Upcoming Events :
Housing Seminar: Partnerships with the Public Sector – Avoiding the pitfalls
Thu 31 May 2012
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
Details of first 12 public service mutuals unveiled
Fri 13 Aug 2010
Details about the first bodies to become public service mutuals have been published by the government.
Employees on the London and SE Learning Disability Team at the Department of Health will be among those to be given more control over how its services are delivered and funded.
Hammersmith and Fulham Children's Services, North East Essex PCT and the Lambeth Resource Centre are also taking part in the trial, which forms part of David Cameron's Big Society idea.
Each participant will receive guidance on how to effectively incorporate staff into their management processes from groups such as KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the John Lewis Partnership.
Other projects include an awarding body that has been set up by a consortium of further education colleges, as well as a new service designed to improve housing support services in Nottinghamshire.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the public service mutuals scheme will decentralise power so "people can deal with the issues that concern them".
Simon Randall, local government consultant at Winckworth Sherwood LLP, said: "The Big Society concept enables public sector employees at local level to become their own bosses.
"As this announcement indicates the public sector co-operative can run a wide range of services and facilities particularly for local government.
"We have been approached by employees interested in this exciting opportunity.
"A committed workforce, robust business plan and supportive local authority will facilitate many such ventures."
The Big Society concept was a key plank of the Conservative Party's general election campaign earlier this year.
