Public services productivity
As well as creating the right environment for business to raise productivity, government must also strive for greater efficiency. Public services account for a substantial part of the economy, and productivity within the public sector therefore has an important and direct impact on the productivity performance of the economy as a whole. Increased public services productivity is also important because it gives people the public services they require, ensures that taxpayers receive better value for money, and helps to lay foundations for a high productivity economy through improved education, health and transport infrastructure.
The Prime Minister has set out the Government's four principles of public service reform:
- national standards, which means working with hospitals, schools, police forces and local government to agree tough targets, with performance independently monitored so that people can see how their local services compare;
- devolution, whereby central government has to give successful frontline professionals the freedom to deliver;
- flexibility, which means removing artificial bureaucratic barriers which prevent staff improving local services; and
- choice, acknowledging that customers should increasingly be given the kind of options that they take for granted in other walks of life.
