Public Policy and Administration

Devolution is viewed as a way to deal with the perceived ‘democratic deficit’ in Wales. It can be argued that political accountability has already been enhanced by the creation of a new directly-elected democratic institution. However, equally crucial to the success of devolution is improved organisational accountability, which is likely to be more difficult to achieve. In this paper we evaluate the effectiveness of the accountability arrangements in place before the establishment of a Welsh Assembly. We examine the role of the Welsh Office, Parliamentary Select Committees, National Audit Office and the Audit Commission. We then analyse the new accountability framework for Wales, in particular the early work of the assembly committees. The view of politicians and officials is that post-devolution scrutiny regimes are beginning to strengthen organisational accountability in Wales.

In February 2000 Alun Michael, the First Secretary of the eight month old National Assembly for Wales resigned when faced with the likely success of a vote of no confidence against him. In the light of the controversial leadership election twelve months earlier these events were widely perceived as a snub to the Prime Minister himself who had championed Michael over his challenger, Rhodri Morgan. However, the aim of this paper is to argue that the ‘crisis’ of February 2000 tells us less about Number Ten and issues of ‘control freakery’ and more about the National Assembly's struggling to come of age. The crisis will be analysed as unfolding on three levels, revealing insights into the impact of devolution. Firstly, in constitutional design terms, the crisis centred around two different perspectives on how the Assembly should work: the corporate body model and the parliamentary model. Secondly, in political terms a new Welsh political dynamic revealed itself as AMs came to see themselves as a polity, whose principal role is to govern, not just implement or manage centrally devised policies. Thirdly, in terms of inter-governmental relations, the crisis illustrates the difficulties that the centre has in realising that it has to work with a new polity and not a devolved administration in Wales.

This paper analyses the voucher concept. It considers different types of vouchers in the public and private sectors, distinguishes between explicit and implicit vouchers, and develops both a general model and a local government model of vouchers. It also reviews arguments for and against vouchers, considers the characteristics and dimensions of vouchers and identifies the rights and responsibilities attached to their use. Based on this comprehensive analysis, it develops a new definition of public service vouchers incorporating exit and voice. The analysis also provides a schema that can be used to design, modify and evaluate individual voucher systems.

The economic decline of the North-East of England relative to the rest of the country has been a cause for concern at least since the early 1960s. However, efforts to reverse it have varied from preparing major plans to encouraging free markets to benefit the region. Since 1997 the North-East's regional planning machinery has been considerably extended, with the result that extensive development strategies for the region are now either in place or being prepared. However, the question still arises as to whether the North-East of England has sufficient in the ways of common interests and a common culture to support the establishment of a directly elected regional assembly.

One of the features of the New Public Management is the increased use of Annual Reports as a mechanism of accountability. The aim of the paper is to assess whether the annual reports of the Chief Constable and the Police Authority provide appropriate information for Police Authority members to hold the Chief Constable to account. As intermediate users, the members of the Police Authority require information on efficiency, effectiveness and for ‘intelligence gathering’. However, the evidence suggests that although the reports have improved over time they do not contain the information necessary for accountability. These findings raise concerns over the proposed role of the local Best Value policing plan in securing accountability.

While the cost of fraud is difficult to determine, it is significantly greater than other crimes. Nevertheless fraud has not been a policing priority either for governments or for individual police forces. The provision of policing resources has declined in favour of other policing objectives where there is a continuing emphasis on a political agenda concerned with public order and property crime. At the same time, the resources which are devoted to fraud have, as with the police generally, been subject those changes which reflect the themes of new public management (NPM). This review of the development of the policing of fraud in the UK draws upon the first full survey ever undertaken of UK police fraud squads. The purpose of the survey was to consider the structure, staffing and activities of the squads in the light of the changes to policing in the past decade, as well as the priorities determined by governments, to assess the implications for the future policing of fraud. The article concludes that, unless there are re-organisations along the lines of serious crime, such as regional or national fraud squads, then the likelihood is that the investigation of fraud will continue to be limited both by the changes consequential on the wider application of NPM to policing, and by Old Populism - governments' attention to those policing issues which will impact on public opinion and electoral support.