Give users a voice in policy

It is fascinating to watch the growing emphasis placed on the best way to empower the user voice in the delivery of public services. This has included recent speeches from both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on how to make the NHS more user focused. However, there is a world of difference between political rhetoric and reality.

As Chairman of Capita, I was very aware of my customers’ views about our services on a day to day basis. Quite simply, if we did a good job they stayed with us, if we didn’t they went elsewhere. The user voice was direct, immediate and disregarded at your peril. It shaped how you operated as a company and your track record of service delivery was everything.

In the public sector no such instant mechanism exists and there is no immediate redress available to customers for poor performance. The views therefore of many users are shaped by extreme circumstances – when help is most needed will the organisation responsible provide it? Many in these circumstances, I suggest, feel that despite extensive Government investment, little has changed.

Through the work of my Foundation is undertaking with The Prince’s Trust, an extreme illustration of this is the plight of young offenders. At present 78% of 18 to 21 year olds are reconvicted within 2 years of being released. Over half are unemployed when they enter prison and few will get jobs when released. A third have nowhere to live. This is the output of the current policy. Recently, I attended a discussion on young offenders at No 10. It was well populated by those responsible for administering this policy. All care about the situation and all have ideas on how to improve things. However, the most significant omission was the user voice. Where were the young people who have experienced the implications of these policies first hand? Just think how much more effective such gatherings would be if the user voice was represented to challenge thinking.

Money should follow excellence and not used to finance existing bureaucratic structures that blatantly do not deliver. Too much policy is designed by those with little operational skills and not close enough to the end user to fully understand the implications of it. Too many initiatives are driven from top down and not enough is learnt from grass root user voice involvement of those actually experiencing the service provided. To redress this, the time is right for a nationwide, bottom up institution to represent consumers’ interests.