Cabinet Office Minister urges council heads to go further in mutualising public services
Francis Maude, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, has written to local authority Chief Executives and elected leaders over the Summer urging them to consider “spinning out” public services to employee owned mutuals.
In his letter to council leadership teams across England, Maude highlights a diverse pool of public services that are in the process of spinning out thanks to Cabinet Office support and mentoring by established employee owned organisations like Baxi Partnership. To date public sector mutuals have sprung up in core services like social work, community safety and fire and rescue, as well as non statutory services councils such as leisure, school support and procurement.
The Minister points to the evidence base for public sector organisations exploring going down a mutual route, referencing the Mutual Taskforce’s findings that “the case for public sector mutuals is a simple one. Mutualisation can transform the delivery of public services. mutuals can deliver substantial benefits to a wide range of public service stakeholders, service users, commissioners, employees and the communities they serve.”
Crucially, public sector mutuals are one of the new models of delivery that local authorities need to factor into their options appraisals now the Localism Act’s Right to Provide and Right to Challenge requirements have come into practice.
Over the coming weeks, the Mutuals team will be working with the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Local Government Assocation, Local Partnerships and others to raise awareness of what mutuals can offer local authority commissioners, helping to understand the barriers councils face to pursuing this model, as well as building collaborative networks of peers and engaging directly with those keen to explore new opportunities.
To download the letter your local authority Chief Executive and elected members will have received, click here.
To find out more about how Baxi Partnership is helping the public sector consider options regarding new models of delivery, and public sector mutuals, please contact Baxi Partnership’s Director of Public Sector Practice, Campbell McDonald on campbell.mcdonald@baxipartnership.co.uk or call 0207 960 6876.
