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Growth through devolution: A New Year’s outlook

• Posted on January 12, 2018 by Aileen Murphie

  A third of people living in England outside London live in one of England’s nine combined authorities, six being cities with directly elected mayors. Some commentators have expressed disappointment that the recent Secretary of State’s Annual Report on Devolution 2016-17 confirmed that there were no further devolution agreements in 2016-17. With combined authorities intended to be a key driver of local growth, should people, both in these regions and especially in areas without a combined authority, be clamouring for more action on devolution, or should we wait for clarity about the UK’s exit from the EU? What it will take for combined authorities to succeed in their aims? And do elected mayors have the potential to become significant figures on the national political stage? more… Growth through devolution: A New Year’s outlook

  Tagged: Access to services, Accountability, Brexit, Collaboration, Customer service, Devolution, Growth, Housing, Leadership, Local government, Police, Public sector reform

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WannaCry: what does it mean for government?

• Posted on June 23, 2017 by Tom McDonald

  WannaCry, the 12th of May global cyber attack, brought home clearly one of the key cyber security risks to government services: loss of access to data. This ransomware attack didn’t target the NHS, but the NHS was particularly affected by it, causing extensive disruption to patients and healthcare for a week. With digital transformation of public services a key government priority, what lessons from this episode can the government learn to protect public services from cyber attacks? more… WannaCry: what does it mean for government?

  Tagged: Accountability, Cyber security, Devolution, Digital transformation, Fraud and error, IT, Process management, Regulation & consumer protection, Risk management, Skills

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A flexible, engaged approach to efficient public services

• Posted on March 6, 2017 by Amyas Morse

  I was privileged to speak to The Strand Group at King’s College London in early February on some of the elements needed for government to successfully implement major change programmes in complex, interconnected systems. The examples on which I focused were local, adult social care and NHS services in light of devolution, fiscal restraint and Brexit. After my talk, I was asked many interesting questions, some of which I would like to explore in more detail in this post. [See here for the video and transcript.] more… A flexible, engaged approach to efficient public services

  Tagged: Amyas Morse, Brexit, Customer service, Devolution, Financial sustainability, Local government, Performance management, Public finances, Public sector reform

  3 Comments

Making public sector markets work

• Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Nancarrow

  What do energy suppliers, railways, doctors and rubbish collectors have in common? The answer: they, and many others, deliver essential services that involve, to a greater or lesser extent, a ‘market mechanism’. In a world with a wide range of public service delivery mechanisms, including direct service provision (the military, tax collectors, police, NHS A&E services etc.) our new public service Market Analytic Toolkit is the latest NAO resource designed to help government address a set of new challenges around its use of markets to deliver public services, including oversight, consumer protection, regulation and helping to achieve effective competition and innovative delivery. more… Making public sector markets work

  Tagged: Contract management, Customer service, Devolution, Public sector markets, Public sector reform, Regulation & consumer protection, Risk management, Third sector

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Steering English devolution

• Posted on July 6, 2016 by Sue Higgins

  As Sue Higgins, our Executive Leader for Local Government, headed off to chart her own course to exciting new challenges overseas, she shared her insights on local government and the devolution agenda in the following article, which Civil Service World has kindly allowed us to re-publish here. In a complex environment, Sue provides some steers for government to take through the uncharted waters of devolution, now even more uncertain following the referendum. more… Steering English devolution

  Tagged: Accountability, Devolution, Growth, Local government

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