Read on Twitter
On Thursday it was reported that the Eat My Lunch business won the tender for the NZ Government’s free school meals programme. I think there should be more debate, including within govt and public sector, about contracting-out and outsourcing of public service activities. /1
Contracting-out doesn’t do anything to build capacity or skills in the public sector. Contracts (as seen around the world recently) can also be poor accountability mechanisms, +may lock in govts rather than allowing govts to expand services (like free school meals) over time. /2
One of the lessons that can be learned from the covid crisis around the world is that contracting-out can fragment govt services when coordination is needed. That can be seen in various contracting failures in the UK, or in the failings in Victoria from outsourced security. /3
Surely, though, the govt can’t make+deliver free school meals? It would not be impossible for govt to ‘insource’ a free school meals unit, bringing in skills from organizations like Eat My Lunch. This could be linked more directly to other parts of education+health services. /4
This is also how productive capacity is built in the public sector, and would allow the govt more easily to expand free school meals to universal provision (as has been proposed by the govt in Scotland: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/28/snp-conference-free-breakfast-lunch-primary-john-swinney). /5
Public sector delivery of public services is more accountable, can allow stronger employment rights, and can be more efficient (thanks to lower borrowing costs, coordination benefits, a longer time horizon, and a more deeply embedded public service ethos). /6
You might argue that private sector delivery is more efficient or more specialized. But there’s increasing evidence from the UK and elsewhere that that’s not always the case: see e.g. https://www.apse.org.uk/apse/index.cfm/research/current-research-programme/insourcing-a-guide-to-bringing-local-authority-services-back-in-house/insourcing-a-guide-to-bringing-local-authority-services-back-in-house/ /7
Let’s build on the successes of NZ covid’s response, which was coordinated and driven by the public sector. It’s time to reconsider whether for-profit businesses should have such a key role in delivering public services. /8
(Here's the original story about Eat My Lunch: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/early-edition/audio/lisa-king-eat-my-lunch-wins-contract-to-provide-free-school-lunches-to-kids/. And to be clear, this is not a point about that particular business, but about the system and norms we've adopted for public service delivery.) /9
(... Though you might remember some attention Eat My Lunch got a few years back, touched on here: https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/26-07-2018/a-fierce-argument-for-and-against-eat-my-lunch/.) /10
