A new report by the United Kingdom Institute for Government and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy has said that Government actions so far will do little to improve performance across nine key Public Services before the next General Election.
The Performance Tracker analysis of general practice, hospitals, adult social care, children’s social care, neighbourhood services, schools, police, criminal courts and prisons comes as the Government decides to deliver a Budget in March, and in the face of a series of Public Service strikes.
The report found that funding increases announced in the Government’s Autumn Statement were not enough to return Public Service performance to pre-pandemic levels.
“This means that hospital waiting times and lists will remain above where they were in 2019, pupils won’t catch up on lost learning, and the Prison Service will find it very difficult to safely house any substantial increase in prisoner numbers,” the report says.
It also warns that the Government’s hard-line strike strategy will damage Public Service performance, as refusing to raise pay offers will make it much harder for the Government to address staff shortages.
The report notes that raising pay means asking Departments to fund this from existing budgets — meaning painful cuts elsewhere — or raising taxes.
Meanwhile, the Government has announced that more than 11,000 Public Service jobs have been moved out of London to sites in the North-West and Yorkshire.
The move is part of the Government’s Places for Growth program, which aims to relocate 22,000 Public Service roles out of the capital by 2030.
Most of the jobs, including anti-exploitation and counter-fraud, have been filled by local people, it said.
Work has started on a hub in Manchester that will accommodate 2,500 roles, with the new building expected to open in 2025.
London, 25 February 2023
