The front line
On 8 December 2009, the think tank Reform published a report (The front line) which argues that politicians cannot pledge to protect front line services while cutting the budget deficit.
The report insists that reducing the deficit and reforming the public sector means tackling the front line as a priority, changing the public sector from unmanaged, bureaucratic, monopolistic and secretive, to managed, accountable, competitive (where possible) and transparent.
The report details a number of recommendations:
- The cost of the public sector workforce should fall by around £30 billion – equivalent to around one million of the UK’s six million public sector employees. Services which have seen the greatest employment growth and the worst productivity falls, such as the NHS, should experience the greatest reductions in costs and headcount.
- The accountability of the public sector workforce should be transformed. For senior civil servants, this means putting appointments in the hands of ministers. For all public sector workers, it means an end to the culture of a job for life through transparent fixed term contracts and the end of generalised recruitment, such as the civil service faststream.
- As the largest budget (£110 billion per year), the NHS cannot be immune to spending cuts. There is scope to reduce costs and improve access by shifting resources from expensive hospitals into more convenient local settings.
The report contends that reform will help reduce the UK’s budget deficit and improve services. It will also be positive for the public sector workforce. The current model traps public sector workers in low productivity employment. Reforming the front line will increase productivity and allow sustainable higher wages in the long term.
The front line (PDF)
