The coalition’s vision for a ‘Big Society’ will fail unless the government sets out a “comprehensive and coherent change programme” outlining how it will work more effectively with external service providers, according to a select commitee report published today.

“By its very nature, Big Society requires a very substantial change to Whitehall itself,” Public Adminstration Select Committee chair Bernard Jenkin told CSW. “Once again, we find a lack of coherence in government.” The report calls for detailed implementation plans to be in place before April 2012, when departments must begin reporting progress against the goals set out in the Open Public Services White Paper.

The report calls for reform of commissioning to enable small local providers to provide services, including providers that “do not fit easily into the siloed mentality of Whitehall departments”.

Jenkin cited the homelessness charity Emmaus as an example. It is unable to win contracts with government because its work spans multiple departments and local authorities, Jenkin said, describing the fate of this charity and others like it as the “litmus test” of the government’s commitment to cross-departmental working and the Big Society.

“Government appears to be pre-occupied with major departmental programmes and hasn’t got time at the moment to make these things fit together cross-departmentally, but it is essential,” he said.

The report says that “joint funds, managed by local authorities and financed by separate departments, may be the answer”, adding that the Cabinet Office should “lead decisively on this matter”.

Asked about PASC’s priorities for 2012, Jenkin said: “It’s all about the capabilities of Whitehall, strategic thinking, implementation, procurement, delivery.” He also said that the committee is considering looking at the model of ministerial accountability in a devolved system.

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Written by csw