Abstract
The UK public sector faces an unprecedented long-term challenge. A decade of plenty in the public finances has been followed by a decade and more of austerity. Public services are undergoing long-term annual spending cuts even as demand rises from demographic change in health, education and adult care. Unless taxes rise substantially, which no political party advocates for fear of electoral oblivion, public sector managers and politicians, faced with a combination of major budget reductions and increasing demand, have a stark choice; either ‘decommission’ and remove services altogether or through increased productivity, reduction in overheads and new technology succeed in retaining them by lowering the cost of delivery.
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Notes
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© 2013 Michael Burton
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Burton, M. (2013). The Politics of Public Sector Reform: From Thatcher to the Coalition. In: The Politics of Public Sector Reform. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137316240_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137316240_1
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