Archive for 'public services'
Co-operative crime fighting
Schools, hospitals, railways, now police forces. It seems that every week there’s a call for community engagement and co-operative solutions for public services. In the past week, policing has been the long overdue subject of making services locally directed and publicly accountable, following a call by the head of ACPO for forces to be given [...]
The future direction of public services
Two important reports came out this month on the future of public services. First is the ‘Putting people into public services‘ report of the National Consumer Council. They look at the critical area of regulation, often not considered by commentators but crucial in ensuring services, whether publicly or privately provided, meet standards and expectations. Regulators [...]
Putting the Trust back into the BBC
The report produced by the BBC Trust today is welcome. Not just because it calls for better coverage of current affairs in the UK’s nations and regions, but also because it represents a change in the way the Corporation is run and overseen. Following the Kelly-Gilligan affair, the BBC Trust was created, separating the corporate [...]
Direct democracy
Over at Progress, Dave Roberts calls for more local accountability for a wider range of services: This is not so much about public involvement in the design of services as democratic accountability for policy decisions. If the non-executive directors of PCTs and board members of Police Authorities had to seek election every few years they [...]
Personalising public services
At Labour’s spring conference in Birmingham last weekend, health secretary Alan Johnson told delegates he wanted to see a ‘personalised’ NHS with more individual choice for the services the public need. This is an area that the Co-operative Party has long been involved with, in terms of being a champion of consumer rights and public [...]
Beating Boris with co-op ideas
Do you want to help Ken beat Boris in the battle for ideas as well as the battle for votes? Next year sees the blond-haired buffoon take on Mayor Livingstone in the May elections for London. This is our chance to make London a truly co-op city. We could see co-operative values applied to London’s [...]
People-based public services
In her ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’ Local Government White Paper 2006, Ruth Kelly has made some important statements about the future of local government and of public involvement. Highlights include: There will be measures to promote increased community ownership and management of local facilities and assets. We will simplify the process for setting up tenant [...]
The British Broadcasting Co-operative??
The BBC is a British institution that we rightly cherish. For all its recent troubles and criticisms, it remains a respected broadcaster, an authoritative journalism body and a symbol of the country abroad. But the BBC isn’t without its knockers – for instance here, here and here. And here. And here. Oh and here of [...]
Ownership matters
In today’s Observer, Will Hutton outlines why ownership matters. As Thames Water is taken over by yet another faceless corporation, Hutton is right to question why this has gone by without discussion, when who owns our utilities and services makes such a difference to their corporate culture and ultimately to the service they provide to [...]
