Has Devolution Improved Public Services?

Abstract

Since devolution in 1999, the Welsh assembly government claims to have developed an approach to public services reform which is better suited to the needs of Wales than the English model which relies on a combination of targets, inspection, choice and contestability. Analysis of statutory performance indicators covering a range of services shows that the Welsh approach has not yet delivered significantly better performance in public services to that achieved in comparable areas of England—in many cases services in Wales have performed less well and improved more slowly.