The government has launched provisions to allow public sector staff to break away from government and form mutuals to deliver public services.
Public service employers will be expected to accept “suitable proposals” from front line staff wishing to take over and run their services, with prisons, Sure Start Children’s Centres, hospitals and the civil service just some of the areas earmarked for mutual ownership.
Each government department will put in place the ‘rights to provide’, though mutual proposals will be expected to deliver savings to the taxpayer or improve the quality of their services.
If the proposal is agreed, the mutual will be given a contract for the service without going through the full tender process.
“Absenteeism down, productivity up”
The initiative is in line with evidence that when employees have a stake in their organisation, absenteeism falls and productivity rises.
New mutuals will be supported with a share of over £10m designed to help them reach investment readiness, as well as an information line and web service for interested staff.
The government will also create a ‘challenge group’, including employee-ownership experts like John Lewis Partnerships, to investigate ways to improve regulation.
Speaking at an event to launch the policy this morning, minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude said this devolvement of power was part of the Big Society approach.
“The right to provide will challenge traditional public service structures and unleash the pent up ideas and innovation that has been stifled by bureaucracy.
“It will also put power at a local level so public services will be answerable to the people that use them.
“When staff are given a stake in shaping services productivity and efficiency has been shown to improve dramatically.”
“Insulting to public sector”
The announcement of the scheme drew criticism from the Unite trade union.
Joint general secretary Tony Woodley said: “There is no appetite from the public sector workforce or the public generally for these so-called co-operatives.
“It is insulting to think that these DIY co-operatives, set up on the cheap, can replace a well-established and joined-up public sector.”
He added: “‘Unite represents members across all three sectors - private, public and third - and while we see a valid role for the other two sectors in adding value, the backbone of good joined-up services is the public sector.”
