World class public services

This morning I launched a new report on World Class Public Services at No 10 Downing Street – setting out how governments around the world are proving you can be radical about power and realistic about money. We’re passionate about public services. We think that public services change lives for the better – and give people chances to succeed they’d otherwise be denied. But in the future, we have to change the relationship between state and citizen and between the centre – in Whitehall and Westminster – and the frontline. Today’s report sets out some lessons from 30-40 of the world’s best public services about how you can do exactly that.

It involves using entitlement and rights to put power and control over services in the public’s hands; transforming accountability of services through making available often real time information about spending and performance; incentivising personalised services; delivering on people’s desire for prevention rather than cure, and putting the frontline in charge of improving services. It’s a thought-provoking piece of work, and I’d be grateful for thoughts on it!