Friday, August 25, 2006
[IWS] UK: THIRD SECTOR PROVISION OF EMPLOYMENT-RELATED SERVICES [PCS Report]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) - (UK)
THIRD SECTOR PROVISION OF EMPLOYMENT-RELATED SERVICES
A report for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
Steve Davies, Senior Research Fellow. Cardiff School of Social Sciences
June 2006
http://www.pcs.org.uk/Shared_ASP_Files/UploadedFiles/5C8650AB-E285-40DB-8F40-D3753C93CBDB_ThirdSectorreportFINALr.doc
[full-text, 58 pages]
[excerpt from Foreword by Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, Public & Commercial Services Union]
In response to the proposals made in the DWP Green paper, PCS commissioned Steve Davies of Cardiff University to examine them in detail, with particular attention being paid to the nature of the third sector, its key promoters and the claims they make for the superiority of non-state over state provision of employment services.
The report shows that most of the claims made for the third sector are open to question.
Even the term third sector itself seems to be a questionable one. The leading organisation lobbying for contracting out employment services the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) - is composed of profit- seeking businesses, long-established charities, hybrid government/charity organisations and non-profit making organisations who aim to increase their market share of public contracts.
Some seem to have maintained a local focus and close relationships with users, but this is far from being the rule. Only a few of the voluntary sector organisations were found in the report to have clear structures for involving users of the services, while private companies are, naturally, structured around delivering profits.
In some cases, the founders of these companies derive very substantial benefits. For example, the report identifies the highest paid director of WTCS Ltd (formerly Westcountry Training and Consultancy Service) as receiving over £580,000, while the sole shareholder Dr Sarah Burnett also received £100,000 in dividends. Emma Harrison of A4E (formerly Action for Employment) collected over £1.1 million in dividends alone in 2005. But even amongst the non-commercial organisations, salaries of some senior officials are rising to over £100,000 p.a.
This alone suggests that any connection these organisations may once have had with users of the services they provide is being diminished as the economic situation of those in charge diverges more and more from that of their clients. The report also highlights how the third sector displays less diversity amongst its staff than the civil service it is replacing particularly amongst senior management.
Finally, Steve Davies examines carefully the claims made (largely by ERSA and ACEVO) that independent providers do better than existing statutory ones. He concludes: whenever Jobcentre Plus staff have been allowed the same flexibilities and funding as private sector companies or charitable organisations they have been able to compete with, if not surpass, the performance of contractors.
AND MUCH MORE....
CONTENTS
Executive Summary 6
1. Introduction 8
2. The Governments proposals 9
Background 9
Mixed objectives 10
3. What is the Third Sector? 11
Definitions and coverage 11
Funding and finances 12
Concentration 12
Government funding for the third sector 13
Table 1: Sources of government funding for third sector organisations 2001-02 13
Employees 14
Table 2: UK employment by sector 1995-2004 (headcount, thousands) 14
4. Third sector providers in employment services 16
Employment services provision and the ERSA 16
Table 3: ERSA Board Members 17
The organisations 18
Table 4: Organisation type 18
The charities 20
The private sector 21
Public-Private and public 21
Aims and objectives 22
5. Third sector in employment services behind the hype 24
For-profit private companies among the non-profit providers 24
Capacity and coverage 25
Small, community-focussed organisations? 27
Pay for Chief Executives and senior officers 28
Table 5: Chief Executive/senior officer remuneration 28
Staffing 33
Table 6: Number of employees in selected employment service providers 33
Trust, the third sector and the state 34
User and community focus 37
Involving the users 37
Diversity 39
Transparency 41
6. Third sector performance in employment services: an examination of the evidence 42
Employment Zones 42
Table 7: Single Provider Employment Zones 42
Table 8: Multiple Provider Employment Zones 43
Action Teams for Jobs 45
New Deal for Disabled People 47
ERSA/ACEVOs additional evidence in support of contracting out 49
7. Conclusion 51
References 52
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) - (UK)
THIRD SECTOR PROVISION OF EMPLOYMENT-RELATED SERVICES
A report for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
Steve Davies, Senior Research Fellow. Cardiff School of Social Sciences
June 2006
http://www.pcs.org.uk/Shared_ASP_Files/UploadedFiles/5C8650AB-E285-40DB-8F40-D3753C93CBDB_ThirdSectorreportFINALr.doc
[full-text, 58 pages]
[excerpt from Foreword by Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, Public & Commercial Services Union]
In response to the proposals made in the DWP Green paper, PCS commissioned Steve Davies of Cardiff University to examine them in detail, with particular attention being paid to the nature of the third sector, its key promoters and the claims they make for the superiority of non-state over state provision of employment services.
The report shows that most of the claims made for the third sector are open to question.
Even the term third sector itself seems to be a questionable one. The leading organisation lobbying for contracting out employment services the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) - is composed of profit- seeking businesses, long-established charities, hybrid government/charity organisations and non-profit making organisations who aim to increase their market share of public contracts.
Some seem to have maintained a local focus and close relationships with users, but this is far from being the rule. Only a few of the voluntary sector organisations were found in the report to have clear structures for involving users of the services, while private companies are, naturally, structured around delivering profits.
In some cases, the founders of these companies derive very substantial benefits. For example, the report identifies the highest paid director of WTCS Ltd (formerly Westcountry Training and Consultancy Service) as receiving over £580,000, while the sole shareholder Dr Sarah Burnett also received £100,000 in dividends. Emma Harrison of A4E (formerly Action for Employment) collected over £1.1 million in dividends alone in 2005. But even amongst the non-commercial organisations, salaries of some senior officials are rising to over £100,000 p.a.
This alone suggests that any connection these organisations may once have had with users of the services they provide is being diminished as the economic situation of those in charge diverges more and more from that of their clients. The report also highlights how the third sector displays less diversity amongst its staff than the civil service it is replacing particularly amongst senior management.
Finally, Steve Davies examines carefully the claims made (largely by ERSA and ACEVO) that independent providers do better than existing statutory ones. He concludes: whenever Jobcentre Plus staff have been allowed the same flexibilities and funding as private sector companies or charitable organisations they have been able to compete with, if not surpass, the performance of contractors.
AND MUCH MORE....
CONTENTS
Executive Summary 6
1. Introduction 8
2. The Governments proposals 9
Background 9
Mixed objectives 10
3. What is the Third Sector? 11
Definitions and coverage 11
Funding and finances 12
Concentration 12
Government funding for the third sector 13
Table 1: Sources of government funding for third sector organisations 2001-02 13
Employees 14
Table 2: UK employment by sector 1995-2004 (headcount, thousands) 14
4. Third sector providers in employment services 16
Employment services provision and the ERSA 16
Table 3: ERSA Board Members 17
The organisations 18
Table 4: Organisation type 18
The charities 20
The private sector 21
Public-Private and public 21
Aims and objectives 22
5. Third sector in employment services behind the hype 24
For-profit private companies among the non-profit providers 24
Capacity and coverage 25
Small, community-focussed organisations? 27
Pay for Chief Executives and senior officers 28
Table 5: Chief Executive/senior officer remuneration 28
Staffing 33
Table 6: Number of employees in selected employment service providers 33
Trust, the third sector and the state 34
User and community focus 37
Involving the users 37
Diversity 39
Transparency 41
6. Third sector performance in employment services: an examination of the evidence 42
Employment Zones 42
Table 7: Single Provider Employment Zones 42
Table 8: Multiple Provider Employment Zones 43
Action Teams for Jobs 45
New Deal for Disabled People 47
ERSA/ACEVOs additional evidence in support of contracting out 49
7. Conclusion 51
References 52
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 9:11 AM
