Public services need fundamental reform and not salami-slice cuts, says think tank
Fundamental reform based on the principle of social productivity – and not salami-sliced cuts – is the right approach for public services, the cross-party Commission on 2020 Public Services has said.
Claiming in its final report that the country’s public services were “increasingly sustainable”, the new think tank added: “The impact of an ageing society could load the equivalent of an extra 4-6% on to public spending over the next two decades. Inequality is rising and current public service productivity has been falling.”
The commission called for a new deal between citizens and the state, based on the principle of social productivity – “greater social responsibility and more intelligent collaboration between citizens and public services”.
This would involve:
- A shift in culture: active collaboration between the citizens, society, the state and the market is “the future” of public service delivery. Mutuals and cooperatives should run public realm services such as parks, leisure centres and libraries, and school curriculums should be more locally and community-determined. The commission also proposes new lifecycle social accounts, which would track tax, benefits and service use and allow social contribution to be recorded and valued
- A shift in power: the current system is over-centralised and there needs to be a radical shift towards citizens. Where possible, citizens should commission services themselves using individual budgets and choice advisors. Neighbourhoods would control their own integrated services, while welfare services would be controlled locally. “Whitehall must get smaller”
- A shift in finance: an online statement of contributions and benefits should be available to everyone. Co-payment models should be brought in for higher education and longer-term social care. “Service providers should be paid by results”
The report called for the government to be open and honest about the scale of the cuts needed and the potential impacts of key reforms. “58% of the public accept the need for cuts, but politicians have not spelled out their immediate or long-term impacts,” it said. “This must happen openly and transparently, or long-term reform will be undermined.”
The Commission said local control should be extended as a way of managing change and providing “citizen-centric” public services. “Without visible accountability and strategic, locality level commissioning, reforms in health, education and elsewhere risk fragmenting an already siloed system and reinforcing the centre,” it warned.
A more for less principle – less funding from the centre in exchange for greater control over defining outcomes and commissioning services – should also be applied.
2020 Public Services Trust Director Ben Lucas insisted it was time to “get beyond the stale debate over postcode lotteries – social outcomes are already different across the country under our supposedly universalist system”.
Lucas said it would be far better to have minimum national standards and allow localities to develop their own approaches to improving social outcomes.
Sir Andrew Foster, chairman of the 2020 Commission, said the fiscal crisis must be used as an opportunity to re-shape public services for the long term.
He added: “We already know the demands ahead are unaffordable, and there is a real gap between what citizens want and what our services can deliver. We have set out our own principles for 2020 public services. It is now up to our politicians to demonstrate responsible leadership by being up-front and honest with citizens about the kind of society they want to see emerging from short term cuts and reforms.”
John Ransford, chief executive of the Local Government Group, said: “In the current financial climate, all parts of the public sector are having to make difficult decisions about what they provide and how. Local people must have the biggest say on what services they have access to in their local area and at what cost, and councils are listening to their views.
“As this report rightly points out, bypassing local democracy would put the decision-making process back in the corridors of Whitehall, often hundreds of miles away from the communities affected. Only local government is in a position to respond to the specific issues facing different parts of the country, and to support local residents in reshaping their public services in the way that will help them the most.
“The country can’t afford to waste a single pound on things that do not help provide services to people. We need to make sure that the government cuts waste and bureaucracy and protects front line services that people value.
“Local government is leading a new way of thinking which ignores barriers between organisations and uses one pool of money to provide the services residents needs as efficiently as possible. What is needed is nothing less than a transformation of the way the public sector works, giving power to the people who know their areas best.”
