House of Commons

Session 2007-08 Publications on the internet Public Administration Committee Publications

Public Administration - Eleventh Report Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 26 June 2008. CONTENTS Terms of Reference REPORT SUMMARY 1  INTRODUCTION The third sector Scope of the inquiry 2  GOVERNMENT AND THE THIRD SECTOR A tradition of service provision Financial relations between government and the third sector 3  THE GOVERNMENT VISION The context: public service reform The goal: transformation of public services The method: commissioning 4  THE SCALE OF THIRD SECTOR INVOLVEMENT Rolling back the State? 5  THIRD SECTOR DISTINCTIVENESS The characteristics of the sector Assessing the evidence on distinctiveness Does size matter? "Added value" Conclusions 6  LEVELLING THE PLAYING FIELD "First do no harm": eliminating perverse practices Short-term contracts Full cost recovery Judging the scale of contracts Financial disparities Access to capital Other disparities The role of the Compact Conclusions—careful contours 7  INTELLIGENT COMMISSIONING Commissioning for distinctiveness Commissioning for added value Commissioning for independence and innovation Intelligent commissioners 8  THE RISKS OF THIRD SECTOR PROVISION Risks to the service user Standards of service Accountability Risks to civil society Distortion of mission The role of grant funding Freedom to campaign Public disengagement from government 9  CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX: Matching public service requirements with third sector organisations' strengths CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FORMAL MINUTES WITNESSES LIST OF WRITTEN EVIDENCE LIST OF REPORTS FROM THE COMMITTEE DURING THE CURRENT PARLIAMENT MINUTES OF EVIDENCE - VOLUME II (HC 112-II) Thursday 7 June 2007 Tuesday 12 June 2007 Thursday 5 July 2007 Tuesday 10 July 2007 Tuesday 20 November 2007 Thursday 17 January 2008 WRITTEN EVIDENCE - VOLUME II (HC 112-II)

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