Public/private mix the answer, delegates hear
The role of the private sector, inspection and technology are the three key challenges facing public finance in the future, according to CIPFA.
The issues were spelled out today at the institute’s national conference by retiring president Mike Weaver.
Weaver told delegates no single sector had all the answers to local service provision and that both private and public sectors had skills to offer.
‘We need to find the right blend of resources,’ Weaver said. ‘Combine the best and the public will get a better deal.’
According to Weaver there was a need for a thrifty and ethical inspection system that delivered value to the public.
‘We cannot be inspection-free zones,’ he said. Weaver added technology would create difficult choices for the financial priorities of the public sector.
‘Sustainable investment is critical,’ he said, ‘but it will not solve all our problems.’
In particular Weaver found there was a danger that technology could deny access of local services to socially excluded sections of the public.
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