An on-going assessment of the state of the spin-out sector in England

The provision of public services in England has received large amounts of policy attention over the last three decades. During this time there have been numerous and far-reaching public-sector reforms, which have resulted in less direct provision of public services by Local Authorities and an increased ‘marketisation’ of the public sector. However, whilst the spin-out sector in England is heterogeneous, much of the prior research on spin-outs is sector specific. Additionally, the growth of spin-outs, their ability to become sustainable and theory explaining the spin-out process has received little or no academic inquiry. This paper reports the initial analysis of survey data gathered in 2014 into the spin-out sector in England. A total of 201 spin-out organisations were identified and invited to participate, of which 66 responded. The data analysis revealed that the spin-out sector was growing in relation to turnover, profits and staffing levels and that this growth was mediated by the type of business model adopted. In addition, the role and importance of different stakeholders in the spin-out process was identified as in flux over time, with service-staff and service-users becoming more important the longer that the spin-out had been independent. The results are discussed in relation to the prior literature and data gathered in a 2013 survey.