Editor's Comment

What you see - what you get?

Our focus on the public realm, urban design and communal space in this edition of PSE is a good reminder that for all the work done in boardrooms and back offices across the public sector, it is what people actually see that has the biggest influence on what they think.

It is sometimes said that people don’t really care who runs public services, as long as they work. That is why the volunteermanaged model is so appealing to local authorities and others at the moment, as we see on p38 with Doncaster’s library service, since it allows valued and visible services to at least stay open, even if in a different format. Of course, the model is only appropriate in certain circumstances, and few would choose it if funding was available for a ‘proper’ staffed and professional option.

The fact that volunteers do tend to come forward to keep libraries and similar community hubs open is incredibly welcome – and a godsend to the councils themselves, of course – but it is still just making the best of a bad situation. In Doncaster’s case, the libraries’ book stocks, infrastructure, training, IT and so on is still basically the local authority’s responsibility – the volunteers aren’t just being left to sink or swim. That’s one of the reasons it’s being cautiously judged a success; though critics who want a fully-funded service understandably see that as nothing more than worrying spin, and perhaps a worrying precedent for other services.

There are other ways of saving money, of course: but these require time, effort, leadership and often some initial investment, such as in the case of Glasgow and the Technology Strategy Board Future Cities Demonstrator, or the case studies from the National Housing Federation showing how joined-up thinking allowing more independent living ultimately saves thousands of pounds for both the NHS and local authorities and improves people’s lives.

Outsourcing can often be (or seem) a cheaper option then providing services in the traditional way, but not without risks and drawbacks, for both the outsourcer and the public. As it becomes more and more prevalent to consider the outsourcing of previously sacrosanct services, bigger questions are being raised about transparency, accountability, public sector skills retention, and overall control. It is something many members of the PSE editorial board have particular concerns about. Many of the local authorities and clusters that spent 2010-12 considering radical new models as simple commissioners rather than providers of services have rowed back significantly. Political and public pressure has been an issue, as have a number of private sector failings over the last year that remind us that neither sector has a monopoly on competence.

It’s about values, but it’s also about evidence – and we have plenty of evidence for what works and what doesn’t in these pages.

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