The UK faces many grand challenges, from the climate crisis to a stagnant economy, a torn social fabric to an ageing society. This situation is sometimes called the polycrisis. At the same time, the state’s fiscal firepower is heavily constrained, the era of low interest rates is over, and the UK continues to face significant fiscal headwinds. Resolving this dilemma - enormous challenges yet constrained state resources - is perhaps the challenge of our times.

This paper, the second from the Future Public Services Taskforce, introduces a new vision for public services, which is called liberated public services. This includes public services being liberated from New Public Management across four domains:

1. Citizens are liberated to bring their whole selves to services and seen as a resource to be worked with, not a problem to be fixed.
2. Professionals are liberated from tight specifications defined from the centre.
3. Communities are liberated to partner with public services, whether formally or informally.
4. Policy-makers in central government – ministers, advisors and civil servants – are liberated from day-today micromanagement of services and providers to a broader, strategic role supporting learning and best practice.

How to deliver this vision in practice? The author of this paper describes and explores a set of principles.