Rethinking Efficiency in Public Service

Efficiency is in the news ... but what does it mean? How should public servants work on improving efficiency? Should we be focused on system reform, ending whole entitlements, or nibbling at the edges?

• How to know what kind of budget savings task you are in - deep restructuring or a cyclical contraction / expansion?
• Is front line v back office a helpful distinction?
• When are external reviews helpful, and when do they hurt?
• What is the role of tech in delivering savings?

Referenced in the episode

• Institute for Government's reflections on PM Starmer's Rewiring the State agenda
• Suzanne Heywood "What does Jeremy think? Jeremy Heywood and the Making of Modern Britain"
• John Halligan (with Jules Wills) "The Centrelink Experiment"
• BBC 'Denmark's postal service to stop delivering letters'
• The NDIS Review

This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be.

Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers....

While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right.

Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com.

Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music.

'Til next time!