Provision of Services for the Public
Services for the Public are not equivalent to Public Services
Golden Rule: Use Private Enterprise as Much as Possible
What Services Should be Public
Historically, many services have started under Government control and moved to the private sector. Governments have, to meet community needs, provided services that would otherwise not be provided by individual enterprise for various reasons (whose justification can be always argued) such as:
- Meets the needs of a minority group and not likely to be profitable.
- Inherently controversial e.g. civil defence against nuclear war.
- Inherently requires public control e.g. town-planning approvals.
- Too expensive, risky or legally complex for business e.g. space exploration.
If the service becomes established, profitable (i.e. desired by a public prepared to pay) and uncontroversial, then it can be delivered:
- Indirectly via an arms-length agency allowed to charge.
- Via a consortium.
- Via a private sector monopoly.
- Via competing private sector firms.
- Via the voluntary sector.
- Some combination of the above.
Advice to Politicians Interested in Services for Community Needs
Government (politicians) can exert influence in a wide variety of ways.
But there is only one way to get strongly managed high quality services. You must determine the organization and territory that is required by the nature of the service. This is not arcane theory but simple common sense. No business would think of operating in any other way. More.
Factors that should be considered include:
- Degree of complexity currently inherent in the service.
- Rapidity of development, technological or social, in relation to the service.
- Scope for flexibility of standards around the country.
- Need for linkage with other service agencies.
- Demand on resources—space, people, money—and their efficient use.
- Sophistication of management required and the size or organization required to recruit such managers.
Originally posted: August-2009; Last updated: 15-Nov-2010