Tag Archives: public service reform

Jean-François Burford

One Hub, Two Services: Why Police and Healthcare Should Share the Same Front Door

By Jean-François Burford | Tue 17th March 2026 - 10:31 am

Across the United Kingdom, the role of the local high street is changing. Many of the civic buildings that once anchored communities, such as local police stations, small health centres, and council offices, are gradually disappearing as services modernise and budgets tighten. While change is inevitable, it raises an important question: how can we keep public services visible, accessible, and connected to the communities they serve?

One promising answer is the Integrated Community Hub. This would be a shared public building where Community Minor Injury Units (MIUs) and Neighbourhood Police Teams operate under the same roof. Rather than maintaining separate facilities scattered across towns and cities, a hub creates a single, welcoming location where residents can access help, advice, and care.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 5 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: The ethics of the case for public sector reform

By Alex Marsh | Thu 24th February 2011 - 6:05 pm

David Cameron’s article on public service reform in the Telegraph was the opening shot in what could be a significant battle both within the Coalition and across the House. The case presented raises at least three important ethical issues.

First, the way in which evidence is being used to justify these proposals is deeply suspect. Mr Cameron states that publicly providing bureaucratic and target-driven services might be worth supporting if they delivered quality services: “but the evidence shows otherwise. Whether it’s cancer survival rate, school results or crime, for too long we’ve been slipping against comparable countries”. These are very …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 25 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: Economic liberalism and public service reform

By Alex Marsh | Tue 22nd February 2011 - 3:33 pm

Are the Liberal Democrats a party of untrammelled ideology – sorry,“principles” – or do ethics and evidence also play a role in thinking? This question struck me forcefully when reading David Cameron’s article on public service reform in the Telegraph. It appears that the imminent Open Public Services White Paper has been formulated with collaboration from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Nick Clegg is fully ‘on side’. We await the details, but if Cameron’s article gives us an accurate sense of what is to come then I think there is – or should be – a significant …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 61 Comments
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    We may wish to have a clear and distinctive policy on the subject. But we shouldn't proactively be talking about it. For the same reason as we were wrong to get...
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