MPs deliver mixed verdict on public services by the sector

By David Ainsworth, Third Sector, 9 July 2008

There is no proof that charities are better at delivering public service contracts than providers from other sectors, according to a Commons select committee report published today.

Public Services and the Third Sector: Rhetoric and Reality says government claims that third sector organisations provide a distinctive service are based on "hypothetical or anecdotal" evidence. "The evidence is simply not there to judge conclusively whether there are shared characteristics across all third sector organisations that might make them...