22 June 2001
The Prime Minister today announced three new appointments to strengthen the Government’s ability to deliver change in the public services.
The Delivery Unit
Michael Barber will head the Delivery Unit, which will be based in the Cabinet Office. He will report to the Prime Minister and be under the day to day supervision of the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald.
Mr Barber, currently Director of Standards and Effectiveness at the Department of Education and Skills, will be the Prime Minister’s Chief Adviser on Delivery.
The Unit’s role will be to ensure that the Government achieves its main objectives in the four key areas of public service which were at the heart of the Queen’s speech: health, education, crime reduction and transport.
In doing so it will work closely with the Treasury to ensure that the targets that have already been agreed are achieved.
The Office of Public Services Reform
Wendy Thomson, currently Director of the Inspection Service at the Audit Commission, has been appointed head of the Office of Public Services Reform.
Its role will be to advise the Prime Minister on how the Government’s commitment to radical reform of the Civil Service and public services can be taken forward.
It will cover the full range of public services, including those provided by central and local government, as well as other public bodies. Working closely with the Civil Service Corporate management team and the E envoy, it will fundamentally examine current structures, systems, incentives and skills, and the nature of services currently provided.
It will be located in the Cabinet Office, and will report to the Prime Minister through the Secretary of the Cabinet.
Forward Strategy Unit
Geoff Mulgan has been appointed to lead the Forward Strategy Unit which will do blue skies policy thinking for the Prime Minister and undertake strategy projects at request.
It will be made up of a small number of experienced figures, drawn mainly from outside the Civil Service.
Mr Mulgan will remain head of the Performance and Innovation Unit in the Cabinet Office, with which the new Unit will work closely.
Biographical Notes
Michael Barber
Michael Barberis currentlyDirector of the Standards and Effectiveness Unit at the Department for Education and Skills and is the Chief Adviser to the Secretary of State on school standards. In this role, he was responsible for the implementation of the Government’s school reform agenda, including its ambitious programmes for improving the performance of all schools. Among his responsibilities were the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, tackling school failure, modernising secondary education in the large cities and the contracting out of failing local education authorities. He was appointed on 3 May 1997. Michael Barber (45), is married, with three children.
After attending Bootham School in York, he studied at Oxford University and the Georg August University in Göttingen, Germany. He became a secondary school teacher in Watford and then Zimbabwe before becoming a research officer at the National Union of Teachers. From 1989 to 1993, he was Education Officer of the NUT. He was also Chairman of the London Borough of Hackney’s Education Committee.
From 1993, he was Professor of Education and Director of the Centre for Successful Schools at Keele University. In 1995, he became Professor of Education and Dean of New Initiatives at the Institute of Education, University of London.
He has led a number of major research projects, mainly in the area of school effectiveness, school improvement and their implications for policy.
He has been published widely in both academic journals and the press and speaks regularly on radio and television about education policy.
Wendy Thomson
Wendy Thomson is currently Director of Inspections at the Audit Commission. She was formerly the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Newham. Under her leadership, Newham adopted a radical approach to regeneration, tackling poverty and improving the quality of life in the inner city. Ms Thomson also served on the Government’s Urban Task Force, which was chaired by Sir Richard Rogers. She writes on policy and public sector management. Before joining Newham, MsThompson was Chief Executive of the national charity, Turning Point. Prior to that, she was Assistant Chief Executive of the London Borough of Islington.
Wendy Thomson, 47, was born in Montreal. She has an MA from McGill University and a PhD in Social Administration from the University of Bristol. Her interests include travelling, the theatre, walking and gardening.
Geoff Mulgan
Geoff Mulgan is currently the Director of the Performance and Innovation Unit, which is based in the Cabinet Office. Prior to his appointment, he was a special advisor in the Downing Street Policy Unit where he was responsible for social exclusion issues, welfare to work policy, family issues, urban affairs and the voluntary sector. In 1993, he founded Demos, the independent think tank, and was its director until 1997. From 1992 to 1993, he was a Fellow at the British Film Institute where he specialised in film and broadcasting policy. Between 1990 and 1992, he was a special advisor to the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown MP, where he focussed on trade and industry policy. From 1987 to 1990, Mr Mulgan was a researcher at the Centre for Communication and Information Studies and also lectured at the Polytechnic of Central London (now University of Westminster). He was a member of Comedia Consultancy, primarily working for city administrations in the UK and abroad. He was also an occasional consultant for the European Commission on telecommunications policy. This followed his Harkness Fellowship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he specialised in telecommunications between 1986 and 1987.
Geoff Mulgan has published widely. His publications includeThe Prospects of Social Renewal (OECD 2000) andConnexity (Harvard Business Press and Jonathan Cape 1998). Previous books include Life After Politics (Harper Collins 1997); Politics in an Anti-political Age (Polity 1994);Freedom’s Children (Demos 1995); The Other Invisible Hand (Demos 1995); Communication and Control: Networks and the New Economies of Communication (Blackwell 1991);Saturday Night or Sunday Morning (Comedia 1987).
Geoff Mulgan was a visiting Professor at University College, London. He has a PhD in telecommunications from the University of Westminster (formerly the Polytechnic of Central London). He was a Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has a BA (First) from Oxford University.
Mr Mulgan, 39, lives in North London. He is married and his wife is expecting their first child in the summer.
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