Management/Policy/Technology/Finance
October 2004

Management

· Research on public services

The Economic and Social Research Council formally launches its public services research programme on 14 January 2005. It will run for five years and sponsor a range of research. Christopher Hood, Gladstone professor of government at Oxford University and director of the ESRC programme, says that it will work if it focuses on the perennials of public service provision, rather than present preoccupations. For more information on the ESRC, click here

· A mandarin moves

Is Labour about to announce the abolition of the DTI? Robin Young' s premature departure from the department seems to prefigure this, but it also represents a passing of style and a Whitehall era.

· Scotland's parliament

Iain Macwhirter says there will be no happy endings in the story of the Scottish Parliament, but as the Queen opens the building, opinion seems to be turning in its favour. Could a private finance initiative have prevented the cost and time overruns though? To visit the Scottish Parliament's website, click here

Policy

· The season

Conference season saw the Liberal Democrats and the Tories concentrating on slashing bureaucracy, while Labour's conference heard a lot about "re-engagement" - reconnecting government and public services with the people - and service deliverers were often the butt of political attack.

· Targets

Michael O'Higgins (head of PA consulting's IT group) and Andrew Hooke (head of PA's government services group) analyse New Labour's targetry. As the party backs away from its bout of new centralism, there is a question over what to replace targets with. Accountability is crucial, but we need a new breed of indicator.

· Northern Way

The word on Gallowgate is that the ayes will have it in next month's vote to approve an elected regional assemble in the north-east. Th public wants the referendum to reflect the growing concern about quality employment - John Prescott is already on the case having unveiled the "Northern Way" growth strategy. For more information on the Northern Way, visit the ODPM website here

Technology

· Microsoft

Microsoft has been penetrating the public sector through specific applications markets as well as through the ubiquitous Windows. Windows has been due for the boot and is soon to be replaced with a new operating system called Longhorn, but the changeover has now been scaled back because of developmental delays and security anxieties. To find out more about Microsoft's plans for Longhorn, click here

· Sub-continental security

Security is the big issue in the debate about outsourcing public service jobs. But, Sunil Mehta (vice president of India's National Association of Software and Service Companies) says that Indian companies have raised their quality standards to international demands.

Finance

· Balance sheets

Andy Wynne, head of public sector technical issues with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, assesses the problem with public sector accounting. New financial accounting rules have brought the public sector closer to private sector practice. For central government this has produced balance sheets and the valuation of its assets for the first time. To visit the ACCA website, click here

· Council tax

Councils need to improve their collection rates further in order to increase spending without raising taxes or asking for additional funds. Councils in England might be missing out on nearly ?60m because of non-payment of council tax, writes Peter Buckle, head of income management at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

To subscribe to Public, click here