This handbook provides a comprehensive critique of the use of management consultancy and arguments against the uncritical use of external advice. It identifies important issues which must be taken account of in any decision to use management consultants, and provides a practical guide to the procurement process and engaging management consultants for local authorities, health…

New Commissioning and Procurement Toolkit for UNISON Northern (April 2008). It is divided into 11 parts covering: The Political Economy of Commissioning and Procurement, Developing a Branch strategy, Reviewing Services, Efficiency reviews, Shared Services Projects, Options Appraisal, The case for in-house provision, Capital works and BSF/PFI/PPP projects, Procurement and commissioning process, Protecting jobs, terms and…

This ESSU Research Report focuses on appraisal criteria, which are a fundamental part of the options appraisal process. It outlines out the key stages in the appraisal process. As options appraisal becomes a more common tool in public management there is evidence that ‘appraisal bias’ is leading to pre-selected options and construction of particular outcomes…

The case for seconding the 95 staff employed on the existing Tyne Tunnel rather than transferring them to the operator of the New Tunnel was set in a detailed report for Newcastle UNISON (see also How to Exclude Support Services from Building Schools for the Future and PFI Projects report in 2005 news section). However,…

Strategic Service Delivery Partnerships (SSPs) have been heralded as having the potential to revolutionise service delivery and playing a key role in the government’s modernisation agenda of reform for public services. This report examines these claims, testing them against evidence gathered from frontline staff whose employment had passed into the hands of the private sector…

This report examines the employment and financial impact of competitive tendering in the NHS in Northern Ireland between 19988 and 1993. The research findings are combined with the findings of the Northern Ireland Equal Opportunities Commission investigation into competitive tendering in health and education services (NIEOC, 1996).

There are basically three employment models if outsourcing or transfer is proposed: 1) Secondment in which staff remain employed by the public sector. 2) Transfer to a new employer under the TUPE regulations 3) A ‘choice’ model promoted by some private contractors which is a mix of secondment and transfer. The European Services Strategy Unit…

This publication examines the nature of school meals provision in the East Midlands in relation to children’s health and education, whilst also raising broader issues around the effects of CCT on the service and the staff working within school meals provision. Researched by Centre for Public Services, published by East Midlands UNISON (1997).

This report into the effects of the contracting out of cleaning of schools in Lincolnshire County Council was published prior to the current TUPE regulations on staff transfer, however it does draw attention to the dramatic failings of one of the world’s largest cleaning contractors. Researched for East Midlands NUPE and NALGO (now UNISON) (1988).

This report examines the performance, management and accountability of Executive Agencies in Britain and examines the implications of the introduction of such agencies in the USA. Project undertaken for the AFL-CIO. Written and researched by Centre for Public Services (1997).