PUBLIC sector workers are having to face up to the most rapid and widespread changes in a generation, according to a leading law firm.

Experts at Ward Hadaway, which has offices in Newcastle, said the sweeping changes to the sector will see a radical shift in the way health, local government, education and other public services are delivered.

The firm made the conclusions after it hosted a conference which saw over 50 chief executives and other senior local authority officers from across the country gather to discuss the changing face of public services.

Speakers included Dave Smith, Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council; Helen Bailey, Chief Executive of Local Partnerships; Joyce Redfearn, Chief Executive of Wigan MBC and PCT and Andrew Smith, Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council. The conference was chaired by Irene Lucas CBE.

Topics addressed included the changing relationship between citizens and their services, the integration of social care and health, the increased role of social enterprises and the power of procurement to shape markets.

Melanie Pears, Partner and Head of Public Sector at Ward Hadaway, said: "With change sweeping right across the public sector, we thought it was important for people at the sharp end of the process to be able to take stock of the situation, to hear from some of the leading lights in reshaping public services and to discuss matters with their colleagues and peers.

"Whether it is clinical commissioning and NHS reforms, free schools and academies or balancing ever tighter local authority budgets, public sector organisations are facing some of the most radical changes to the way they carry out their business in a generation.

"Our conference helped to bring these and other important issues into focus in a supportive, informed environment to help decision makers and leaders in the public sector.

"Hopefully they will have gone away from the event with some new ideas, some new contacts and a valuable perspective on the changing shape of public services in the UK."

Karen Andrews, Partner in the public sector team at Ward Hadaway, added: "There is a general recognition that public service delivery needs to be modernised, that the role of local authorities must change and that there will be a need for new service models.

"The reforms are an opportunity to do things differently but monitoring officers, in-house procurement and legal specialists will need support to ensure that in adapting to the new environment, local authorities stay within their powers and minimise the risk of challenge."

Ward Hadaway provides legal advice to a wide range of public sector organisations including the NHS and local education authorities.