We know less and less about public service outsourcing and this is concerning

What is it about?

We do not know enough about the extent of public service outsourcing: it is difficult to define and measure, and the datasets that exist are quite limited. This is important, because it means that politicians and officials have increasingly less reliable Information upon which to base their decisions about how public services are delivered and how they perform

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Why is it important?

Austerity cuts to back office functions mean that we know increasingly less about public service outsourcing, and major contractors are experiencing serious financial problems. Public bodies need to create a more detailed picture of their contractual relationships in order to inform future policy-making, hold suppliers to account effectively, and ensure that finances and services can be put on a sustainable footing in the event of collapse.