are run in the future: empowering citizens would give them more control in deciding how services are run; fostering a new professionalism would give more autonomy to front-line workers; and a strong strategic leadership means that Government would be less involved in micro-management and place more emphasis on providing a vision and direction.
Impacts
- Budgets: where appropriate, there would be an increase in user choice
- Information Management: effective use of satisfaction and opinion surveys, an increase in direct communication, and more continuous, regular feedback to users helps to create informed choices and increase transparency and accountability.
- Workforce innovation, targets and demands: fewer demands from central government, accompanying greater freedoms for high performers and front line professionals to be innovative, share best practice and make decisions, and a greater emphasis on rewarding success.
- Government intervention: taking a more system wide perspective as an investor and director whilst ensuring standards in fairness, accountability and value for money.
- User choice: How can the users of this service be given more power and control to ensure: it reflects their aspirations and lifestyles; it is compatible with complex needs; and forges stronger relationships between citizens and public service professionals?
Relevance
- Font line workers: Given more autonomy and greater freedoms in some aspects, but will also have to work more directly with users in design and delivery.
- Users: empowered to be able to make informed choices where appropriate.
Innovations
The report draws examples from both within the UK and around the world in Heath, Education, Policing, and Employment to name but a few. For example:
- the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre where a community panel meets bi-monthly to represent the views of residents;
- the New York school annual ‘Report Cards’ which help citizens make informed choices;
- the Canada School of Public Service established in 2004 set up as a focal point for training;
References
A full copy of the report and a copy of the Prime Minister’s press release can be found here: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/work_areas/public_services.aspx
