Public services reform plan delayed
Author: By Allister Hayman, Local Government Chronicle |
A key plan setting out how the government intends to implement its flagship public services reform agenda has been delayed until the new year, the Cabinet Office has confirmed.
The Cabinet Office said the implementation plan for the government’s open public services white paper, initially expected in November, would now not be published until the New Year.
The Cabinet Office’s open public services website still says the implementation plan will be published in November.
The open public services white paper, which itself was repeatedly put back before finally being published in July, set out the government’s approach to the reform of public services, with the aim of opening the public sector up to more private and third sector providers.
The confirmation of the delay to the implementation plan came amid reports David Cameron has ordered ministers to ?start all over again? on the public services reform agenda, with a new team set up in Downing Street to develop a fresh approach.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said the delay was due to the size of the task, rather than waning commitment or a change of focus.
?People always speculate about these things but what I would say is we are making good progress,? he said.
?[The implementation plan] is a large and important piece of work. We’ve always made it clear that we want not just to reform the public services but to open them up as much as possible?.