Reforming Public Services in the Uk: Bringing in the Third Sector

Abstract

In the UK, the government continues its project to reform public services. Earlier projects have focused on the modernization of public sector organizations; in the latest round of reform, New Labour has focused on widening choice and the personalization of services. To this end, the government has been working with Third Sector (TS) organizations to expand their role in shaping, commissioning and delivering public services. The government’s vision is predicated on a normative assertion, that, unlike traditional public sector organizations, TS bodies create public value by being more innovative, are inspired by altruistic aims and values, and have greater commitment to their clients. This paper reviews recent policy and questions whether the government’s policy is flawed, contradictory and risks damaging the attributes of the TS admired by New Labour.

Co-governance or meta-bureaucracy? Perspectives of local governance ‘partnership’ in England and Scotland

“…Indeed, even the non-state actors, e.g. professionalised voluntary sector organisations, were accountable to various governing bodies (see Kelly, 2007;Jackson, 2010;Johnson and Osborne, 2003). Interviewees from voluntary sector organisations recognised their subsidiary role and their resource dependency with regards to state actors.…”

Localism and the third sector: New relationships of public service?

“…The term will be understood to denote the 'new localism ' of New Labour (1997to 2010 and the localist perspective of the subsequent Coalition government (2010 to 2015). Under New Labour, there was both an academic and a policy discourse around localism, emphasising user engagement, participation and partnership (Pratchett 2004, Aspden and Birch 2005, Corry and Stoker 2002, Stoker 2004, Lodge and Muir 2010Kelly 2007 During the New Labour years, the Office of the Third Sector (established 2006) had a powerful remit to develop this active third sector. The establishment of the Office, with its associated indicators of success, was the "symbolic high point" of Labour's policy support for the third sector (Alcock, Kendall and Parry 2012: 348).…”

Taking Your Eyes Off the Objective: The Relationship Between Income Sources and Satisfaction with Achieving Objectives in the UK Third Sector

“…The need for greater accountability from public sector funders could place constraints on an organisation's activities. This means that earned income through trading activities might actually be seen as a source of unconditional funding, which allows the organisation to pursue its primary objectives in an unrestricted fashion (Cairns et al, 2006;Kelly, 2007). Table I However, it tends to score poorly with regard to its average alignment to objectives and pre-existing availability of the skills required to make use of the income source, which in the face of tough competition from the private sector may make it a highly unreliable source of funding until competencies are established.…”