The conclusion from the literature review (Stewart and Stoker 1989, Barber 1996, Farnham and Horton 1996, Greenwood et al 2002, OPSR 2002, Gunter 2008) demonstrates very clearly that the view of successive governments from the early 1980s was that if local authorities were to continue to provide services they needed to be adopting more ‘business-like’ approaches by assuming private sector
characteristics of efficiency, effectiveness through competition and choice.
The case studies, although also showing that the local authorities saw the benefits of many of these practices, also identified other reasons for seeking out partnerships with the private sector, in particular Case Studies 3 and 4. In Case Study 3, the
Table 5d : Research Question 2 – Analysis of Interview Questions
Case Study 1 Case Study 2 Case Study 3 Case Study 4
Why was the decision made to engage with the private sector? • Ofsted inspection outcomes poor • Lack of strategic leadership • No capacity to improve • The Secretary of State
evoked intervention orders
• Requirement to engage with a private sector company
• Poor Ofsted
• Required to work with consultants and with peer support
• The authority did not want intervention • Achieved targets ahead
of schedule
• Persuaded the DfES and the Secretary of State not enact intervention orders
• The Ofsted inspection “within an inch of intervention” and perception that DfES persuaded authority as rapid progress was needed before re- inspection • The authority had
experience of working with the private sector • Using another partner to
deliver services seen as a natural step
• Secure continued employment of staff. • Sustainability of
services.
• To ensure control over future of local authority
What were seen to be the benefits of engaging with the private sector • Clearer focus on outcomes • Relationships improved • Quality of staff improved • Quicker decisions making
• Out-sourcing not seen as solution.
• Outsiders would not be welcome.
• The threat of out- sourcing galvanised action.
• Improved performance management systems.
• Greater efficiencies. • Better use of staff
resources
• Schools gained the freedom to choose who provided the services • Improved relationships
with the local authority
• Local authority could expand services. • System benefits • Using business oriented
processes would result in improvements to services
• Ability to learn from others.
• To ensure control over future of local authority
authority believed that if they had not chosen to engage the private sector in delivering school improvement services they would have been required to by the DfES. The authority believed they needed to show some form of radical change in the way that services were delivered before their next Ofsted inspection. However, the authority (Case Study 4) that was seen by Ofsted to be good with few weaknesses had other concerns. Firstly, the loss of their staff to the private sector, who could offer better terms and conditions, and secondly from their perception that the growing use of the private sector would eventually be forced on all local authorities and this would take control away from the authority. This led them to review how they delivered services to schools and conclude that there would be benefits in developing a partnership arrangement with a private sector company. Case Study 4 also spoke of the benefits identified in the literature review (OPSR 2002) of
competition and choice and, in their case as part of a private sector partnership, the ability to trade openly with other authorities.
As we have seen for Case Studies 1 and 2, where the Ofsted inspection outcomes were poor, it was the government who believed that the private sector would ensure improvements in service delivery and enacted intervention orders for one authority (Case Study 1) and insisted that private sector consultant be engaged in supporting the other authority (Case Study 2), though this was only necessary for a short time. In both these case studies it was the use of business type systems, including setting targets to measure outcomes that lead to improved efficiencies and increased accountability, that contributed to the overall performance improvements. These benefits were also seen in Case Studies 3 and 4.
Therefore, it could be argued that in all four cases studies the use of private sector business-like processes has been beneficial in terms of efficiency. The chronological framework used in Chapter 2 (Table 2a, p29) clearly demonstrates that changes to the processes were introduced by successive governments as a result of concerns about the continued rising cost and lack of effectiveness of public services. In particular, the introduction of managerialism during the second era (1988-1997) was seen to
legitimise the use of “private sector knowledge about business effectiveness” (Gunter 2008, p263). The third and fourth eras also saw private sector practices embedded in by the Labour Government who saw the private sector as being able to reduce public spending “at a stroke” (Greenwood et al 2002, p215). Ball (2008) reflected that the move by the government to out-sourcing was further proof of their belief that the private sector was not only more efficient but also more effective.
5.2.2.5 Summary
All four case studies recognised possible benefits of the private sector from
implementing improved business like processes. In Case Study 2 it was felt that after the initial changes brought in following the use of private sector consultants that the authority could improve by itself. However, in Case Study 1 the authority did not have the self belief that was evident in case Study 2. This initially stemmed from the local politicians’ denial that they were a failing authority. The two authorities that actively engaged with the private sector did so because in Case Study 3 it feared that it would not improve quickly enough before it was re-inspected and in Case Study 4 it wanted to stem the loss of good staff, improve recruitment and engage with the
private sector on their terms before, as they perceived it, the government forced all local authorities to engage the private to deliver services.
The case studies provide evidence that the business-like processes, as seen by
government and explored in the literature review, have certainly made a difference to the efficiency of local authority service provision. However, have those business systems and processes led to better service outcomes in the form of improved educational performance? This is addressed in the next question.
5.2.3 Research Question Three : What effect has there been on the performance of the education services where local authorities engaged with the private sector?
5.2.3.1 Introduction
To better understand the context, I wanted to find out how performance was monitored and how services were evaluated as well as investigating whether the services within the authority had improved following the first Ofsted inspection.