Book Review: Instruction to Deliver: Fighting to Transform Britain's Public Services by Michael Barber, London: Methuen, 2008, ISBN 978—0-413—77664—8 (pbk) £14.99. The Education Debate: Policy and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Stephen J. Ball, Bristol: The Policy Press, 2008, ISBN 978—1-86134—920—0 (pbk) £12.99

Abstract

In the following review, Bernard Barker offers a thought-provoking comparison of some of the key messages to emerge from two books recently authored by Michael Barber and Stephen Ball respectively. These books, each compelling in its own right, are examined in such a way as to enable the contrasting views and stances of the authors to be juxtaposed and critically contrasted. The whole offers a fascinating analysis for the reader and begs further thinking about life in the public services in general and in education in particular.

Developing leaders and leadership in health care: a case for rebalancing?

“…Attempts to do so are constrained by this contractual “bind” and may even lead to scapegoating of the external consultant. This model may have its origins in the Blair administration's attempts to reform the public sector (Barber, 2007) and is also a manifestation of “Mad Management Virus” (Edmonstone, 2010; Attwood et al , 2003). An alternative has been suggested, by Edmonstone and Flanagan (2007), which involves a joint partnership team made up of both senior managers and external consultants, which actively seeks to learn from experience, in order to modify and steer the work.…”

The shifting landscape of prime ministerial accountability to parliament: An analysis of Liaison Committee scrutiny sessions

“…Analysis of the prime minister has focussed largely on the power of the office and the utilisation of that power by incumbents, and debates about the nature and style of prime ministerial power and predominance have been extensively debated in recent literature (Dowding, 2013; Foley, 2013; Heffernan, 2003, 2005, 2013; Poguntke and Webb, 2013). Scholars have analysed the waxing and waning of the prime minister’s central role and the importance and impact of prime ministerial leadership to British governance structures and policy making (Barber, 2007; Diamond, 2014). The altered landscape of the core executive, with its contextual constraints under the 2010–2015 coalition government, added a new layer to our understanding of the blend between personal and structural resource utilisation (Bennister and Heffernan, 2012, 2015; Hazell and Yong, 2012).…”

The end game: The marketisation and privatisation of children’s social work and child protection

“…When the concept of social work practices was first introduced there were conflicting views about whether they would benefit those assisted by social workers and be a positive development for social workers themselves. Social work practices were presented as allowing more professional autonomy for social workers outside of the managerialism, bureaucratisation and proceduralisation which had become prevalent within local authority children’s social services (Le Grand, 2007) – in large part a consequence of requirements set by central government (Barber, 2007). Conversely there were concerns that, firstly, this could be a route to the marketisation and privatisation of social work (Garrett, 2008, 2010; Cardy, 2010), and, secondly, it could undermine local authorities’ accountability as ‘corporate parents’ for children and young people in care and for care leavers, and that money would be better spent improving councils’ services (Ahmed, 2007).…”