Mark Isherwood
North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called for a change to the way in which public services are delivered in Wales , with a move away from service-led approaches to one of genuine citizen empowerment.
Questioning the First Minister in the Assembly Chamber this week, Mr Isherwood, Shadow Minister for Communities, Housing and Local Government, emphasised the need for co-production in public service delivery.
Mr Isherwood said:
“Co-production Wales has said that the future proofing of services requires a change in service delivery, breaking down barriers between people who provide services and those who use them. How therefore do you respond to its call for explicit links between service providers and citizens and communities, designing and delivering services together, and sharing budgets?”
The First Minister replied:
“It is important, of course, that there is collaboration and budget sharing, where that is appropriate. We would seek to ensure that, where services are made available to members of the public, either via local authorities or other public bodies, they work with the service recipients in order to ensure that the service is appropriate for the individual.”
Mr Isherwood added:
“The First Minister just doesn’t get it! This is about a transformation in the way we deliver health, social and other services.
“The co-production approach was not designed for an age of austerity, but rather for any age of social and economic aspiration – yes, delivering more for less at a time of deficit reduction, but also delivering more for the same when budgets are stable and more for more when budgets are growing.
“Until we start putting outcomes before processes, individuals before programmes and communities before the state, devolution will never deliver for Wales.”
