What does join-up government mean?

Dear Maddie, 

A "joined up" government is a term coined by the Blair government in
the UK, in an attempt to instoduce more efficiency in policy making
and enforcement in the public sector. In particular, this term
pertains to enhanced communication and cooperation between different
agencies and ministries, through IT.

As you could see by the links provided by Xeno-Ga, this attemp is
opposed by libertarians and other who express concern that the
communication would yield over-control over the lives of citizens.

A very clear and good explanations on "joined up" government could be
found at David Richards' and Dennis Kavanagh's "Can Joined-Up
Government be a Reality?  A Case Study of the British Labour
Government 1997-2000" (Paper presented at the Australian Political
Studies Association 2000 Conference, the Australian National
University, Canberra 4-6 October, 2000.)
<http://apsa2000.anu.edu.au/confpapers/richards.rtf>

Further Reading
===============
Perri 6, "Joined-up government in the western world in comparative
perspective: a preliminary literature review and exploration",
<http://www.hsmc.bham.ac.uk/staff/staffdetails/6p/pdfs/P6%20joined%20up%20government%20around%20the%20world.pdf>

ACCA Public Eye, "Joined-up Government", Issue 37, August 2001,
<http://www.acca.co.uk/publications/public_eye/37/106647>.

I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
further clarifications on this answer before you rate it.

Search strategy: searched for the term.

Hi,

Here are some links that may answer your questions:

http://www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/000504.html

http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/poli/pac/papers/cope.htm

CIAO

X

The meaning is far from obvious. Who used that expression, in what
context? It could be inviting our government to blend into the one
world government which is controlled mostly by the rich and powerful
internationalists.
 Who do you think reads the letters you and I send to the UN, NAFTA,
GATT, The WTO and NATO? Likely no one with any authority. We should
instead shift the power and authority back to the neighborhoods and
villages, so that common folks can have there opinions considered,
perhaps even acted upon if they are majority opinions in that village.
  Neil