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Public Sector Bonanza or Bear Trap?You do not need a crystal ball to predict that there is going to be a lot more outsourcing of work from the public sector in the years ahead. But it might require balls of a different kind to take on that work. Historically, this has not been a happy place, and who can be surprised. The civil service and other public bodies have not traditionally embraced the concept of efficiency. This matter was addressed at the Third Annual Lecture of the Business Services Association (BSA) this week when Mark Hoban MP, Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury spoke at the Cabinet War Rooms in London at the event hosted by law firm Pinsent Mason. "Too often, attempts at integration between the private and public sector have proceeded without proper reform of the public sector. We need to modernise the machinery of government so each department asks itself 'what can we do differently, more efficiently, more effectively?'", said Mr Hoban. "Now, more than ever, it is important to squeeze every penny out of public service financing and the superior efficiency and productivity gains associated with the private sector will be essential. We simply cannot afford to ignore this when the emphasis in this decade will be delivering more for less." His words should be heeded for, apart from any structural issues that might beset large scale public sector outsourcing programmes, the people involved will not be happy either to be transferring to the private sector or, even to be losing their jobs entirely. Overlaying this, the unions will not feel any necessity to be cooperative. They say that when you sup with the Devil, you should use a long spoon and that might well be good advice for outsource service providers lured by what may, at first, look like a potential bonanza of public sector work. An unreformed public sector will be likely to commit one of the cardinal sins by outsourcing its problems; and these will not be minor concerns. Workers may, on the other hand, resent the ‘customer first’ priorities and ‘cut to the chase’ pursuit of achievements that the need to demonstrate a profit generates. After the election, whichever party has power will do the economy a service if, before starting to outsource anything, it undertakes a wholesale reform of the public sector. That way, when outsource contracts are offered they will not be with the poison of unsustainable practices seeping from every loophole. |
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