This report makes a comprehensive case for the 4th Option for council investment. Council housing is a socially important housing tenure. It is democratically accountable, has a range of economic benefits and provides access to affordable housing. Even within the government’s own rules for public spending, there is ample room to deliver the needed investment…

The Strategic Service-delivery Partnership (SSP) between Bedfordshire County Council and HBS Business Services was terminated by the County Council in August 2005. Nearly 550 staff were transferred from HBS back to the County Council. The report ‘Strategic Partnership in Crisis’ prepared by the Centre for Bedfordshire UNISON, published in April 2005, is available in the…

Bedfordshire County Council agreed a £267m Strategic Service-Delivery Partnership with HBS Business Services Group in June 2001 and transferred 550 staff to HBS. Bedfordshire UNISON commissioned the Centre for Public Services to undertake an evaluation of the Strategic Partnership. The study revealed that the partnership was in crisis and had failed to deliver many of…

The City Council decided not to proceed with a Strategic Partnership for ICT and related services following a procurement process and to undertake the work in-house. No Corporate Takeover of Council Services is by Newcastle’s UNISON’s ITRS Evaluation Team assisted by the Centre for Public Services. Part 1: In-House Capacity for Change Management – makes…

This report examines the operation and impact of existing public duties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the UK Duty on Race, specifically in light of the desirability or otherwise of a Public Duty for Age Equality either as part of a Single Equalities Act or a separate piece of legislation. It also seeks…

This is a summary of a research study carried out for the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) into the gender impact of CCT in local government. The study found a number of areas where CCT had a more serious effect upon women’s employment situation than their male counterparts. This summary describes the context and methodology of…

Between 1990 and 1994, Ealing council under conservative control undertook an aggressive strategy of commercialising its public services, taking privatisation and commercialisation to extreme lengths and leaving a lasting legacy of unemployment, low levels of service provision and accountability, and a huge budget deficit. This report documents the devastating nature of such policies, and offers…

This report analyzes the implications of privatization for women workers, especially those employed in low-end occupations. Data analyzed show that women disproportionately depend on the public sector for jobs that pay decent wages and offer benefits. This is especially true for African American and Hispanic women, and for women who do not have a college…

Briefing which discusses the impact of privatisation and contracting on women and domestic labour (2003).

Examines legislative and national contexts and uses several case studies to discuss the approach to gender mainstreaming in Britain and concludes by setting out the case for a public sector duty on gender.