The Commissioning Academy: establishing a curriculum for success
The UK Government’s Open Public Services 2012 paper declares: “…we want to establish a Commissioning Academy to drive…necessary commercial skills and confidence. In a world where more and more public services are commissioned from providers outside the public sector, we need to ensure that employees – and politicians – across central government and the wider … Continue reading
Incapacity assessments (2) – empowering contracts
We start with the basic premise that virtually everyone is better off in work. If that is the case, incapacity assessments should be geared to maximise the number of people leaving benefit for employment (as opposed to being transferred to lower levels of benefit). This second part of an examination of these assessments considers how … Continue reading
Incapacity assessments (1) – crippling contracts
The assessment of people claiming benefits on the basis of disability, illness or injury appears fraught with difficulty. ‘Fit for work’ seems currently defined by media myopia, and benefits are awarded on the basis of points scored for unfitness not fitness. This first part of an examination of these assessments considers the Catch 22 created … Continue reading
Buying Quality Performance 