Public services concern highlighted in Brexit report

New research published by Deloitte has revealed that 41 per cent of the public think that leaving the EU will be bad for UK public services.

Produced in collaboration with think tank, Reform, the insight is informed by interviews with public sector leaders, citizen research and an in-depth analysis of government data.

‘The State of the State 2016-17 - Brexit and the business of government’ report revealed a rather pessimistic outlook, with only 28 per cent of the 1,099 citizens asked thinking Brexit will be good for public services.

The report also discovered that public support for taxes to fund public spending is on the rise, for the first time since the 1990s, with 57 per cent of respondents citing the NHS as the priority for government in the coming year. Brexit was the top priority for 33 per cent, with education (30 per cent), the economy (24 per cent) and immigration (22 per cent) also ranking highly.

Rebecca George, head of public sector at Deloitte, commented: “ large proportion of the public, although mainly those more likely to have voted to remain, see Brexit as having a negative impact on UK public services.

“On the other hand, groups who were more likely to vote leave, such as older people, were more likely to think that we will see no difference in service quality, while only around a quarter think Brexit will be positive for public services.

“There will be some difficult years ahead for UK public services and the challenge on government is to maintain public services and continue their transformation, all while delivering the UK’s exit from the EU.”