The outfit FPM Policy to Performance are busy mailing people with news about:
their specialist professional service to help public services maintain service provision, and continue to meet local needs, at significantly lower costs.
Explaining to us, what the Big Society means for professionals, their slogan is NEW FREEDOM, NEW RESPONSIBILITY. They continue,
The Big Society will radically change how public services are delivered in the future and the role of professionals in delivering them.
Three main themes of Big Society will impact on professionals. These are:
- New freedom to exercise judgement
- New approaches to accountability
- Greater efficiency at lower cost
As you can see these are creatures of compliance rather than criticism. They offer redesigned services at lower cost via contextualised service design.
If you can stomach more, their CEO. Kevin Ford, is a leading thinker on the future of public services. He is very keen on mutuals.
Enough – look for yourself at
http://www.fpmonline.co.uk/Home.aspx
IN DEFENCE OF YOUTH WORK 
Here’s a comment Tony.
Well – my first thought was ‘mutual’ that sounds like a good idea. But then I read this in their brochure:
“Funding is likely to be from commissioned work and potentially from money saved by enabling young people not to draw on expensive emergency and remedial services. This prevention uses an ‘invest
to save’ philosophy. ”
So – the very worst of the negative view of young people. The 10% slice they say they LA’s should work with – we work with them because they are, all, inwardly, potentially drug-abusing NEETS (the other 10% – apparently 80% are fine and don’t need youth work style interventions). We must reach them and work with them before it is too late. It is the language of the diminished self all over again. And youth work re-written as purely a preventative, almost medical intervention, with these fragile, incapable, ‘at-risk’ selves.
Actually it’s quite funny. New government and apparently a whole new ethos but in fact exactly the same language of diminished selves and prevention…
So the Tories are going to do for mutual-ism what New Labour did for socialism?
Justin
Further to your caution, FPM are circulating youth services in London with the following letter:
‘Youth service leaders in London have shown tremendous interest in exploring FPM’s Youth Mutual model for delivering services for young people. Almost half of London’s service leaders have shown interest in the Youth Mutual as a way of responding to budget cuts and the localism agenda.
A key benefit of the Youth Mutual model is that these organisations can be wholly owned and led by professionals and young people in their area. For more information on FPM’s Youth First offer please click here.
FPM, in partnership with Cobbetts, is delighted to be working with a number of organisations who are taking the first steps towards mutualising their youth services.
If you would like to discuss the benefits of setting up a Youth Mutual in your area please contact Chris Owen on 0116 2495000 or chris.owen@fpmonline.co.uk.’
I’ve already had notice that the London IDYW regional on November 19 might well discuss this intrusion.