Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has today endorsed a report on public service innovation launched this week by leading UK social impact investor Better Society Capital.
The independent report, Outcomes for All - Redefining Public Service Delivery, demonstrates that social outcomes contracts – public service delivery focused on empowering local charities – have generated nearly £9 of public value for every £1 spent, saving the taxpayer £507m.
In a comment released today, the Former Prime Minister said:
“Meeting unmet needs while using unused resources is what makes a finance minister happy and shining a spotlight on unclaimed assets was an important mission for me both as Chancellor and Prime Minister. Outcomes contracts deliver public services through third sector organisations and the taxpayer only puts up cash for high-quality, well-targeted services.
This report shows the great impact that this approach is making on complex, entrenched issues such as children’s services and homelessness, but there is much more to do. I hope this report will encourage investors and policymakers to scale up support of BSC (Better Society Capital)’s important mission.”
In the largest study of outcomes contracts to-date, the analysis looks at the impacts of this solution in tackling entrenched social issues spanning homelessness to children’s services.
This news comes just a few weeks after Brown lent his voice to calling for outcomes-based commissioning, suggesting that the government should announce a £1 billion children’s social impact bond that would be focused on reducing poverty.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Caroline Hailstone chailstone@bettersocietycapital.com
Ian Young iyoung@bettersocietycapital.com
Stephen Muers, CEO at Better Society Capital, available for interview
About Better Society Capital
Better Society Capital is the UK’s leading social impact investor. Our mission is to grow the amount of money invested in tackling social issues and inequalities in the UK. We do this by investing our own capital and helping others invest for impact too.
Since 2012, we have helped build a market that has directed more than £9 billion into social purpose organisations tackling issues from homelessness and mental health to childhood obesity and fuel poverty, a ten-fold increase in ten years.