The Council Catch 22
As the rioters circle parliament in Athens and national strikes bring Italy, Spain and Portugal to a standstill, the same glaring gap exists in Europe as Jane identified in her blog’s recent challenge to the US presidential candidates. Belt-tightening may well be necessary, but where is the plan for jobs? Commissioning may hold the key. … Continue reading
Built to Scale
This article first appeared on http://www.guerillapolicy.org Guerilla Policy is an independent social policy think tank that seeks to develop ways for public service practitioners and service users to conduct research and policy analysis. The argument for the benefits of user and staff involvement in policy making is considerably strengthened by numerous example of projects that … Continue reading
Where’s the plan?
It is the half way point in the debate season and commentary on what was said, what should have been said and how much people care about what has been said is flowing thick and fast. Glaring by its absence in either the first presidential or the vice-presidential debate is a plan for jobs. Unemployment … Continue reading
Buying a horse-drawn cart for the West Coast Main Line
It was a brave decision to terminate the franchising of the West Coast Main Line and is indicative of the integrity of our civil service. It is wrong to heap responsibility on the heads of three officials (now suspended from the Department for Transport), who were probably following, with utmost professionalism, a clear process. This … Continue reading
Transcending service silos to head off mass homelessness
The commissioning of public services reinforces their separation and siloisation. At the front end, this can mitigate against meeting service user needs. There have been various attempts to address this, but few examples of success – possibly because the structures, from central government out, require and reinforce the disconnection. I am currently advising Brent Council … Continue reading
The jubilee jobseekers – the commissioner’s head is on the block
There are clearly questions to be answered by the security company, Close Protection UK, as well as by the charity, Tomorrow’s People, regarding their respective roles in the use of unpaid people on work experience to deliver on a security contract for the weekend’s jubilee celebrations – and in the subsequent failure in their duty … Continue reading
Out of work but not unemployed – storing up the cost of future US unemployment
Friday 4th May saw the publication of April’s employment figures for the US. They show a slight, but welcome, decline in unemployment, from 8.2% to 8.1%[1], which is the lowest rate for three years, as well as jobs growth for the 26th month in a row. These represent a marked difference to similar measures in … Continue reading
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 