In a speech in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Cabinet Office minister Frances Maude said employers will be expected to accept suitable proposals from frontline staff who want to take over and run their services as mutual organisations.
In August CYP Now reported that Westminster and Hammersmith councils were planning to set up a staff-led arm's length organisation for their children's services departments while Kensington & Chelsea was looking at a mutual model for its youth services.
Maude said that £10m will be set aside to help the best "fledgling mutuals". He said: "This is part of the big society approach to public service reform, devolving power to people on the frontline who know how things can be done better. The right to provide will challenge traditional public service structures and unleash the pent up ideas and innovation that has been stifled by bureaucracy. It will also put power at a local level so public services will be answerable to the people who use them.
"When staff are given a stake in shaping services, productivity and efficiency has been shown to improve dramatically. We must not be afraid to take bold decisions that will help create better public services at a time when there is less money to go round."
Speaking about Kensington & Chelsea’s plans, Sir Merrick Cockell, leader of the council, said: "We have officers who understand the challenges and are dedicated to looking after the young. Our role as the council should be to keep a watching brief and put the experts in the driving seat to work alongside young people. That is what the pathfinder programme is all about."
