Public Administration and Defence

Introduction

Including both central and local/regional government activities this broad sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in administrative and policy activities of a government nature, that is, the enactment and judicial interpretation of laws and their pursuant regulation, and the administration of programmes based on them. It thus includes general public service activities such as executive and legislative administration, the administration of fiscal affairs and the regulation of agencies that provide health care, education, cultural and social services and of business and labour as well as supporting government services. The sector further includes the provision of government services directed to the community as a whole, including foreign affairs, the armed forces, judicial matters such as the crown courts and community justice, public security such as custodial care and the police and fire and rescue service activities, as well as compulsory social security. Major operational "public service" activities such as the provision of health, public housing, education infrastructure, etc are not within the public administration remit and are considered elsewhere.

Employment

Public Administration and Defence has a sizable and slightly above-average representation in Lancashire. In 2005 it provided jobs for some 35,000 employees or 5.8% of the sub-region's total employee workforce against a share in Great Britain at large of 5.4%. Women are in the majority, comprising about 56% of all employees though part-time working, involving about a fifth of the total workforce (or 36% of women), is rather less prevalent than in many other service activities (Table 1).

Figure 1 Public Administration and Defence Employee Profile, Lancashire, 2005

Source ONS - Annual Business Inquiry, 2005

All parts of Lancashire have some representation in public administration jobs though Preston remains by far the largest single centre accounting for about 28% of the sub-regional total (Figure 1). This district has also seen significant expansion in such jobs over recent years. Locally, the importance of the sector is also greatest in Preston accounting for over 11% of the districts' total jobs and is associated with a sizable central government office presence as well as local government functions. Above-average shares of public administration employee jobs in Wyre and South Ribble are largely attributable to single establishments – the Dept of Works & Pensions, and Lancashire Constabulary respectively. At the other extreme, the sector accounts for about only 1% of local jobs in Ribble Valley.

With an average establishment size of 60 employees, the sector is structurally quite different from most other services being characterised by a marked emphasis on larger employing units: some 12% of establishments employ more than 100 people and these account for more than two-thirds of the employee workforce (Table 2). Conversely, whilst smaller units with less than 25 employees comprise about 60% of establishments, these account for only 8% of the total workforce. Apart from the individual local authorities, including the County Council and the two unitaries of Blackburn and Blackpool, major government employers in the sub-region include the Dept. for Work & Pensions (compulsory social security), the Dept. of Health, HM Treasury (National Savings) the Home Office (forensic science laboratory), the Prison Service Agency), the Inland Revenue, the Land Registry, the Audit Commission for Local Government, Lancashire Fire & Rescue headquarters and the Lancashire Constabulary headquarters.

Employment Trends

Figure 2 Public Administration and Defence Employee Jobs, Lancashire, 1950-2005

Source Ministry of Labour/ONS - ERII Employment Records

The long-term trend in public administration employee jobs in Lancashire is illustrated in Figure 2. Job numbers have grown in tandem with the growing role of government within society generally but in Lancashire government civil service dispersal programmes too have, at different periods and to varying extents, also impacted on local job opportunities. Additionally, policy measures have influenced recorded employee numbers: privatisation, agency agreements, out-sourcing, and the like have periodically resulted in the re-classification of jobs to different activity headings thus somewhat confusing the overall statistical picture.

Over the past dozen years or so (1993-2005) total employment in Public Administration and Defence in Lancashire has remained fairly stable though there have been marked differences in the performance of individual sub-sectors (Table 3). Job numbers in general public administration, which includes many of the traditional local "town hall" functions, underwent some contraction that was largely offset by growth in agency and business regulation activities and general government support services. There was also jobs growth in activities relating to the provision of services to the community as a whole, in particular in justice and judicial activities (e.g. the operation of civil and criminal courts and prison administration) as well as in public security, law and order activities (e.g. police forces). The "Compulsory Social Security" activity is an unusually large one in Lancashire, the sub-region with the sub-region typically accounting for nearly 10% of all national jobs. This is attributable to the presence of major Dept for Works & Pensions facilities in the area stemming from earlier civil service dispersal programmes – particularly to the Fylde Coast but also with some "overspill" into Central Lancashire. This sector underwent rapid jobs growth in the 1980s/early 1990s with local offices being substantially upgraded and expanded, though following technology and efficiency drives, job numbers have subsequently fallen back from their earlier peak and in the latest year are recorded at a very much reduced level. It is unknown as yet if this reflects the real situation or is a consequence of some under-recording or possible re-classification.

General Characteristics

Public administration in Lancashire has estimated output or gross value added worth about £1.1bn in 2004, some 5.3% of the sub-region's total output.

Lancashire Police Headquarters, Hutton

Lancashire, and particularly the Fylde Coast area, has benefited greatly from the dispersal of civil service jobs which introduced a large number of fairly secure new white-collar occupations into the area, complementing the more traditional local authority town hall jobs. The growth of these public services brought with them a greater diversity and higher quality of employment opportunity than formerly existed, served to increase female activity rates and generally boosted local spending power. Over the 1980s civil service jobs were one of the fastest growing employment categories in the County. However, this large expansionary phase has drawn to a close and in some areas even reversed. Over recent years there have been several announced job reductions and site rationalisation programmes as new technology systems have been introduced and reviews of the civil service have focused on efficiency drives to meet tighter budgets under the new agency regimes.

From a wider perspective, key drivers of change in public administration activities include central government policy, public sector reform and changing spending priorities. The sector generally has been subject to significant changes over the past couple of decades stemming in particular from increasing expectations, new technology and communications and the power of the media. Initially the process was seen as a modernisation agenda of improving efficiency, reforming management practices and divesting public involvement in commercial enterprises (privatisation). More recently concerns have shifted towards changes to meet the requirements of contemporary society in which concerns for efficiency is being supplanted by problems of governance, strategy, risk management, ability to adapt to change, collaborative or partnership actions and the need to understand the impact of policies on society.

Local authorities and other public bodies have been operating under much tighter financial constraints and central government direction. The government has sought greater efficiency and accountability with an explicit aim to provide best value services. Many public organisations, including local authorities, often now use private sector companies and other agencies via out-sourcing, grant aid or other funding mechanisms to deliver services. Many government services are now delivered not only by a public sector workforce but also by the private and voluntary/community sectors. Partly in consequence of this, the public administration workforce has decreased or at best remained stable yet the number of people delivering public services has actually increased. This process of externalising services has itself resulted in significant changes, in particular, creating a need for new and different skills in areas like project management, supervision, management and leadership, contract management and in public and private partnership work. Difficulties in recruiting and retaining suitably skilled staff at a time when the existing public administration workforce is older than the UK average and many may well retire over the next decade also remains a challenge for the sector.

For further details, please contact:
Peter Kivell
 EconInfo@lancashire.gov.uk