A Public Service Ethic and Political Accountability

The aim of this article is to focus on issues of accountability in the public sector in a context in which government is expecting the private sector and the voluntary sector to be much more involved in the delivery of public services. It considers the nature of the public service ethos or ethic and the extent to which such an ethos can be made compatible with either private sector or voluntary sector delivery. It looks at the critique of the public service ethos mounted by both public choice theorists and those who believe that public services should be made more democratically accountable. It concludes with some suggestions about forms of accountability to meet the demands of a much more hybrid welfare and public service delivery system.