PLC Public Sector reports:
On 13 December 2012, the Cabinet Office published an update on the steps the government is taking to increase the level of partnership working between the public sector and civil society.
The update includes some interesting news, including confirmation that the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 will come into force in January 2013 and be preceded by guidance on its requirements. However, it falls short of promising what the Communities and Local Government Committee asked for in its review of mutuals and local government.
The update published by the Cabinet Office covers little new ground and primarily focuses on the various schemes that the government has implemented, giving case studies highlighting successes. The schemes include:
- The new Commissioning Academy.
- The Contracts Finder website.
- The National Citizenship Service.
- The Social Outcomes Fund.
- Whole Place Community Budgets.
- The Community Right to Challenge under the Localism Act 2011.
It also includes some familiar rallying cries with regard to simplifying the public procurement process (although at the same time the government appears to be in the process of signing up to an ever more complicated European public procurement regime) and making the TUPE regulations “less burdensome”.
Potentially of most interest is the statement that the Public Services Social Value Act 2012 will, as rumoured, come into force in January 2013 and will be preceded before the end of 2012 by guidance on its requirements. However, those hoping for a clear lead on the requirements of the Act in such guidance may be disappointed, as the update suggests that it may run along similar lines to the government’s Best Value Guidance and simply encourage authorities to “treat civil society organisations equitably”. Not really something to get your teeth into then…
The update follows a report on mutuals and co-operatives recently published by the Communities and Local Government Committee, which welcomed the intention behind the government’s approach to involving civil society in public service delivery. However, the report stated that more practical steps needed to be taken to improve the lower than expected take up by local government, including:
- Producing more evidence about mutual and co-operative benefits.
- Working towards providing “off-the-shelf” models, guidance and advice to encourage the use of mutuals and co-operatives.
- Taking further steps to remove the barriers currently preventing many mutuals and co-operatives from starting up.
The Cabinet Office update itself appreciates that it is “at an early stage of a very challenging journey” and does give some indication that positive steps are being taken with regard to some of the points raised by the Committee, particularly regarding issues such as giving civil society organisations improved access to start up financing. However, the update does not appear to provide a roadmap for the delivery of things (such as the off-the-shelf models and detailed practical guidance) that were sensibly requested in the Committee’s report.