1. Policy Context for the
Third Sector: Future
Directions
Christopher Stone
July2013

2. CPD – Public Sector
Research Program
7 October 2013 2Centre for Policy Development
http://cpd.org.au

3. What is Big Society?
• Manifesto of UK PM David
Cameron, based on ideas of think
tank director Phillip Blond
• More with less?
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 3

4. Big Society in Australia?
‚securing our future depends more
on strong citizens than on big
government‛
‚you can’t have stronger communities
without a stronger economy to
sustain them and you can’t have a
stronger economy without7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 4
‚community
controlled
public schools
and public
hospitals‛

5. Transferable lessons?
• There are difference between
Australia and the UK:
–Federal system
–% government spending
–Government debt
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 5

6. Comparison: Outsourcing
employment services
Australia
• Full introduction
1998
• Systemic
problems:
– Outcome measure
focus
– Tight margins
– Perverse outcomes
– Fraudulent
reporting
– Failing the
UK
• Full introduction
2011
• Systemic
problems:
– Outcome measure
focus
– Tight margins
– Perverse outcomes
– Fraudulent
reporting
– Failing the
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 6

7. An update: The Work
Programme
• 7/10 charities may have to pull out
• Almost half said contracts "at risk
of failure"
• Almost half dipped into their
financial reserves
(NCVO ‘The Work Programme:
Perceptions and experiences of the
voluntary sector’)
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 7

8. Public sector cuts in the UK
Public sector
spending
Welfare
Legal aid
Communities
department
New public
housing
Higher
education
Local
government
Police
Average
£81 billion
£7 billion
£350 million
66%
60%
40%
27%
20%
19%
10-20%
240,000 (2011)
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 8

9. Public Service job cuts in
Australia
Fede
ra
l
NSW
Qld
SA
Vic
Tas
4,200
15,000
14,000
5,100
4,200
2,000
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 9

10. An update: UK public
services cuts 2010-12
Social housing
development
Religious and
community services
Community
development
Central and other
health services
Family and children
social services
-52.1%
-35.1%
-25.8%
-25.6%
-14.7%
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 10

11. An update: Qld public
services cuts
• Housing, social welfare and other
community services
• Dept of Communities, Child Safety and
Disability Services
• Child safety and social inclusion
services
• Alcohol reform programs
• Financial crisis emergency relief
• Community Development Program
• Neighbourhood Centre, Youth at Risk7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 11

12. The future? Community
sector impacts
In the UK:
• £5 billion funding cut to sector
(2012-2014)
• 2,000 charities affected by £110
million cut in 2011
• Community sector employment fell
by 70,000 (9%)
• Impacts on NFP working conditions
• Silencing or diminishing of NFP’s7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 12

13. An update: UK community
sector impacts
Recent survey of charities involved in
commissioning
• Bidding process unfair to charities
• Over 90% faced more risk under
new commissioning process
• Only 41% had good relationship with
corporate lead provider
–(80% when the lead provider was
a charity)
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 13

14. The future? Corporate
scandals
• Southern Cross aged care: £600
million profit before collapsed
leaving 30,000 people at risk
• A4e: fraud inquiry, targets not met,
chair paid £8 million
• G4S: promised 12,000 Olympic
security guards, provided 7,000,
army called in
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 14

15. An update: More scandals
• Serco:
–Pathology: significant drop in
quality
–False performance data on after-
hours GPs (252 times)
–Bins uncollected for weeks
• G4S:
–Failures on re-housing of refugees
–And increased racism and7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 15

16. The future? Local service
cuts
Local libraries in UK:
• Over 100 closed
• 600 (20%) under threat of closure
or transfer to community
• Legal challenge over ability of
untrained volunteers to run
• Cuts to hours, services and staff in
remaining7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 16

17. Neat, plausible, and wrong
• Alternatives to Big Society? Or
salvageable elements?
• Getting beyond rules of thumb
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 17

18. The need for sector
diversity
• Have different strengths
• Do different jobs
• Provide different broader
advantages
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 18

19. Different strengths
• Productivity Commission ‘Public and
Private Hospitals’
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 19

20. Different jobs
• Christopher Stone, ‘Valuing skills:
Why Vocational Training Matters’
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 20
TAFE dominated
industry training
% market
share
Mining 97.8
Information Media and
Telecommunications
94.3
Electricity, Gas, Water and
Waste Services
83.0
Construction 78.1
Private college
dominated training
% market
share
Wholesale Trade 77.0
Retail Trade 74.4

21. Different broader
advantages
• Example: Tim
Roxburgh, ‘Public
works need public
sector skills: The lost
lessons of the BER
program’
• Example: ABC Childcare
receivership
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 21

22. The Question of: ‘Who does
what?’
• No one-size-fits-all solution
• Sectors have different advantages
in different circumstances
• Need to go beyond sectors
7 October 2013 Centre for Policy Development 22