United Kingdom

Public ownership of the UK energy system – benefits, costs and processes

The possibility of a return to public ownership of the UK energy system has increased since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour party. This paper sets out the advantages of public ownership; the extent of public ownership in other countries; how the process of returning to the public sector could work in the UK – taking full account of EU law; and calculates realistic estimates of the cost, the possible impact on debt, and the scale of the benefits.

Date: 
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Authors: 

Shared Services - setting unrealistic expectations

Shared Services is a concept used by the private sector and for the last decade, shared services systems have been introduced to central  government departments, as a way of saving money.  Evaluations, by the National Audit Office, show that the most striking feature of many schemes is that there are no savings and the quality of services falls.  There is a failure to learn from the experiences of the last 10 years.

Date: 
Friday, May 16, 2014
Authors: 

Steria profile

This report is a corporate profile of Steria, a French multi-national company, which has moved from providing IT support to central and local government to providng new ways of organising administrative and financial services for the public sector.  

Date: 
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Authors: 

Broken Promises The impact of outsourcing on NHS services

Advocates of outsourcing NHS services to the private sector often make sweeping claims about the benefits of privatisation on the care received by patients. This project has identified a range of studies that have examined some aspects of outsourcing in the NHS and the effect on patient care. It is noticeable that much of the evidence demonstrates either the negative aspects of introducing competition into the provision of health care services or inconclusive results.

Date: 
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Authors: 

Private care homes in the UK: bankruptcy, torture, and lack of regulation

 PSIRU Brief 13 June 2011 DH

 Social care is becoming more important in European and other countries, partly because of ageing populations. Private companies operate a rising proportion of social care facilities: see the recent PSIRU reports Care Services for Older People in Europe and Care services, multinational companies and expanding European markets .

Date published: 
Aug 2011

UK citizens pay £24billion extra for PPPs, profits go to tax havens

The Financial Times has published its own calculations concluding that the use of public private partnerships (PPPs) in the UK, mainly under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has cost over £20 billion in extra interest costs alone, with a further £2.5-4.0 billion in fees to lawyers, accountants etc.  This is what critics of PPPs have been saying for many years.

Date published: 
Aug 2011

The History of Wholesale Electricity Market Design in Great Britain

A review of the history of competitive whlesale electricity markets in Britain since 1990

Date: 
Monday, November 1, 2010
Authors: 

Electricity and development: lessons of history

A new BBC TV series looks at the development of electricity system in a country where only 6% of homes were connected to electricity, where "electricity was generated and supplied by a hotch-potch of private companies and municipal councils...

Date published: 
Oct 2010

The Future of Energy: Are Competitive Markets and Nuclear Power the Answer?

Date: 
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Authors: 

Blair's nuclear dream faces financial meltdown

Date: 
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Authors: 
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