Time to apply some creative thinking

摘要

As the coalition Government approaches its first anniversary, there are two clear themes emerging for local government: the need to cut costs and an aspiration for a wider variety of players to deliver public services. This was recently underlined by prime minister David Cameron, who urged critics of his plans to "grow up" and recognise that the public is concerned by the standard of a public service rather than whether it is delivered by a charity, private company or the public sector. To illustrate the point further, communities secretary Eric Pickles threatened "statutory force" against councils that make disproportionate cuts to voluntary sector budgets.