Publication: Performance in Government: The Evolving System of Performance and Evaluation Measurement, Monitoring, and Management in the United Kingdom
Date
2010-11
ISSN
Published
2010-11
Author(s)
Talbot, Colin
Abstract
This paper sets out the recent history
and evolution of the UK governments' performance
measurement, monitoring and management systems from the
period since 1997 and the election of the New Labor
government, until today. Although, as the paper shows many
of the changes the New Labor government introduced were at
least partially prefigured in changes introduced in the
previous two decades or more. The reason that the period
since 1997 is so important is because, it represents the
period in which the UK governments' system became
almost universal across public activities, including
measuring performance at the highest levels of government
itself. The core of the performance policies developed by
government over this period have been the Public Service
Agreements (PSAs) promulgated since 1998, of which there
have now been five rounds (1998; 2000; 2002; 2004; 2007).
Whilst PSAs are not the only performance policies, or
measurement, monitoring and reporting systems, they have
come to be seen as the pinnacle of the whole system and, in
intention at least, driving developments throughout the
public services. The paper will cover only the UK
government. Over the past decade significant constitutional
changes have devolved some central government powers to
first the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, and then
more recently the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Talbot, Colin. 2010. Performance in Government: The Evolving System of Performance and Evaluation Measurement, Monitoring, and Management in the United Kingdom. ECD Working Paper Series;No. 24. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27910 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”