The co-production of public services - where professionals work closely alongside users - could save billions of pounds each year, according to a new report.
The report, written by government’s public services reviewer David Boyle for think tank CentreForum, argues that the co-production of public services was first envisaged by the father of the welfare state, Sir William Beveridge. It says the way public services have evolved in Britain means the principles can not be widely applied to services with 'disastrous' consequences.
The report sets out ways that the co-production of services could be applied in areas such as health, housing and social care, which it says would provide clear social benefits. For example, if the approach was applied to the treatment of long-term conditions in the NHS, it could save at least £4.4bn.
Boyle said: ‘The great divide in public services, between exhausted professionals and their clients, who are expected to stay passive to make them easier to process, is corrosive and hugely wasteful.
‘The key issue in public services is how to unleash the huge resource that is represented by service users, their families and their neighbours, to make the system more human and more effective.
