Member Article

Overhaul of public sector will have far reaching consequences, say experts

Radical changes to the public sector are set to have far reaching effects on the way health, local government and education are delivered, according to experts at Ward Hadaway.

At the Reshaping Public Services Conference, the law firm discussed the changes with 50 chief executives and senior local authority officers from across the country. Topics covered included the changing relationship between citizens and services, integration of health and social care and the role of social enterprises.

Ward Hadaway provides legal services to the NHS, local government and educational bodies, and decided to hold the event to bring together people from a range of areas to discus the common issues they face.

Melanie Pears, Partner and Head of Public Sector at Ward Hadaway, said: “Whether it is clinical commissioning and NHS reforms, free schools and academies or balancing ever tighter local authority budgets, public sector organisations are facing some of the most radical changes to the way they carry out their business in a generation.

“Our conference helped to bring these and other important issues into focus in a supportive, informed environment to help decision makers and leaders in the public sector.

Karen Andrews, Partner in the public sector team at Ward Hadaway, added: “There is a general recognition that public service delivery needs to be modernised, that the role of local authorities must change and that there will be a need for new service models.

“The reforms are an opportunity to do things differently but monitoring officers, in-house procurement and legal specialists will need support to ensure that in adapting to the new environment, local authorities stay within their powers and minimise the risk of challenge.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .