Outsource Magazine Issue 25 - (Page 12)

this month: APG lAunched / cAll centres / Police outsourcinG / cAPitA exPAnds news & comment Parliamentary outsourcing body launched The UK’s outsourcing industry amplified its collective voice this summer with the formation of a parliamentary body investigating on how the public sector can optimise delivery via the outsourcing and shared services models. The All Party Outsourcing & Shared Services Group has been established to “raise awareness of the benefits and best practices of the outsourcing and shared services industries; to address the issues that face the industry; and to promote dialogue and understanding between industry representatives and Members of Parliament”, according to its parliamentary registration. The 20-member All-Party Group (APG) has requested views and case studies from both buyers and providers of services, with the eventual aim of creating a bestpractice guide for public officials and civil servants, and recommending potential improvements to government. It held its first meeting on August 23rd, with a second provisionally scheduled for October. Conservative MP for Harrow East, Bob Blackman, who will be chairing the APG, told the press: “The outsourcing of services represents an opportunity to reduce costs and to improve the quality of service provided to the public. However, it is important to learn what has worked and what has not. This is an opportunity to learn from past experiences and to ensure that these are incorporated into any proposed outsourcing in the future; we are therefore keen to learn from those who have experience of outsourcing to inform our investigation.” Martyn Hart, chairman of the National Outsourcing Association (which is providing a point of contact for the APG) described its formation as “a great opportunity for our members to contribute meaningfully to the debate and draw attention to some of their best practice examples.” UK GOVERNMENT commentAry Jamie LiddeLL, outsource At a time when getting strategy and structure right has rarely been more important for a peacetime government, it’s encouraging that Parliament now has a body dedicated to outsourcing and shared services best practice, and it’s more encouraging that the APG will be taking evidence from a broad cross-section of the outsourcing community with a wide variety of experiences to draw from. One of the government’s challenges going forward must be to take the best elements of private sector endeavour, expertise and innovation without losing sight of the fact that the public sector is a very different playing field: what’s good for providers and the Civil Service may not be as favourable to the end-user – the taxpayer. It will be interesting to observe the workings of the new APG in terms of its interaction with those contributing to its eventual reports – not mention how its recommendations chime, or not, with the coalition’s existing policies. “Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is, in a democracy, the whores are us.” – P J. O’Rourke . 12 www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk ●● http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Magazine Issue 25

News & Commentary
Making Contact
Taking the Chair
Clinical Outsourcing Strategies
New Worlds
To Share Or Not To Share?
Trends in Outsourcing Governance
The Next Big Idea
Smart Intelligence
Taking the ChairCracking the Wip
NOA Round-Up
Predicting Success
It’s Not The Contract.
Get Productive
Rigorously Agile
Good Relations
Knowledge Sustainability
Racking Up The Wins
Trust Me... I’m an Outsourcer
Head-to-Head
Top Ten
The Legal view
HfS Round-Up
Online Round-Up
Inside Source
The Last Word

Outsource Magazine Issue 25

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