Sessions start from 0930 hours, Thursday 4 February

Impressive and relevant overview of canadian deficit reduction at #pss2010

About to head to Guardian Public Services Summit - #pss2010 Talking about new media & innovation. shld be fascinating bit.ly

We've just had an interesting debate on Leadership and now we're onto the challenges ahead.

Hello from the Grove and the Guardian Public Services Summit. An interesting morning so far, we are operating under Chatham House rules so we can't report verbatim. Paul Martin's keynote opening speech will be posted soon. Keep watching - and tweeing!

oops! I meant tweeting of course!

Don't forget to add your comments via Guardian Public website www.guardianpublic.co.uk you can also tweet direct by using #pss2010 on twitter!

More reports coming, once we have permission from relevant speakers - keep watching!

wondering how many of my resolutions for 2010 bit.ly will be covered in #pss2010

This morning's discussion has centred on leadership in hard times. This two-day summit is really about setting out the parameters and drilling down into some of the challenges - and ways to tackle them.

We've had a range of views, with some no-nonsense opinions about topics such as the present inspection regime for public services and questions from the floor have furthered the debate. If a future government seeks to move the provision of public services more into the voluntary sector, for instance, what will be the cost of that, not just financially, but in social terms?

We're now examining the nitty gritty of making difficult decisions. Our speakers are Sir Andrew Foster, chair of the Commission on 2020 Public Services, Dame Julie Mellor, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Social Enterprise London.

Mellor, who is speaking on the record,is asking whether co-creation of services be the new paradigm that meets the new for more efficient services. And while people say they want more power, how easy will be to devolve that power down to local levels? There is a hunger to be involved, but not at the cost of the state absenting itself from services.

The results of co-creation could be greater satisfaction, better value for money and reduced demand - and there are already quite dramatic examples of that, when people are able, for instance, to have greater control over medical conditions.

But is there the capacity in communities to do this? Research by PWC shows that people overwhelmingly thing the state should continue to be the main provider of services such as education. So that's a challenge to the principle of power to the public, who are hungry to be involved but not at any price.

This isn't about the state just handing over power; it's about the state changing the way it does things.

Ogden-Newton, also speaking on the record this morning, "lives and breathes" social enterprise. Why social enterprise now? - because those involved in social enterprise are those who want to take responsibility. It's not always an easy choice, she acknowledges, but it is an important one.

There are 66,000 social enterprises in this country; a collection of extraordinarily varied organisations. "What we are never about:we're never about making money or private ownership and we're always about social benefit."

Ogden-Newton is an advocate not of cuts, but of change and believes the recession will provide the opportunity to do things differently.

What needs to change? "Government could be a better ashopper," she points out. Governmaent too often steps away from social clauses, believing - often erroneously - that they may be in breach of European law. "Unfortunaately we're often not in the room when those decisions are made," says Ogden-Newton.

She also echoes a theme that has already come up several times during the course of the morning, that of the investment for social enterprise and the need for capital investment. "The truth is the matter is that when we barrel up, investors wonder how they will invest in this?" But that makes it, she says, a brilliant vehicle for government investment. "We need flexibility and we have to look enterpreneurially at things and perhaps the role of public finance is to help with that." Part of the challenge is the very range of activities undertaken by social enterprises, from building hospitals, to running bus services.

"I'm very excited about this debate. Social enterprise can only happen with the support of public services and from where I'm standing, it's not a difficult decision at all."


Our final session before lunch morning will look at an even more difficult area: why is the public sector traditionally seen as resisting change? One of the champions of change in public services, Sir Michael Bichard, director of the Institute for Government, will be one of the speakers telling us how change is so necessary - and how it may be managed.

Lunch soon! A very interesting and intense debate this morning, much to chew on. Like the theme of the summit: getting through but getting better, we are getting there - our first blog!

back after some choice cuts at lunch

There are two sessions to kick off this afternoon, both interactive workshops designed to get everyone re-thinking productively after lunch. Delegates are either thinking about new ways of working or about big decisions: tough choices

Can we look to the private sector for any examples of how - or how not -to restructure in difficult times? Strategic prioritisation is needed: but sometimes companies can't plan for what is going to happen.

Everyone's listening intently!

So can public organisations learn from business? Possibly, is the suggestion - as long as we leave aside football clubs, which live in a micro economic universe of their own.

New ways of working with Gavin Jones, chief executive of Swindon borough vouncil; Richard Marchant, local government director, Capita and Neil McLocklin, director Capita Symonds.

This is a capita workshop on new ways of working, delegates will be split into groups to work on simulated scenarios and outcomes.

Richard Marchant says recognizing challenges – comprehensive spending review, Gershon etc, we are all looking for cashable savings.

2010-11 a tough budget year, main pressure will come 2011-12, he says. Investment in technology is a real challenge, front, back and middle office are where savings can be made.

£175bn spent in procurement in public sector, how can it be better spent? Marchant asks. Revenue and capital cuts are on way.

Marchant is interested in Total Place! Whole joined/shared services idea seems to be the way to go.

Which leads us on to new ways of working – it’s not just about effective use of property and real estate. A fundamental change of doing business and services, new models should be customer-centric – have people on the front line got the right tools to join up services and provide better outcomes, asks Marchant.

Gavin Jones, talking about Swindon. One plan for the town, working with all partners, is the new way in Wilthsire.

Background to this initiative is increasing demand and political ambition and declining resources, issues needed to be resolved, says Jones. Not just the what, but the how.

Meaningful engagement with communities and holding mirror to the council, connecting people and connecting places is Swindon’s the strategy.

Barriers were finance and resources, they had to cut cost; present technology not up to scratch, the need to innovate was crucial.

Space and management – managing by outcomes not by input, easy to say much harder to achieve said Jones.

Neil McLocklin says first 10 years he was in private sector, but for past 10 years he has been working with public sector. He did a lot of work with BT – at time making 1.3bn losses, through waste.

Too many offices in EC1, computer networks not compatible with staff – processes for everything – even going to the toilet!

Culture at BT was engineering rather than internet, the company needed a shift in culture and working practices.

Need to challenge existing ways of work, each of us should be challenging our colleagues to see if we can do things better. Police officers spending time writing up witness statements, amount of time social workers spend with clients, clearly these are areas where time and skills could be put to better use.

Tools for the job, Capita has one portal for all business and administration tasks. Communication should not be underestimated says McLocklin – it should be on every team agenda.

Talk to each other! And help each other was his message. Excellent presentations, delegates are now workshopping, giving me time to upload some pics!

Stay tuned!

Paul Martin's keynote speech from this morning
Tough-talking Canadian former prime minster Paul Martin opened this year’s summit with a speech that goes straight to the core of public services and the challenges that lay ahead.


In 1995, as the Canada’s finance minister, he set a budget, which proposed to cut the deficit by 3% of GDP in three years with a zero deficit in five years. In 1998, he said, the deficit had been
eliminated and there was actually a surplus.

So how did he do it?

When we took office, he said, spending was $120bn; three years later (1997) it had dropped to $108bn, lower than any time since 1949. As the country’s finance minister he introduced a spending cut in absolute terms by over 10% and the public service was cut by 20%

At the time Canada’s deficit was the worse in the G7, the country almost bankrupt. One of the reasons for this he said, was the country’s deficit had risen exponentially over 25 years and government projections had been consistently wrong. Almost half of expenditure was going on servicing the national debt.

His budget was not to be short-term; it had to deal with the deficit once and for all and his first job was to ascertain the size of fiscal gap that lay ahead – and eliminate the difference between revenues and expenditure.

His first cabinet message to public servants, wrestling with expenditure, was to set the targets for what had to be cut.

With the prime minister’s support, Martin allowed government departments to decide themselves. He met cabinet colleagues individually – gave them target cuts. Were they arbitrary, unreasonable? Perhaps, he said, but after 30 years there was no other way.

Individual targets could be appealed; but the government’s bottom line was not up for negotiation. How department achieved cuts would be up to them.

In his first budget there were no promises and a tough set of measures. And the only way was to take the debate head on, but it was important to keep Canadians informed if they were to get the public onside. There was a 15-month of public consultations so Canadians knew what to expect.

For his plans to work it was important to get economic commentators onside, which made the budget credible with the public.

The problems governments have, he said, is to make sure the public know the sacrifice is worth it, and this takes openness and transparency; government has to be accountable.

A continuous focus on targets, measured regularly so the public could see improvements was the way forward. The government met its first target and the public took notice; the second target was tougher, but also met and Canadians could see their sacrifice was not in vain. More importantly they were participants in great national effort.

We succeeded, he said in not only getting the public onside but keeping them onside – which are two different things.

Deficit elimination must be seen to be for people’s wellbeing, he said. They will not support arcane economic theory or simply because business calls for it.

Martin finished his speech with an impassioned plea for the case of social enterprise, one of the talking points in tomorrow’s debate at the summit.

At a time when governments are fighting unprecedented deficits and national debt is crippling their ability to meet social needs, they had to think of new ways of achieving goals, he claimed.

It should be a marriage between left and right - compassionate social policy and business entrepreneurship. Here there was at least some good news for delegates – Martin believes the UK is a world leader in this area and he was particularly impressed with the Community Interest Companies and the ongoing legislation to help them meet the needs of improving social conditions by creating wealth and economic growth.

Next up is nannying, nudge, or knowledge? What inspires behaviour change? Speakers are Ben Hamilton-Baille, from Hamilton-Baille Associates and Richard Reeves from thinktank Demos. Our very own Jane Dudman is chair.

First up is Ben Hamilton-Baille, talking about human behaviour. He’s using the analogy of an ice rink! Chaotic, pleasure, interaction with other humans all observing protocols.

Traffic and street designs, clutter and confusion from plethora of street signs and barriers, says Hamilton-Baille. Need a phd to understand all the different road markings, especially in London!

An important relationship between risk and safety in the public realm. He’s quoting John Adams’ book Risk. Want idiotic drivers? Treat them as idiots! Is his message.

His talk is very lively with good use of visuals, raising a few laughs.

Difference between where we do need regulation, consistent and linear – ie motorway rules and regulation for the sake of it.

Shared space in Ashford Kent, removal of all signs and barriers, is a good example. Shift in relationship between the role of the state.

Seven Dials in Convent Garden, fantastic example of open space, no accidents in 20-plus years.

Traffic engineering for the future. He’s just got a round of applause, well deserved.

Looking forward to Michael White's after dinner speech tonight. Always good value and highly entertaing.