ABSTRACT

This chapter looks at political aspects of the growth of partnership working across public services in the United Kingdom. It addresses three areas: the political and policy agendas in which partnership working has come to the fore; the dynamics of implementation, drawing on a literature which looks at the gap between the policy agenda and actual outcomes; and, finally, power relations in partnerships. Collaboration across agencies has become crucial to developing sound policy outcomes for service users, and putting users at the centre of services. But some key policy approaches to realize these aims in practice betray a poor understanding of policy formation and implementation, pushing ahead regardless with a set agenda. Further, the way in which political power is exercised in partnerships’ and agencies’ collaborative arrangements warrants scrutiny. We might indeed be ‘all in this together’ – to borrow a topical UK government exhortation – but that does not mean we have an equal say in setting the direction of change.