Learning from History: Markets in Health

Institute for Government organised a series of high-profile events to explore what history can teach us about the politics and practicalities of increasing choice and competition in the provision public services. This was the third event in the series.

This event, on Markets in Health, explored the lessons learned from the 1990s and 2000s which saw significant changes in internal healthcare markets, as well as increases in the use of state-funded private provision (for example, with Independent Treatment Centres).

Leading protagonists and observers of past changes drew on their experiences to discuss:

• The political dynamics behind long-term changes
• The practical barriers to market-making and public service reform
• The steps and ‘path dependencies’ in the process of market-making
• Relevant insights for the current reform agenda, as well as for similar reforms in other service areas

 Panel speakers:

Rt Hon Alan Milburn – former Secretary of State for Health
Mike Parish – Chief Executive of Care UK
Professor Carol Propper – Professor of Economics, Imperial College
Ken Anderson – former NHS Commercial Director
David Worskett – Director, NHS Partner Network
 
Chair:

Nick Timmins – Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and The King's Fund, author of The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State.