Understanding the Public Services Industy

Public Services Industry Review
PFI: Strengthening long-term partnerships: HMT 2006
This paper sets out further improvements to PFI to support its ongoing important role in
delivering public services.
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The total PFI deal pipeline over the next 5 years (from 2006) is around 200 projects
worth £26 billion in capital value
Evidence presented in this document shows that PFI is now meeting public service
needs across more than 500 operational projects. This research concludes that:
- Users are satisfied with the services provided by PFI projects
- Public authorities are reporting good overall performance and high levels of
satisfaction against contracted levels of service
- The services contracted for are appropriate
- The incentivisation within PFI contracts is working
Public service delivery action plan: Cabinet Office – December 2006
Partnership in public services: an action plan for third sector involvement aims to remove
barriers to third sector organisations who want to become involved in delivering and
designing public services. The plan brings together opportunities for the third sector to
play an enhanced role in public services. The actions in the plan cut across government
departments and cover four areas:
• commissioning – improving the commissioning process for service providers and
public funders
• procurement – ensuring that contracting and procurement processes are fair and
proportionate
• learning from the third sector - supporting innovation in the sector
• accountability – helping the sector to hold services to account
The measures outlined in the plan include a national programme to train 2,000 public
sector commissioners on involving the third sector in services, and £30 million funding for
community groups to take over the management or ownership of local authority buildings.
Developing the Local Government services market to support the long term strategy for
Local Government: Communities and Local Government: November 2006
Key themes:
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Commissioning and procurement should be elevated in importance so that these
functions incorporate a strategic perspective so as to advance local government’s
wider role in ‘place shaping’.
A clear and comprehensive commissioning framework for local government needs
to be established, which provides a central focal point for those involved in the
development of policy, the commissioning of activities and the procurement and
provision of services.
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