Throughout the public sector, new forms of service delivery and organisation are being tested. They include partnerships between public sector organisations and with the voluntary and private sectors. These changes pose new challenges for accountability, probity, equality and public confidence. New technology is transforming the way in which services are planned, delivered and monitored. And there is widespread recognition that services should respond to the varied needs of service users and be accessible to everyone.
All these changes place heavy and stressful demands on frontline staff and managers. They are feeling the pressure of ‘initiative overload’ and fear that this could divert attention from delivering services to focusing on procedures and processes. There are many places throughout public services where frontline staff are leading on providing a good service, but they may feel that there has not been enough recognition of what they have already achieved. And respondents to our consultation cautioned against assuming that uniform improvement is needed across the board, or that it can be achieved overnight.
The proof of success will be evidence that services have improved on the ground, allied with the widespread public perception that this is the case. But resource constraints, a shortage of managerial capacity and leadership skills and problems of staff retention across all sectors are often cited as barriers to change. And entrenched professional views can impede partnership working within and between public bodies.
Achieving change where it is necessary will therefore take time and will call for additional skills and expertise as well as new ways of building capacity for the long term.