The [British] government’s new public services reforms focus on rights and entitlements, but, argues Charles Leadbeater in this piece for The Guardian, supportive relationships are key to tackling social ills.
“Radical public services innovation will only come from a markedly different starting point. The key will be to redesign services to enable more mutual self-help, so that people can create and sustain their own solutions. The best way to do more with less is to enable people to do more for themselves and not need an expensive, professionalised public service. Enabling people to come together to find their own, local solutions should become one of the main goals of public services. Services do a better job when they leave behind stronger, supportive relationships for people to draw on and so not need a service.”