Public Service Improvement: Policies, progress and prospects

An authoritative analysis of current attempts to improve local public services in the UK. Written by leading figures in the field it will be of great interst to all students, researchers, public sector managers and policy makers in the UK and abroad.

1. Public service improvement: Current developments and future research agendas 2. Leadership and service improvement: Dual elites or dynamic dependency? 3. Stretched to the limit? The impact of Local Public Service Agreements on service improvement and central - local relations 4. Change and improvement in audit and inspection: A strategic approach for the twenty-first century 5. 'We are announcing your target': Reflections on performative language in the making of English Housing Policy 6. Localising efficiency - more than just saving money 7. Learning from the experience of recovery: The turnaround of poorly performing local authorities 8. Five faults and a submission: The case for the local government improvement programme 9. Generating improvement from within: The role of the improvement and development agency for local government 10. Knowledge creation and transfer in the beacon scheme: Improving services through sharing good practice