2.12 The government is trying to reform the civil service to make it smaller and more strategic.35 Successive governments have pursued the idea of splitting the roles of commissioner and provider, and aspired to bring private and third sector providers into public service markets.36 This process has started to shift departments' roles from directly providing services to managing other providers.
2.13 However, departments' senior managers and governance processes have been slow to adapt. Senior management have not taken contract management seriously. Too often, departments' structures and systems are set up as if their responsibility stops at contract signature. Governance systems have usually comprised investment boards and business case approval processes that have focused on approving spending decisions and awarding contracts. Senior engagement has not generally been maintained during the operational phase. Contract managers have often worked at more junior levels than managers of directly provided services. Senior ownership of contracts, and who is allowed to make decisions, has often been unclear.
2.14 As a result, senior managers have often intervened only to react to problems and disputes with contractors. They have not given scrutiny and challenge to their own teams and contractors, to encourage continuous service improvement and value for money.
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35 HM Government, The Civil Service Reform Plan, June 2012, available at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-reform
36 HM Government, Open Public Services, white paper, Cm 8145, July 2011, available at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/open-public-services