Private sector business support services are playing an increasing role in the public sector as budget cuts bite.

The Smart Money study looking into the UK business support services market such as outsourcing, consulting and advisory services, operational support, logistics and facilities management, found that with investment deals of £1.7b in the first quarter of this year, the total for 2012 could be double that of 2011. The Study is published by Grant Thornton the business and financial adviser.

Read more on PUBLIC SECTOR RELYING ON BUSINESSES TO GIVE MORE SUPPORT…

Amy Lyman reveals the benefits organisations enjoy when trustworthy behavior is practiced consistently by their leaders. Drawing from examples, she explains that being trustworthy means that leaders’ behaviors are rooted in their commitment to the value of trust and not simply in an imitation of the practices of others.

Read more on THE TRUSTWORTHY LEADER: LEVERAGING THE POWER OF TRUST TO TRANSFORM YOUR ORGANISATION…

The Mutals Taskforce believes that delivering public services by mutuals is an effective way to improve services and cut costs. It calls for mutualisation to be a mainstream option for public service delivery. But it found little support for mutualisation beyond Whitehall.

Read more on TASKFORCE CALLS FOR RAPID EXPANSION OF MUTUALS BUT RECOGNISES WIDESPREAD INDIFFERENCE…

Public sector employers are struggling to recruit and retain senior staff. They face increasing problems as skilled individuals shy away from the sector as the impact of the cuts is felt and the image of the sector wanes.

Read more on CUTS AND POOR IMAGE HIT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF SENIOR PUBLIC SECTOR STAFF…

There are similarities between sports and public sector organisations. Professor Graham Jones examines the reasons for the similarities and describes how a common approach to being the best can bring success in both spheres.

Read more on WHAT CAN PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERS LEARN FROM GREAT ATHELETES?…

The Civil Service Reform White Paper aims to move the culture away from what is considered to be old-fashioned and outdated, towards a 21st century business culture. The model behind the White Paper is the lean and efficient modern corporation.

Read more on CIVIL SERVICE REVAMP AIMS TO DOWNSIZE AND CHANGE THE YES MINISTER CULTURE…

Ofsted has criticised schools that take case by case action on bullying. It wants schools to influence the culture and take preventive measures to get a better grip on the situation.

Read more on WATCHDOG WANTS A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO BULLYING…

All 150 larger councils have taken the Community Budget cash offer to help them in turning round troubled families in their areas.

Communities and Local Government have drawn on the budgets of six other departments so that a three-year budget of £448 million is available to support councils who sign up to the scheme. It is estimated that some 120,000 families put a £9 billion drain on public spending, amounting to £75,000 per family per year, with £8 billion of this spent on reacting to, rather than getting to the root causes of their problems.

Read more on COUNCILS RESPOND TO COMMUNITY BUDGET CASH OFFER…

MyCSP, the first central Government mutual which last month won the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme, has secured 15 new contracts.

MyCSP Ltd’s innovative Mutual Joint Venture model gives employees a 25 per cent ownership stake, representation at board level and a share in profits. It ends the binary choice between private and state provision. The Equiniti Group’s Paymaster business has a 40 per cent stake, and the Government has retained a 35 per cent stake so taxpayers benefit as the business grows in value.

Read more on PIONEER MUTUAL GETS MORE BUSINESS…

Firefighters need a range of skills beyond firefighting. Many skills require reading and writing and dyslexia can be a severe handicap. This feature describes how technology has come to the rescue of fire and rescue services with text-to-speech software designed for people who struggle with reading and writing.

Read more on HELP FOR FIREFIGHTERS WITH DYSLEXIA…