Chapter 2 set out how central direction is less important than one might think from the attention that the media give to what central governments do in different policy fields. A centrallydetermined strategy sets a context and direction, but is mediated through the culture of the local organisations that are charged with delivery. Chapter 6 looked at accountability, and identified that the way that culture and values interact with the political system means that accountability for central government policy decisions is often weak. This makes it all too easy for bad decisions and poor strategies to be pushed through with no consequences. One obvious conclusion to draw from these two findings is that it would be sensible to re-think the role of central decision making. If central decisions will generally not be implemented with any accuracy, and those making them will not be held accountable for the consequences, would it not be more effective to disperse and devolve power where possible and rely on more of the front-line direct accountability measures that outlined in Chapter 6?

The challenges of centralism

I received a stark lesson in how policy intentions from the centre collide with messy social reality in delivery when I was working for the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. In 1993 the then Conservative government in the United Kingdom set up the Child Support Agency. This was a new government body charged with obtaining child maintenance payments from parents who were not living with their children. The idea was in part to provide more support for the parents who were taking day-to-day responsibility for childcare, but also to offset the cost to the government of providing welfare benefits, which was the alternative if child maintenance was not forthcoming. By the mid-2000s, when I became involved, the Agency had become a byword in UK government circles for poor performance, missed targets, computer problems and ministers constantly having to apologise to Members of Parliament for the appalling service that their constituents had suffered. I was asked to lead a team supporting an external independent review of the whole child support system, from the policy framework to the delivery approach.