A Critical Look at the Research Underlying the Government’s Emerging Policies on Public Sector Efficiency
Reports suggest that a recent review by Sir Peter Gershon on public sector efficiency will play a leading role in setting out ways in which the Government can save money in key sectors. A call to improve efficiency in the public sector could even be a key factor in the Chancellor’s forthcoming Spending Review.
In response, one of the world’s leading experts on public sector procurement, Professor Christine Harland, will criticise some of the research that has fed into the review.
Professor Harland who is the Director of the Centre for Research in Strategic Purchasing and Supply (CRiSPS) at the University of Bath, believes that:
- the UK’s public sector expenditure - estimated to represent 40 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product – is a powerful tool that should be used in the drive for economic, social, environmental and ethical sustainability in the UK
- calls for state organizations such as schools and hospitals to buy many of their products from only a few larger suppliers, rather than a wide variety of smaller ones, will hit the small business sector across the UK and could potentially destabilise industry structures, leading to greater concentration with a small number of larger firms
- socially driven purchasing policies, such as those designed to provide sustainable communities, support environmentally friendly or ethically sound products and businesses, should not be traded against the need for financial efficiency
- a uni-dimensional efficiency drive may take us back 15 years in comparison with other nations such as the USA, Australia and South Africa who, at federal and state level, have connected their government procurement policies directly with broader government objectives by targeting government spend at less advantaged segments of society and the economy
- the NHS, specifically targeted in the Gershon review, has made substantial progress through the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the local health economies at considering local community sustainability in business decision making. Reversing these many, rich arrangements will cause damage that has not been assessed or even researched sufficiently
Professor Harland will be available before, on and immediately after the forthcoming Spending Review announcement to answer questions on the above and more. CRiSPS, based in the University’s School of Management, is one of the world’s leading centres for research on purchasing and supply chain management and has worked extensively with the NHS, the United Nations, the South Australian Government, the Office of Government Commerce and the Home Office over the last decade. The Centre is also heading an international research initiative to identify and share best practice in public sector purchasing.
If you are interested in talking to Professor Harland, please contact the University of Bath Press Office on 01225 386 883, 01225 384 220 or 07966 341 357.
Notes
Small business provide a backbone to the British economy – with small to medium sized enterprises making up some 95 per cent of UK VAT registered companies, employing 65 per cent of our nation’s workforce, and contributing 25 per cent of GDP.
25 June 2004
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General Notes For Editors:
The University of Bath School of Management has consistently achieved both top research and teaching ratings in the UK's Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) assessments. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), the School was rated 5th in the UK for management research.
We are one of a select number of international business schools accredited by EQUIS, the European Foundation for Management Development's quality inspectorate and the Bath MBA has been accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) since 1976. The School is consistently ranked among the top UK business schools by The Times, The Financial Times and The Guardian.
The centrality of research to teaching is an essential feature of all our programmes. The School offers a full range of programmes from undergraduate to postgraduate up to PhD level and post-experience programmes including the world-ranked Bath MBA. The School also provides tailored executive development programmes for middle and senior management.
The School of Management has a faculty of around 90 teaching and research staff, including visiting academics, with a support team of around 70 managerial and administrative staff. Research income averages £2 million per annum. There are approximately 2,100 students in total comprising some 200 MBA students, 370 Master’s students, 210 full- and part-time research students, and over 1100 undergraduates following BSc degrees. The School also runs joint undergraduate programmes with Departments in the Faculties of Engineering and Design, Science, and European Studies and Modern Languages.
