Date: Wednesday 4 February, 10am - 11.30am
Location: Room 134, No.2 Millbank, Westminster, London
Speakers:
David Willets MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Dr Simon Griffiths, SMF
Dr Tim Wilson, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Professor Julian Le Grand, LSE
Chair: Ian Mulheirn, Director, SMF
British citizens demand more from their public services than ever before. The rising prosperity and greater social freedoms experienced since the establishment of the main institutions of the welfare state have led to the rise of the ‘assertive citizen’. Public service users are more aware of their rights, expect a better service, and defer less to established sources of advice such as professional opinion. This creates profound challenges for public services, particularly for the relationships between users and providers. This research examines how the public services and those who work in them can adapt to fit these changing expectations. It examines two public services as case studies for these changes: the English health and education systems, in particular primary care and secondary education. However, the social changes it documents and many of its findings have wider applicability.
The report’s recommendations focus on the appropriate direction of choice-based reforms, the future role of professionals, and the innovative concept of co-production, which seeks to promote greater cooperation between citizens and professionals in the production of public services. It argues that strengthening the personal relationships between professionals and service users will be vital to meeting the challenges posed by assertive citizenship.
The project and event were made possible by the kind support of PricewaterhouseCoopers. For more information please contact events@smf.co.uk