The Office for Government Commerce has launched a new approach in a search for better, quicker and cheaper ways for the public sector to procure goods and services. The two pronged thrust for solutions to the high cost and long timescale weaknesses of current arrangements will involve a complete review of processes and the creation of an electronic procurement system. This new thinking results from repeated failures to provide electronic solutions for procurement. The target for central departments and agencies to procure 90% of low value goods electronically by March 2001 has still not been achieved.The OGC will join forces with the Regulatory Impact Unit’s Public Sector Team in the Cabinet Office. The Team, which is made up of secondees from private sector telecommunications, financial services and manufacturing companies, comes fresh from its success tackling red tape in the chemicals and retail sectors.
Local strategic partnerships are changing the power structure of local government. Research into how the partnerships have progressed since they were launched two years ago shows that councillors feel a loss of power. The research was carried out by the universities of Warwick, West of England, Liverpool John Moores and the Office for Public ManagementThe partnerships bring together at a local level the different parts of the public sector including councils, the health service, central departments as well as the private, community and voluntary sectors. Up to 40 public bodies may be providing services in any one locality and the partnerships have to find ways to bring them together so that people receive a seamless service.
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By Carol W. LewisEthics in public service is a hot topic in today’s headlines. This detailed guide provides public managers with the practical tools and techniques they need to make ethical choices in the ambiguous pressured world of public service. It shows how applying ethical principles can be a powerful means of clarifying and resolving complex problems in an even more complex world.