Public Service Reform

Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh (QUB) As governments across the globe grapple with the effects of the global financial and economic crises, the issue of public service reform has re-emerged as a key ingredient in the restoration of public finances as well as public trust in government. The content of these reforms varies considerably, however, ranging from swinging cuts in personnel numbers and expenditure budgets to the introduction of new performance management techniques, re-organisations and other consolidation measures. As the reforms envisaged under the Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland continue to be implemented, it is thus timely to consider developments

Professor Greg Lloyd and Gavan Rafferty (Ulster) With the emerging Local Government (Reform) Bill, Community Planning offers an innovative way to consider how public services are planned and delivered. In appreciating how this new function aligns with the main aspirations of the Programme for Government, Community Planning should be considered in relation to the wider programme of local government modernisation and public service reform to articulate a new arena within which to integrate service delivery and spatial practices across differentiated scales. The recent Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 provides for the transfer of the majority of planning functions from central