Jon Bright (London, OK): The Policy Network announced today that "Public Matters: the Renewal of the Public Realm", their report on the future of public service reform, will be published on the 1st of June.
The report, which is already available in summary format (opens PDF document), will praise Labour's record on reform of public services, but argue that more power should be devolved from states to individuals. Eye-catchingly, Public Matters will suggest that increased individual choice and personalisation of services should be balanced by punishment of citizens who misuse them - favouring, for example, fines for missed NHS appointments - seemingly taking inspiration from Brown's argument for a notion of modern British citizenship based on rights and responsibilities. How we define what it means to be a British citizen has perhaps never been so important.
