By David Williams
5 January 2011
Public service reforms are being rushed through with little evidence to support them and also risk being undermined by spending cuts, say workers and voluntary organisations.
They were responding to a jointcall for evidence from the Treasury on public service reform, and to the Cabinet Office’s green paper, Modernising commissioning. The deadline for submissions is today.
The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations described the proposed right for third sector organisations to challenge in-house providers as ‘relatively untried’, and lacking in detail.
The body also doubted that the right to challenge – which is a central plank in the government’s plans to involve charities more in public services – would be the ‘primary catalyst’ in opening up the sector to voluntary bodies.
‘[It is] a hugely welcome step but one that we would not rely on to open up public service markets to the third sector,’ said Acevo’s submission.
It added that the government’s reforms could fail unless charities were given the same VAT exemptions as public bodies, and the rules on pensions for employees transferred from the public sector were relaxed.
The timing of government action was critical, the submission argued. ‘Public spending cuts and many departmental reforms are already under way and will have a significant impact, very soon, on the long-term ability of the third sector to deliver public services,’ it said, calling on ministers to act ‘immediately’ to protect charities.
Meanwhile, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations called for changes to the way the public sector commissions services, ‘moving away from current practices which actually in many cases are uncoordinated procurement exercises’.
The Unite union criticised the government for allowing only six weeks for submissions. General secretary for public services Gail Cartmail said: ‘The speed and scale of the coalition’s helter-skelter rush to dismantle public services is a cynical ploy to cut back the welfare state before the British public wakes up to the massive negative consequences.’
She called on Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude to provide ‘clear and well-thought-out evidence’ that the reforms are not purely about saving money, cutting services and opening up the public sector to ‘profiteering private companies’.
The responses came as it emerged that business leaders overwhelmingly backed the government’s cuts programme.
The Ipsos Mori Captainsof industry survey, published today, found that 89% of company bosses believed the coalition’s policies would improve the UK economy.
Ipsos Mori chief executive Ben Page noted that 70% of business leaders had disagreed with the previous government’s slower spending cuts timetable.
