Public Sector Productivity

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I do not think I would. I suspect social media, when used correctly, can help enhance productivity.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister recall that, under both parties at the end of the last century, we attempted to beat this problem of productivity in the public sector by developing the private finance initiative idea? For a time, it was quite successful, although it did not end happily. Is he aware—perhaps he is not—that seven or eight of the most advanced countries in the world use developed and expanded versions of PFI that are much more sophisticated than ours? As they learned from us in the first place, perhaps we can learn a bit from them.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. Partnerships with the private sector have an important part to play in the public sector. Obviously, the public sector can learn a great deal from the private sector, and, I hope, vice versa. That is why we announced in the spending review that we will be carrying out more public/private partnerships. Clearly, there is a lot to learn from the previous experience of PFI; we must make sure that we learn those lessons, and we should also learn the lessons from other countries and their experiences in that regard.