The international summer school in Public Administration has run since 2003, attracting students of politics, management and public administration.

The UK has an enviable, if controversial reputation for radical reforms in government and London provides an exciting opportunity to study these in depth through interactive seminars and simulations, visits and expert guest lectures.  

The course comprises four blocks, which give a good understanding of how UK government is organised and managed.  In each block key themes include how democracy and accountability are maintained in a system reliant on the private sector, and how the UK system differs from other forms of government (e.g. Presidential systems).

• Teaching Methods and Materials

• Academic Staff

• Course Structure

• Who should attend and language level requirements

Teaching methods

The courses will be taught through a series of lectures, including some by visiting practitioners, and interactive seminars, role-plays and case studies.  There will be lectures from each day from 10 until 1300 and each afternoon from 1400 until 1600.

Teaching materials

All teaching materials are available free to participants as part of the course fee. A recommended reading list will be provided, but book purchase will be optional, at student’s expense.

Pat Gray

Pat is Associate Head of the Department of Law, Governance and International Relations at London Metropolitan University. Prior to starting his university career he worked for the Greater London Council and in the policy units of Greenwich and Lambeth councils, where he was responsible for co-ordinating responses to central government privatisation initiatives. He has worked as a consultant in Morocco, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine to improve the training of civil servants. His publications include ‘Public Policy Disasters in Western Europe’ (Routledge). His research interests lie in the area of governance reform in developing countries, particularly efforts at administrative reform.

Brian Tutt

Brian joined the University in 1994, after studying at the University of York and the London School of Economics, and working at the University of Leeds and Royal Holloway College, University of London.  He specialises in British Parliamentary politics, with a particular interest in legislative studies. He teaches undergraduate courses on British politics and government, post war British history, the role of Parliament, and the theory and practice of representation. At MA level, he teaches comparative public policy and is the course leader for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme.  He has published on the televising of the House of Commons, on the history of the discipline of Public Administration, and has presented papers at a number of conferences in the UK and abroad. He has given evidence to a Select Committee of the House of Commons, and appeared on TV and radio.  Brian is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a member of the Political Studies Association.

Dr Peter Laugharne

Peter was an elected councillor in the London Borough of Redbridge 1994-2006, and was Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration 2000-02. He also served as a member of the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority 1994-2000, and was a member of the Board of the Thames Gateway London Partnership 2000-02. Peter’s research interests are legislative studies and the public policy process. He is currently conducting research on the role of the House of Commons Treasury Committee under the Conservative Governments 1979-1997. His publications include  "The Evolution of Specialist Advice to Select Committees of the House of Commons in the Twentieth Century", Parliamentary History (1999), Parliament and Public Finance: The Treasury Select Committee Process 1979-1990 (2000), and "The Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee During the Thatcher Administration", Parliamentary History (2007)

The first week of the course deals with some of the key features of the UK system of government, including local and devolved government, the role of MP’s in Parliament and in their constituencies and the peculiarities of the British Constitution. The second week examines how Britain has become a world leader in public management reform, through new forms of partnership with the private sector and local communities. Visits and expert speakers are a key part of the course.

The course will cover the following areas:

National government

• The basics of the UK constitution
• Sovereignty of parliament and the unwritten constitution
• The operation of the House of Commons and the UK system of cabinet government
• The role of the constituency MP and their relationships with political parties
• Key contrasts with other systems are highlighted throughout, together with contemporary political issues.

Local government

• Examines the UK’s unique system of local government and recent radical reforms
• Devolution to Scotland, and Wales
• Relations between central and local government, including finance
• The role of elected councillors in their communities

Economic development and regeneration

• Examines examples of successful economic and social development in London
• Multiracial development in the ‘East End’
• Regeneration and infrastructure for the 2012 London Olympics
• Public-private partnerships in regeneration

 Public management reform 

• Examines the UK’s novel approach to public administration
• The ‘New Public Management’ (NPM) – what it means and what it does
• Performance management and performance improvement
• Audit and inspection as management tools

Who should attend?

The course is suitable for those studying politics, public administration or management at degree level, or those employed in the public sector that wish to gain a better understanding of how a modern, accountable public service can be organised in a market economy.  If you are unsure whether you would be suited to the course, please e-mail p.gray@londonmet.ac.uk with any queries.

Required language levels

Most students at Summer School speak English as a second language, and we do not expect you to be fluent. However, to get the most out of your course, you should be able to read, understand and speak English well enough to take an active part in class, read textbooks and prepare coursework.

It is not necessary to have passed any examinations in English, but as a very rough guide, we suggest that you should be at Cambridge First Certificate level as a very minimum (or IELTS 6).

If you are an advanced speaker, you will find the courses offer an excellent means of practising your spoken English in a natural context and expanding your technical vocabulary.