Contextualización sobre los procesos y actividades realizadas

Having set out the chronology of the political and economic changes that have

affected the delivery of public services since the end of World War II the next stage is to analyse those changing dynamics. I have chosen to use a series of frameworks to illustrate the "visibility of particular themes" (Gunter 2001, p 21) in order to identify how those changes developed over time. To establish the framework I used the three time periods set out by Dale (1989), Bottery (1999) and Gunter (2001) but created a fourth in order to capture the period of the ‘New Labour’ government from their election in 1997 to 2004, which reflects the period when I was reviewing my research design. The first framework (Table 2a, p29) sets out the changes in political status, culture, economic state, market position, organisational context, ideology and the role of central government from the 'Fordist' era to the present day by identifying seven themes that I felt illustrated the context in which public services were operating. The second framework (Table 2b, p31) proposes principles that might have been

associated with the delivery of public services for each of first three periods and then sets out those that were actually established by the Labour Government in 2002 (OPSR 2002). This analysis will contribute to my deliberations in Chapter 5.

The time periods for each of the four eras of significant economic and political change since 1944 are:

1944-1973, a period from the end of the war until the economic oil crisis in

the 1970s of political consensus, growth in the welfare state and economic investment;

1974-1987, the era of economic crisis, a breakdown in political consensus

and the development of privatisation within the public sector;

1988-1997, a time of significant changes in the role of local government

particularly education, the introduction of the concept of the market place into public sector provision and a culture based around the place of the individual;

1998-2004, the influences of a New Labour Government elected in 1997 and

the continuation of many of Conservative policies.

Using evidence from the texts in my literature review these four eras enabled me to not only begin my analysis of the development of government policy but also demonstrated the potential for a more comprehensive analysis.

The framework (Table 2a) below clearly shows the chronological progression using my seven contextual themes from 1944 to 2004. To try to establish the relevance of the analysis each theme is evidenced by at least one reference to the texts used in my literature review, including a reference to the document from the government’s OPSR (2002). Although the outcome was interesting, I wanted to try to develop these

themes into principles for public service by considering the changes that have occurred in each timeframe.

Table 2a : Chronological Framework (Dale 1989, p115, adapted by Gunter 2001, p21) : A catalogue of themes from the texts used in the literature review

Themes 1944-1973 1974-1987 1988-1996 1997-2004 Ideology Fordism (3) Post Fordism (3) New Right (4) New Labour (5) Culture Consensus (4) Breakdown of Consensus (5) Individualism (5) Public accountability (6) 'Political' Status Post War Settlement (4) Economic crisis (4) 'Thatcherism' (5) 'Blairism' (5) Economic State Economic investment (1) Economic decline (4) Economic growth (4) Economic stability (5) Organisational Context Bureaucracy (5) Public Administration (5) Privatisation (5) Managerialism (5)

Market State Welfare State

(4) liberalism Market (5) Market economy (4) Public/Private (5) Role of Central Government Overseers (2) assertiveness Limited (2) Strong State (4) centralisation Increased (5) 1 Chitty (1989) 2 Dale (1989) 3 Stewart and Stoker (1989)

4 Farnham and Horton (1996) 5 Greenwood et al (2002) 6 OPSR (2002)

I therefore created a second matrix (Table 2b, p31) using evidence from my literature review that could be superimposed on the framework above to propose a set of principles which might have been established for the public services for the first three eras and those that were established by the government in 2002 to reflect the fourth era.

The evidence from the literature review and the visualisation framework above shows that during the era from 1944-1973, prior to the 'oil crisis', there was a strong

commitment to partnership between the government, local authorities and schools. This was the era of consensus. The state and local authorities were concerned not with markets but provision of welfare services to the masses through monopolistic service provision and there was a high degree of trust in the professionalism of teachers and local authorities. The second era, 1974-1987, as we have seen in the literature review saw the break down of consensus and increasing concerns about the rising cost of public services. There was a shift of emphasis in local authorities, through the introduction of CCT, to needing to achieve value for money (VfM). This brought some elements of private sector practice into the public sector through a limited development of internal markets and a focus on quality services and

customer choice. 1988-1997 saw radical change and the further development of the

'market economy' and the use of competition, choice and the privatisation of public services, concerns with the achievement of targets, reduction in the power of local authorities through the delegation, of services to schools and an emphasis on

performance. 1997-2004 saw the continuation of the shift in emphasis from

managerialism, a belief that the public sector needed to assume private sector characteristics of efficiency and flexibility, and to be able to respond to the needs of the individual. Now there is an even greater demand for high standards and the use of the private sector in public service delivery where they are not achieved. The principles of choice are still very important but the shift from delegation to

devolution might seem to suggest that future policy development will be based on

the notion that "public services cannot be made solely accountable to their customers when the democratic accountability is to Parliament or to the local town hall" (OPSR 2002, p9). This might suggest that the control by the state is being reduced.

However, I would wish to argue that in reality the control exerted by the state is still strong and that there is a high degree of centralisation.

Table 2b : Principles for Public Service

1944-1973 1974-1987 1988-1997 1997-2004

Tripartite

partnership Value for money Choice Choice

Monopolies Internal markets Delegation Devolution

Professionalism Quality Performance Standards

Trust Customers Targets Flexibility

2.3.3 Summary

This section has outlined some of the economic and political issues that have affected the development of public services since the end of World War II. It has provided a very rudimentary look at the consequences as described by the economic

regulationists and public choice theorists. The visualisation framework has helped to paint a picture of the major economic influences and subsequent journeys taken by successive governments in the development of public services since 1944. It suggests, to answer the question about the basis for the implementation of policies, that as governments came into power the move to increase the involvement in the private sector to deliver public services was "incremental and pragmatic" and

"unfolded as circumstances and opportunities permitted" (Farnham and Horton 1996, p15) rather than based on political ideology. This is not to suggest that political ideology has not had an influence on the changes we have seen outlined above or on the principles for public services. Moreover, it confirms that more analysis is needed to develop a deeper understanding of the theoretical issues and reasons for the ideological changes that have and continue to take place.

The analysis of the literature review so far has shown how the development of

orthodoxies from the 'Fordist' regime led to the 'New Labour' philosophy that sets out the desire to move away from a welfare state where the priorities had become

"distorted … leading to a draining culture of welfare dependency" to a society that benefits from "spreading prosperity and opportunity" (OPSR 2002, p2). The Government's priority in 1997 was “to build a strong and stable economy” as they believed that “without a successful economy, Government cannot deliver the sustained investment that public services need” (OPSR 2002, p4).

This raises two questions: the first is whether the principles for public services as set out in 2002 by OPSR (2002) are an inevitable consequence of previous governments' “stop-go investment” in public services and a society based on a "culture of welfare dependency” (OPSR 2002, p5) and the second is will these principles actually lead to improved outcomes in the delivery of public services? These questions are

considered in the next stage of my literature review.

2.4 : THE CONCEPTS OF CHOICE, COMPETITION AND MARKETS AND