Decentralising responsibility to local areas while widening access through digital tools should be at the heart of public service reform, a new report from think tank ThinkLabour argues.
The paper, written by JP Spencer, the think tank's head of devolution policy who has reportedly been advising Andy Burnham, says public services need a fresh direction built around democratisation, devolution and digitisation.
It argues governments have lacked a clear theory of public service improvement, leaving departments pulling in different directions across health, education and policing.
This vacuum, the report says, has let the market-driven ‘New Public Management’ approach, dominant since the 1980s, remain the default by default rather than by design.
Instead, ThinkLabour calls for democratic accountability to be reasserted over public services, with devolution and digital technology used to drive improvement.
Check out: Devolution and putting place first
