By David Walker and John Tizard
Foreword by Lord Kerslake
Concerns over the public’s trust in Government and over how public services are funded, delivered and accounted for, are now centre stage in both Whitehall and Town Halls. Meanwhile Ministers and Whitehall are gearing up for the 2019 Spending Review and political leaders increasingly see the need for fiscal renewal. However, persuading the public to have confidence in the Government’s spending of their taxes is essential to keeping the state fit, funded and functional. It is against this backdrop that David Walker and John Tizard are calling for a radical rethink about the impact of expenditure and how it is accounted for.
The authors not only set out the case for a more devolved, more accountable and more reliable system, but offer ambitious proposals for unifying the way public services are assessed to ensure they are delivering effectiveness, fairness and value for money. They call for new agencies, including an independent Office of the 3Es (effectiveness, efficiency and equity), a change to the remit of the National Audit Office (NAO) and a new Public Interest Appraisal Unit. These reforms alone won’t restore the public’s trust in Whitehall and Westminster’s or local government’s credibility regards public expenditure but they could make an important improvement.