07 September 2001
This year's autumn conference season will be the arena for Blair's showdown with the unions and grassroots Labour members.
At issue is his 'big idea' for Labour's second term: his controversial plan to harness the resources of the private sector to boost the performance of public services.
Union leaders and many of the Labour Party faithful believe this is the thin end of the wedge. Once private firms have made it into the classroom and on to the ward, they fear, privatisation will march unchecked throughout the public services.
But a survey, conducted jointly by Public Finance and Reed Accountancy Personnel, suggests that Blair and his government may have begun to win the battle for hearts and minds among the people who matter most: the staff who keep the public services running.
We surveyed 458 senior public sector finance managers about their attitudes towards the future of public services, and the results suggest that staff on the ground are more willing to entertain the idea of public-private partnership than their union leaders.
Just 17% of respondents disagreed – 5% strongly and 12% slightly – when they were asked to comment on the statement: 'The Private Finance Initiative and other forms of PPP are having a beneficial effect on public services.'
On the other hand, 32% agreed slightly with the statement, and 10% expressed strong support for its sentiment. There are clearly many people who, although cautious, are open-minded on PPPs: 41% were neutral.
Those surveyed work across the public sector: in local government, education, the health service and the emergency services, and central government. A willingness to experiment with PPPs was demonstrated across the sector.
Just 20 of the 165 local government respondents disagreed with the statement, while 19 out of 121 health service workers and 18 out of 75 in education registered their active opposition to PPPs.
As a senior finance officer in one local authority put it: 'The main advantage of PPP capital schemes is that they facilitate major investment in public projects in the absence of central government support for other methods of financing.'
The government's PPP plan for the London Underground network, which has provoked bitter opposition from passenger groups and London Mayor Ken Livingstone, was given the benefit of the doubt by many respondents.
While 13% agree strongly the plan will be a failure and 19% agree slightly that it will fail, a massive 49% are willing to keep an open mind, saying they are neutral. On the other hand, 13% slightly disagree and 6% strongly disagree that the plan will fail.
One local authority finance officer said the government was using the PPP to camouflage its own shortcomings. 'If the government trains and invests in existing services then there is no need for the PPP. The government is trying to cover up its inadequacies with private partnerships.'
Less surprisingly, however, participants in the survey strongly rejected any suggestion that public services are not sufficiently customer-focused. Some 41% objected slightly and 18% objected strongly to the suggestion that services are too often run for the benefit of the staff; 16% said they were neutral. The remaining 25% said they agreed with the statement to some extent.
One of the most controversial elements of the government's proposals is to draw on the resources of the private sector to cut NHS waiting lists. But the survey showed less opposition than might have been expected.
When asked if the recent decision by the NHS to buy a private hospital was a sensible move forward, 25% strongly agreed that it was, and 32% slightly agreed. A further 32% of respondents said they were neutral on the issue. Only 8% disagreed slightly and 3% disagreed strongly.
Even among those working in the health service, opposition was surprisingly muted. Just five of the 121 respondents from the health service disagreed strongly that the purchase was a sensible move, and a further five disagreed slightly. Meanwhile, 29 agreed strongly that it was sensible, 48 agreed slightly and a further 34 said they were neutral.
These results paint a slightly more positive picture of attitudes towards PPPs than the debate so far would suggest. And, while Blair is unlikely to find many supporters on the floor of the TUC conference next week, his speech will not just be aimed at those there.
If he can outline a vision of a new-look public sector working hand-in-hand with private companies that is sufficiently convincing, Blair may start winning over some of those vital 'neutrals' to his cause.
Joseph McHugh
This article is the first in a series of monthly surveys conducted jointly with Reed Accountancy Personnel
PFsep2001
