As the pre-election temperature rises in Whitehall and the talk of swingeing public sector cuts grows louder by the day, one important element of this debate is getting a bit lost. Namely, just what will happen to the great spirit of public private collaboration we have seen over the past 20 years or so?
Our cover story (p40) deliberately puts the debate in the context of a relationship. Is this the end of a beautiful affair? If so, will the parting be bloody and acrimonious? Or will the parties realise they cannot live without each other?
The debate has many dimensions. On the simple front these are surely crisis times. For someone as respected as Jan Anderson at Yorkshire Forward to describe as “tragic” the fact that the broader regeneration agenda has “gone out of the window” speaks volumes. Schemes across Yorkshire are languishing as the private sector struggles to fill the funding gap vacated by the public sector.
There are rays of light where private developers have stepped up to the plate, such as the revival of Wakefield’s Trinity Walks retail scheme, but they are few and far between. Whoever wins the election surely needs to look at more innovative local government financing models to keep up momentum on regeneration. Ideas such as the tax incremental funding model so common in the US make sense.
There are equally complex pressures on the public-private relationship in other areas. As our care homes feature highlights (p35), how precisely the private sector can profitably help the government pay and manage the rising bill for elderly care is one that the industry is asking itself.
Take education and training. The private equity buyout of training provider JHP – a deal led by LDC in Leeds – shows the strength of the sector and the government’s desire to offload as many of these services as possible. Why? Because the government knows we can’t afford to underperform in such a crucial area, and it knows the private sector has got far smarter at helping it address such issues.
Both sides simply need each other too much on so many fronts. So, whoever walks in to No 10, my guess is that the beer and sandwiches will still be waiting there for the private sector.
Jim Pendrill, editorAlso in: March 2010
-
The end of the affair
The regeneration agenda is disappearing before our eyes. With crippling public sector cuts looming, Kurt Jacobs asks: is there a future for public-private partnership?
-
Clear vision
When Tony Veverka, chief executive of Ultralase, says laser eye surgery changes lives he speaks from experience.