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Last updated: 23 November 2008
15 January 2007
CAB/002/07
New social research published today shows what people think and expect from the State and public services. It signals how people as citizens want to interact with the State and what kind of role the State should play in their lives.
The evidence from Ipsos MORI provides an important new insight into the public's thinking and appetites for change regarding rights and responsibilities, tackling damaging behaviours that hinder communities and ensuring more customer–focused public services.
It forms part of the government's policy review looking at challenges for the next ten years and beyond and marks the beginning of the public engagement phase.
Cabinet Office Ministers Pat McFadden and Ed Miliband steered a discussion about the research at Downing Street today. Pat McFadden said:
‘The government has made enormous progress on key areas over the last ten years but wants now to assess future challenges in a way that is democratic, upfront, presents all the information to the public and doesn't shy away from the tough issues.
‘Our citizen forums will be faced with real–life examples of the choices government faces. It's important we hear from businesses and public services that have made great strides in turning around their services to meet customer demands, learn about what barriers they faced and how they make use of social research. Today is one part of the policy review process and we look forward to seeing how people and Ministers' views develop over coming weeks.’
At the meeting today the Prime Minister and Secretaries of State talked with businesses and public sector representatives with proven track records of shaping services around customers. They discussed how the research could inform customer care and discussed experiences in private and public sectors of service reform.
The government will use the research to put important and tough questions about the future of public services and the relationship between the citizen and state to the ‘citizen forums’.
Made up of 100 independently selected members, representative of the population, the citizen forums will recruit ‘ordinary people’ drawn from all walks of life. The forums go beyond usual polling methods by asking participants not just to act as citizens but to put themselves in the shoes of Ministers faced with tough choices. They will meet across the country in February which culminates in a London summit to discuss conclusions in March.
Findings will be presented to the Cabinet to inform public service agreements and the forthcoming spending review. This process is an example of Government progressively using new approaches to engaging and involving people in policy making.
Ministers today summarised the themes and challenges emerging out of their own Departmental experiences, including drawing on the results of the extensive Department of Health and Department of Work and Pensions deliberative processes over the last two years.
The Cabinet Office is managing the process behind the reviews and launched the policy review pages of its website, where new presentations will be posted over the next few months.
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