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Mutualism to offer next step for public services

31 March 2010

Health and social care, housing and Sure Start children’s centres are the focus of an important new Government report expanding mutualism in vital public services, launched today by Tessa Jowell, the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

In the report ‘Mutual Benefit: giving people control of public services’ [External pdf], the Government sets out how it will accelerate opportunities for mutuals to develop and flourish across three key areas of public services.

Mutuals, which are organisations controlled by their members, service users, staff and the wider community, will play a key role in public service reform.

Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said:

“This is the moment for mutualism. In the wake of the global financial crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal, it is clear that people are no longer prepared to trust large organisations over which they have no control. What we are seeking to do is develop a new relationship between the institutions of government and the people that they exist to serve.

“This is not a Whitehall prescribed national blueprint, but enabling new collaboration to develop in an organic way within communities. That it why the Government is taking measures to improve and enhance opportunities for local people and professionals to realise the full potential of mutual forms of organisation.”

The Government announced five key changes in public services:

• A pilot running children’s centres as part of local mutual federations. Each of these mutual federations will bid to run children’s centres across its area, and will involve parents closely in making decisions about how the centre is run. This will be piloted in up to five local areas, and on average these will be made up of 20 – 25 Children’s Centres.

• To give more control to tenants over housing services, such as maintaining the grounds of their housing estate, cleaning and caretaking services, the Government will develop a ‘fast track’ route to establish Local Management Agreements (LMAs) or small scale management services. It currently takes 18 months and the Government is working on halving this time.

• The Government will encourage smaller community housing project bids by immediately removing the current lower limit of 50 units for applications involving Public Land Initiative sites. This will help facilitate smaller, community-led proposals.

• The Government has confirmed it will investigate continued access to the NHS pension scheme to those NHS staff transferred to mutual organisations, as well as other social enterprises and third sector organisations. This will reassure many staff who want the freedom of working in a new type of organisation, without losing the benefits of working for the NHS.

• Government will work with Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts to develop detailed proposals on mandating community governance in the Right to Request Assurance Framework. In 2008 the Government created Right to Request, under which NHS staff are empowered to set up a social enterprise.