A Domesday Book for public service contracts – better data, better value for money

The proposals above flow from an existing stream. In his 2017 report to the Treasury, the former head of Tony Blair’s Delivery Unit Sir Michael Barber prescribed “a tool for measuring, tracking and delivering [productivity] improvements while permanently embedding a new dialogue around expenditure”.[1] His “public value framework” demands the knowledge that this report is calling for: that is, data on the costs and benefits of contracting and the relationship, if any, between outsourcing and achieving goals of efficiency, effectiveness and equity.

The government now seems to accept that contracting can only be evaluated by reference to what used to be called ‘extra contractual’ parameters. It has signalled its assent to the reappraisal of the ‘big four’ consultancies, which have played a large part in promoting outsourcing. [2] The big four are also public auditors, which is another reason why reform is so overdue.

Audit is important. Better-informed auditors would be in a position to query decisions around contracting and closely examine risk assessments. Channels to be exploited include external auditor reports, professional networks and messages from regulators. The pursuit of fair value for money should become more coherent and expanded to include residents, citizens and service users. Critically, this depends on better data on outsourcing.

This proposal to compile and maintain a new registry of public service contracts is not about creating new powers to direct any organisation. It will not challenge the rights of any local authority or NHS trust to make their own decisions about how best to deliver a service. Such decisions should and would remain decentralised. But a Domesday Book for public service contracts will help to inform these organisations by providing contextual knowledge about contract performance across the public sector and, critically, about the contractors themselves.