Public services
Government outsourcing
Which services have been outsourced successfully and which need reform
Which public services face the biggest pressures ahead of the spending round?
Adult social care and prisons are most in need of money to restore performance
Making prisons safer requires more than a one-off cash boost
Rory Stewart’s 10 Prisons Project was successful – but replicating it across the prison estate will require additional spending.
Sajid Javid must set new fiscal targets to guide tax and spending choices
The new Chancellor must quickly set some fiscal targets to guide the Johnson administration.
Boris Johnson’s public services promises won’t be easy to achieve
The new Prime Minister has made an early promise to reform a wide range of public services.
Labour’s insourcing policy shows need for better evidence on who delivers services
Labour’s insourcing policy deserves thoughtful engagement – but it also underlines how future governments need to base decisions on better evidence.
More “bobbies on the beat” are unlikely to reduce crime
Reducing crime requires a more nuanced solution than Boris Johnson’s pledge to put more police on the streets.
The private sector and the NHS: not ‘on the table’, but already in the market
The public might be surprised about how much private sector involvement in the NHS already happens.
Trump’s most provocative jibe places NHS in the spotlight
President Trump was courteous to Theresa May, but his comments on the terms of any UK–US trade deal are a warning to those seeking to succeed her.
Probation outsourcing is a case study in failure
The Government must learn from the mistakes which have made re-nationalisation of probation services necessary