Trust and Confidence in Government and Public Services

Trust and confidence are topical issues. Pundits claim that citizens trust governments and public services increasingly less - identifying a powerful new erosion of confidence that, in the US, goes back at least to Watergate in the 1970s. Recently, media exposure in the UK about MP expenses has been extensive, and a court case ruled in favor of publishing expense claims and against exempting MPs from the scrutiny which all citizens are subject to under ‘freedom of information.’ As a result, revelations about everything from property speculation to bespoke duck pond houses have fueled public outcry, and survey evidence shows that citizens increasingly distrust the government with public resources. This book gathers together arguments and evidence to answers questions such as: What is trust? Can trust be boosted through regulation? What role does leadership play in rebuilding trust? How does trust and confidence affect public services? The chapters in this collection explore these questions across several countries and different sectors of public service provision: health, education, social services, the police, and the third sector. The contributions offer empirical evidence about how the issues of trust and confidence differ across countries and sectors, and develop ideas about how trust and confidence in government and public services may adjust in the information age.

1. Introduction: Trust and Confidence in Government and Public Services Sue Llewellyn, Stephen Brookes and Ann Mahon Part I: Understanding Trust and Confidence2. How Do Trust and Confidence Affect the Governing of America? Larry Lynn Jr. 3.Evidence-based Trust: A Contradiction in Terms? Christopher Pollitt and Naomi Chambers 4.Trust and Networks Erik Hans Klijn and Jasper Eshuis Part II: Trust in Government and Major Public Institutions5. Trust in Government, Performance Information and DemocracyStephen Greasley 6. Why Do Politicians Reform? Do They Know Something about the Drivers of Trust in Government? Nick Manning and Alejandro Guerrero 7. The British Broadcasting Corporation: A Trusted Institution? Greg Dyke and Nick Clifford 8.Trust between the UK Government, the Nation and its Armed Forces: the Military Covenant Mike Dunn 9.Trust at the Interface between the Third and Public Sectors Alex Murdock Part III: Trust and Citizens’ Confidence in Public Services10. Relationships in Healthcare: Trust in Transition? Ann Mahon11. Public Trust and Education: Teachers and their Work Helen Gunter and David Hall 12.Trust and Control in Children’s Services Adina Dudau and Georgios Kominis 13.Public Trust in Policing Stephen Brookes and Peter FahyPart IV: Conclusion14. Conclusion Trust and Confidence in Government and Public Services: Emergent Themes Sue Llewellyn, Stephen Brookes and Ann Mahon

Sue Llewellyn is Professor of Accountability and Management Control and Director of the Herbert Simon Institute at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. Stephen Brookes is a Senior Fellow in Public Policy and Management and Head of the Innovation in Government subject group at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. He is editor (with K. Grint) of The New Public Leadership Challenge (2010). Ann Mahon is a Senior Fellow in Healthcare and Public Sector Management at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. She is editor (with K. Walshe and N. Chambers) of A Reader in Health Policy and Management (2009).