In a previous post, I listed 40 of the failures in public services that the Total Place evaluation reports had highlighted.

These reports provide simultaneously an inspiring and depressing analysis of the structure and effectiveness of the British state.

They are inspiring in what they say about the dedication of those involved, their recognition of the need for change and their enthusiasm for bringing it about.

And the revolutionary potential of the scheme is clear from every evaluation.

At the very least, it has injected energy into changes that were beginning to take place, while in other cases it is providing the basis for a rethink of entire services.

Yet despite this, the 13 pilot schemes are depressing because of the major failings they reveal in the way the state currently functions.

Childcare, support for the unemployed, housing, education, health, the justice system, care for the elderly - across every area in which the pilot schemes were undertaken there were structural impediments to effective service delivery.

Perhaps it should not be surprising, but the underlying message of the reports is just how much the present structure of the public sector seems designed to deliver the opposite of good government.

Unfit for purpose?

Given so many fundamental problems, it is hard not to wonder if the entire British state is, in John Reid's phrase about parts of the Home Office, unfit for purpose.

It is important to remember that while there are many problems, they don't all occur in the same place at the same time and in the same way.

But it is equally clear that the public sector is not applying best practice in a systematic way.

In fact, the position is worse than that because there are legal and regulatory factors, amongst others, which actually prevent best practices from being applied.

When Reid made his now famous comment about the failings of the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), back in 2006, he described the problem like this:

"Our system is not fit for purpose. It is inadequate in terms of its scope, it is inadequate in terms of its information technology, leadership, management systems and processes."

Throughout its troubles, IND did continue to function, but like other services it did so sub-optimally, without the efficiency or consistency that it should have done.

While Reid was talking about failings within a single organisation, Total Place makes it clear that much the same can be said of the range of public services.

Overhaul

The system, it appears, is in need of a major overhaul.

It is to the credit of all those involved that Total Place is focusing attention on the problems and forcing more thought about how to fix them.

Many of the evaluations cite the economic downturn as a driver, albeit recognising that efficiency gains shouldn't be the only focus of reform.

But why has it prompted a lack of cash to force this rethink? It would surely have been better to do it when budgets were growing and reform could be implemented without a background fear of cost cutting and job losses.

It may be a simplification, but it does seem that the system cannot innovate effectively and systematically unless it is put under intense pressure.

That was, in fact, one of the lessons of Michael Barber's time at the Number 10 Delivery Unit.

His book, Instruction to Deliver, revealed the vast amount of prime ministerial effort needed to ensure action on a handful of top priorities.

Without such intense focus, it is not hard to imagine the inertia which would have hindered the much larger number of low and medium priorities.

The central government response to the Total Place reports suggests that Whitehall sees its role as being mostly about removing a few obstacles and 'working with partners'.

It is not clear that Whitehall understands its central role in creating the problems, or exactly how it can be the problem.

The problems that Barber identified in Whitehall, particularly around operational silos, are carried through to frontline services - except that by the time service delivery takes place on the ground, these problems have been multiplied over and over.

So Total Place offers the opportunity to recognise these failings and take a big step forward in how the public sector works.

But despite its potential, there was one big issue that seemed to be missing from the evaluations. I'll discuss what that was in the next post.

Politics Blog
, ,