The third sector: a knight on a white charger, rushing in to refresh the public services that other sectors just can't reach? Or perhaps more of a Shetland pony?

In fact, nobody quite knows the answer, because there is little evidence that charities can deliver public services more effectively than other providers. So concluded the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) report, Public Services and the Third Sector: Rhetoric and Reality.

The Government may claim that third-sector organisations provide a distinctive service - but PASC said this was based on “hypothetical or anecdotal” evidence, reports Third Sector (July 9). Expectations of the sector's capacity to bring change may also be exaggerated, given that charities deliver services worth only 2 per cent of total public service spending.

Tony Wright, the PASC chairman, bemoans the lack of information about how government commissions third-sector services. “We've been told for some time that the ideology of public service delivery is ... that what matters is what works. So it's strange that nobody seems to know what works.”

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BACKGROUND

• Public Opinion: Virginia Beardshaw

• Chucked in at the deep end

• Steps afoot to keep data safe

• What works for us

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The third sector was quick to defend itself. “There's evidence that [we] can reach communities and people who wouldn't otherwise benefit from services,” says Graham Beech, director of marketing and communications at Rainer Crime Concern. The report adds that government should use intelligent commissioning to get the best from the sector, focusing on results and not cost savings. It should also end “perverse practices” such as clawing back surpluses from charities and offering short-term contracts.

A taste of the Continent

As the cappuccino has invaded the British high street, so Continental Europe has seeped into our everyday life. Its influence is also spreading to football - well, stadia to be precise.

A report published today by PricewaterhouseCoopers says that sporting venues in the UK have traditionally been privately owned and operated. But public-private partnerships that span the construction and operation phase are on the up. The model bears a resemblance to the situation on the Continent, where stadia tend to be owned by the public sector.

And as sport is something many young people identify with, volunteering for the Commonwealth Games could help to give direction to those not in employment, education or training. At least that's the hope of Lord Smith of Kelvin, chairman of Glasgow 2014, the organising committee for the games, in Regeneration & Renewal (July 11).

While his job is to produce the games on time and on budget - “If that starting gun doesn't fire or there's no sand in the sandpit, I'll be killed” - he's keen to leave something behind too.

www.pwc.co.uk/hospitalitydirections

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