An archive of email updates from Local Government Leadership in November 2010.
Update 60: highlights
Update 59: highlights
Community Budgets: information to share from the Dept for Education on families with complex needs/multiple problems
We have received some very useful links to information, publications and reference materials from DfE in advance of the discussion next week on community budgets and for general info. You will notice that the language is different to that which we’ve been using – complex needs, multiple problems – but the events on Friday and in Warwick next week we hope will help to collectively agree a definition.
In the first instance it may be helpful to visit the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People’s Services (C4EO) website www.c4eo.org.uk . The website covers excellence in local practice, combined with high quality research and data about ‘what works’, creating a single comprehensive centre of evidence. A range of organisations have worked together to develop and collect information, messages and tools that provide local areas with tools that will enable them to be even more effective in improving children’s outcomes with the aim of reducing costs across the spectrum of need. These can be found at http://www.c4eo.org.uk/cost effectiveness/costeffectiveproducts.aspx
The following links might also be of particular interest:
Cost avoidance calculator
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/costeffectiveness/edgeofcare/costcalculator.aspx – link to the cost calculator
Cost avoidance modelling (10-15 yr old children that enter the care system in England)
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/costeffectiveness/edgeofcare/costmodel.aspx – cost model and supporting narrative
Recent publications:
Redesigning Provision for Families with Multiple Problems – an Assessment of the Early Impact of Different Local Approaches (published 28th Oct 2010)
http://www.education.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DFE-RR046.pdf
The Use of Whole Family Assessment to Identify the Needs of Families with Multiple Problems” (published 28th Oct 2010) http://www.education.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DFE-RR045.pdf
Official Statistics re: families receiving support from family interventions’ (published 15th September 2010):
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000956/index.shtml
Reference:
Working with families with multiple problems protocols and practice guidance
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/strategy/parents/ID91askclient/thinkfamily/tf/
http://publications.education.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/Think-Family.pdf
Family Intervention Monitoring and evaluation Report to March 2009
http://www.education.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RR215.pdf
Reaching Out: Think Family – Analysis and themes from the Families At Risk Review (2008)
Worcestershire Partnership Productive Places: Workforce and Skills
“It is something of a cliché to say that we live in challenging times. Nevertheless we have to rise to that challenge and with the dominant expenditure for the whole public sector being on the workforce it is self evident that we need to look at issues of productivity across the sectors. If to this we add the evidence from the Total Place pilots, other parallel work and community based budgeting we have an irresistible call to look closely at the way we deal with workforce and skills issues.
Working with central government and other agencies of local public services, the Local Government Association has commissioned a series of explorations into the way in which we can drive a step change in public service productivity with solutions focussed on “place” whilst at the same time responding to the generational shift it the nature and delivery of public service. This is known as the Productive Places Programme.
This work will be funded centrally and will report to Local Government Improvement and Development and a national Chief Executive Champion (Nick Walkley, Chief Executive in Barnet) by April 2011. This report will be used to set the agenda for further work and developments across Whitehall as well as being shared with locally based organisations”.
The first meeting of this group in on the 19th November and the invitation is open for anyone who would like to be involved and has some good ideas or experience to bring to the table. Please drop Roger Britton an email at rbritton@worcestershire.gov.uk if you are interested in attending and he will let you have more details.
BWB weekly review of government websites
Big Society:
ResPublica has launched its latest report, ‘The Civil Effect,’ which warns that the development of David Cameron’s Big Society will fail unless urgent action is taken to better support civil society in our public services. http://www.respublica.org.uk/articles/civil-effect-new-respublica-report-outlines-radical-rethink-public-services-commissioning
Spending review/funding cuts:
Arts Council England has announced its plans for implementing the 29.6% cut to its budget announced as part of the Government’s Spending Review. http://press.artscouncil.org.uk/Press-Releases/ARTS-COUNCIL-ANNOUNCES-FUNDING-DECISIONS-FOR-THE-ARTS-IN-ENGLAND-451.aspx They include a 50% reduction to the Arts Council’s operating costs, from the current £22m to £12m (real terms) in 2015.
Quango reforms:
The Public Bodies Bill, which will ensure the necessary legal framework is in place for the Government to carry out its public bodies reforms, was published in Parliament last week. This link takes you to a Government press release http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/101029-quango.aspx and this to the draft bill itself http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldbills/025/11025.i-ii.html
Total Place & Community Budgets community of practice
We have updated the Total Place CoP to include information on Community Budgets and will be doing the same for the website. If you haven’t yet joined the community, you can do so at www.communities.idea.gov.uk. At nearly 1450 members, it’s a really great place for sharing stories, keeping up to date with events, and generally getting to know one another across the sector.
National Infrastructure Plan 2010
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has announced the publication of the UK’s first ever national infrastructure plan as promised in the June Budget – identifying the scale of the infrastructure challenge and the major economic investment that is needed to underpin sustainable growth in the UK over the coming decades.
In launching the plan, Lord Sassoon, Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury, said: “We recognise the scale of the challenge and the need to encourage new sources of private sector capital. We are targeting Government’s own investment at a series of bold and critical projects that go to the heart of this vision and support a private sector led recovery.”
To download the plan, visit http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_national_infrastructure_plan.htm
Efficiency Review by Sir Philip Green
For anyone who hasn’t seen this report yet, it can be found at http://download.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/efficiency/sirphilipgreenreview.pdf. The key findings were that there are clear reasons why Government conducts its business so inefficiently including those around poor data, silo-working, lack of motivation to save money, no process for setting and challenging budgets, no mandate for centralised procurement, and that this is all exacerbated by a lack of commercial skills.
Sir Philip Green states that ‘The Government is failing to leverage both its credit rating and its scale’ and there are some pretty stark examples of this contained within the report. More ‘guilty knowledge’ that can’t be easily avoided.
Gadgetry saving millions on care for the elderly
“High-tech gadgetry is saving millions of pounds on care for the elderly while helping them stay in the homes they love. As local government leads the way in dealing with the country’s ageing population, pioneering research from one council shows modern technology could save its health system £7.5 million a year. If expanded across England and Wales this would represent savings of £270 million, and extra years of priceless independence and dignity for users.
After several years piloting new technologies, town halls are now rolling out schemes in full and reaping huge savings – from the electronic pill dispenser which saves thousands of pounds a year to the personal satellite locator which reduces day care costs by £250 a week.”
The latest developments in telehealth and telecare are being discussed at this year’s National Children and Adult Services Conference, organised by the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
For more information, visit http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=14786530
Government transparency
The Department for Communities and Local Government has published its business plan on the Number 10 website so that citizens can check how it is performing in delivering on the priorities set out in its plan.
It’s a handy tool which you can use to search by department and by month to check performance against each of the departments’ priorities. http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/transparency/srp/view-srp/36
Lastly, a note about Holocaust Memorial Day
“Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is a day for everyone. On 27 January each year, we pause to remember the millions of people who have been murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution and in the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. We honour the survivors of those regimes of hatred and we use HMD as an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which we live our lives today. HMD offers us all the chance to learn the lessons of the past to create a safer, better future.
Local Authorities are in a unique position to hold HMD events which reach out to the entire community. For HMD 2010 around 35% of Local Authorities in the UK held events to mark this important day. There is no such thing as a right or wrong HMD event and HMDT can provide you with free resources and advice to assist you with your planning.
The HMD website is bursting with ideas, advice and resources to help you plan your event for HMD 2011. Order a free Campaign Pack, which contains free posters and handout material, an explanation of the theme for HMD 2011 – Untold Stories – and a copy of our film which can be used in your event. “
If you need any assistance or would like to talk through potential event ideas please do not hesitate to contact the HMDT team who will be happy to help: Telephone – 0845 838 1883 Email – enquiries@hmd.org.uk
LGL Community Budgets event
The concept of Community Budgets promises a great deal, but raises all sorts of questions. How will the funding be channelled? Who’ll be accountable for the result? If it’s all about difficult families, where’s the best place to intervene?
Several local authorities have already gone some way in answering these questions, only to encounter further challenges. How do we know if we’re on the right track? Is there a model? What are other councils doing?
Local Government Leadership (formerly the Leadership Centre for Local Government) is providing a space where these questions can be explored, ideas can be tried out, and relationships can be built. As well as key individuals from the sixteen named areas, there’ll be leaders from central government and the voluntary sector, all coming together to ensure that the extraordinary opportunity represented by Community Budgets is something we all make the most of.
The event, over twenty-four hours from Monday 15th to Tuesday 16th November, will be split between the themes of ‘politics’ (day one) and ‘practice’ (day two). It will be facilitated by Robert Smith and attended by politicians and senior officials from local government and Whitehall. We’ll update you after the event with next steps.
Publication of the DWP Total Place Data release
Since the Total Place report Local Authorities have been encouraged to undertake their own Total Place approach. As a result DWP have received requests from Local Authorities for financial data relating to the costs of delivering DWP face to face services to clients in their area.
As a result of these requests DWP has developed the DWP Total Place Data Release. This data provides the costs of delivering face to face services for Jobcentre Plus and Pensions, Disability Carers Service clients for the financial year 2009 – 2010 at Jobcentre Plus district level.
In addition, the DWP Total Place Data Release also provides the costs of Employment Programmes at Jobcentre Plus district level and at National level where applicable.
To access the latest release in full click here: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=recent
Advice UK & the BOLD project
BOLD is a joint project of AdviceUK, Directory of Social Change and new economics foundation, funded by The Baring Foundation’s Strengthening the Voluntary Sector programme. BOLD aims to strengthen the independence and effectiveness of advice organisations through the development of commissioning models that place the needs of service users first. This involves:
An explanation of the project, including reports and the short animation are available at: http://www.adviceuk.org.uk/bold
Total Place & Community Empowerment: Street Watch
“In May 2007, Chief Inspector Philip Kedge, the District Commander of East Hampshire, went to the press with an article inviting local residents to do their bit to improve communities and reduce crime. Inspector Kedge urged communities to take more responsibility in monitoring and challenging unacceptable behaviour by others. He stated that Police and partners had worked hard to decrease crime by 32% against Home Office Targets, but if communities wanted back that strong sense of community cohesion, then they needed to make a stand and to regain control of their open spaces. He also stated that many residents have unrealistic expectations of what the police can achieve without the support of the community and that many communities had become disempowered by an often irrational fear of crime. Chief Inspector Kedge called for residents to form groups of ‘Street Watch’ wardens to patrol their own communities.
Since that time the scheme has developed to become a fully operational voluntary organisation run by the community for the community. Within the first 6 months the membership grew to 17 members who regularly patrol during the week days and weekend. Every member brings a different strength to the team. Some are able to patrol during the evenings on Friday and Saturday nights to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, whilst others patrol during the day with the emphasis on visibility and community reassurance”.
Visit their website at http://www.street-watch.org.uk for more information on this exciting project.
BWB weekly review of government websites
Spending review:
See these links for press releases on the spending review by the following
Closure of Quangos
Social Enterprise Coalition’s Chief Executive, Peter Holbrook has said social enterprise could hold the key to survival for some of the axed quangos. “Due to the nature of social enterprise there is a very real opportunity here for staff of some quangos to take ownership of the organisation they work for, but they need to be shown how to make it happen. We would be very keen to work with government to support the transfer of some quangos into businesses with a strong social purpose.” The Social Enterprise Coalition also says that where non-departmental public bodies are proposing to reform as charities, they should consider their trading possibilities and look closely at how existing social enterprises are delivering similar things to them in a sustainable way. http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/press-releases.php/145/social-enterprise-holds-key-to-quangos-survival
Health
The Department of Health is consulting on proposals in the White Paper and in particular is seeking the views of patients, the wider public, healthcare professionals and the NHS on:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_119651
Prisons and reoffending
Policing and Criminal Justice Minister, Nick Herbert, delivered the annual Parmoor Lecture for the Howard League for Penal Reform in which he set out the Government’s plans to reform prisons, and cut the prison population by reducing re-offending. http://www.justice.gov.uk/latest-updates/announcement221010b.htm
Housing Minister Grant Shapps and Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt have confirmed that they will work with voluntary organisations including Crisis to offer a new scheme, in which ex-offenders and single homeless people will be given help to find and maintain a new home in the private rented sector. http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/17434841
Information
The Department of Health is consulting on changes to the way the information is collected, analysed and used by the NHS and adult social care services
http://consultations.dh.gov.uk/information-revolution/informationrevolution/consult_view
Defra is seeking views on public access to information on environmental decisions http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/news/2010/10/15/aarhus-news/
Informed Career Choices in Public Delivery
Day Seminar Thursday 2nd December 2010 Justice Centre, Manchester 10.00am
“In these challenging times the pressure is on more than ever for those in senior roles in public service to develop and maintain flexible skills that are transferable within the sector and beyond.
Civil Service in The English Regions (CSER), the FDA and MiP are delighted to offer this free event. Delegates will hear presentations from speakers with experience at senior levels in Health, Local Government and the Civil Service.
The aim is to help those occupying relatively senior roles in public service to;
After attending this event delegates will be better placed to make informed career choices benefiting them and their employer and supporting the delivery of change”.
For further information, please contact neil@fda.org.uk or alison.hargreaves@gonw.gsi.gov.uk
“Ministers unveil regional white paper and approve 24 LEPs”
Mark Conrad www.localgov.co.uk
“Coalition ministers have given the green light to 24 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) as part of their plan to boost Britain’s moribund local economies.
The approval of the first wave of LEPs is contained in the government’s regional growth white paper, published on 28 October, which also marks the opening of the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund to support the creation of private sector jobs in areas hit hard by public spending cuts. LEPs will replace England’s nine regional development agencies (RDAs) and are made up of partnerships between councils and private enterprises, with the aim of creating the right conditions for local – and national – economic growth. Ministers said the 24 first wave LEPs reflected ‘sensible’ collections of councils and business leaders that would reflect sub-national economic hubs more effectively than RDAs.
The white paper outlines how the coalition will focus on three themes to deliver growth:
Business secretary Vince Cable said many of the proposals for LEP status submitted to the government this summer ‘showed real imagination and initiative and a genuine desire to drive local economic growth’.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles said LEPs would ‘transform the economic geography of the country’ but, unlike RDAs, would be ‘underpinned by proper local accountability’.
The white paper outlines other government plans to promote regional and local growth through: the New Homes Bonus, involving matched Council Tax funding, paid to localities that build homes; possible moves to allow councils to keep the business rates they collect locally; a new system of Tax Increment Financing for regeneration projects – which would allow councils to borrow against projected increases in business rate income; and a localised planning regime”.
For the full article and list of approved LEPs, visit the LocalGov website above.
Lastly, for all the social media fans out there http://wherearethecuts.org/ is a handy place to report where there’s a ‘cut’ happening near you and read about where they’ve already been announced.
]]>The Communities and Local Government Department has made a formal announcement about the 16 ‘community budget’ areas first revealed in Wednesday’s spending review.
“From April next year this first phase of 16 areas covering 31 councils and their partners will be put in charge of ‘Community Budgets’ that pool various strands of Whitehall funding into a single ‘local bank account’ for tackling social problems around families with complex needs.
Community Budgets, which the Government intends to roll out nationally by 2013-14, will put councils and their partners in the driving seat by pooling funds for tackling these families’ needs into one budget so communities can develop local solutions to local problems.”
The sixteen areas are:
This first phase will take place alongside cross-Departmental work with a further 20 areas “to help push forward local flexibility and to address barriers”. There will also be a national champion for community budgeting for families with complex needs who will support this undertaking.
Cities with elected mayors will also have community budgets available, and from April 2013 the Department intends to make community budgets available to all areas.
]]>An archive of email updates from Local Government Leadership from October 2010.
Total Place update 57: highlights
Total Place update 56: highlights
Total Place update 55: highlights
Abolition of Local Area Agreements and National Indicator Set
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles last week announced the end of LAAs and NIs. CLG said the move “will instantly remove reporting on 4,700 Whitehall targets from councils’ daily workloads”.
In his article for ConservativeHome, Mr Pickles cited evidence from the Leicester and Leicestershire Total Place pilot about the impact such reporting had on councils.
Read more: CLG statement http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsstories/newsroom/1740503 and Eric Pickles’ article http://conservativehome.blogs.com/localgovernment/2010/10/the-bonfire-of-local-government-targets.html.
Quango reforms
As part of the Government’s commitment to radically increase the transparency and accountability of all public services, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, last week summarised plans to substantially reform a large number of public bodies and also announced further proposals. The Government intends to introduce a Public Bodies Bill that will enable many of these plans to be implemented.
Read more and download the full list at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/101014-quangos.aspx
New structure charts for Government available
As part of its ongoing drive to make the Government more accountable, the Cabinet Office has published new details about civil servants working at the heart of government.
Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, last week asked departments to publish for the first time structure charts setting out details of the number and grade of staff working in different teams. In June the Cabinet Office published its chart showing the structure for senior staff, but this has now been updated to include team numbers.
The structure charts show:
Read more and download the charts at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/101015-structure.aspx
Free events on place-based productivity from the Local Government Group
The LG Group is offering two free events for members and officers to learn more about the Place Based Productivity Programme. The programme comprises nine work streams, each of which includes leading figures from the across the public, private and voluntary sectors. The work streams will identify new ways of working, develop practical tools for councils and challenge the barriers that stand in the way of improvement.
The first event, for members, is on 26 October in London from 10.00-13.15. More details and a programme at: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/events/display-event.do?id=13938651
The second event, for chief executives and directors, is on 5 November in Leeds from 10.00-13.15. More details and a programme at: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/events/display-event.do?id=14109376
PricewaterhouseCoopers report: Spending cuts: the impact on regions and industries
Nearly one million public and private sector workers are expected to lose their jobs by 2014/15 because of public sector spending cuts. And, some regions and industries will be hit harder than others. Business services and construction industries are likely to be the hardest hit sectors. Northern Ireland, the North East and Wales are likely to have the greatest job losses as a percentage of total employment.
The outlook for the UK economy remains uncertain, but with interest rates staying lower for longer, the potential for job creation in the private sector may increase. In the short term, Government will need to address two important areas: managing the transition through innovative approaches to workforce reform and encouraging private sector investment to fill the infrastructure funding gap. In the long term Government will need to provide a stronger foundation for growth which is financially, socially and environmentally sustainable in the long run.
The full report is available to download (registration required) from: http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/publications/sectoral_and_regional_impact_of_the_fiscal_squeeze.html
Centre for Policy Studies: ‘More producers needed’
In this report, Peter Warburton shows that:
He puts forward a range of detailed policy proposals, including greater regional pay flexibility for public sector workers, the localisation of the benefit system and the curtailment of benefits.
The full text of the report can be downloaded from http://www.cps.org.uk/cps_catalog/more%20producers%20neededupdate.pdf
Policy Network: Southern Discomfort Again?
The purpose of this Policy Network study, a sequel to the Southern Discomfort series carried out after the 1992 general election defeat, is to address the crippling weakness that Labour faces in Southern England following the 2010 defeat. The pamphlet is accompanied by new research by polling organisation YouGov.
Download the pamphlet and polling results at: http://www.policy-network.net/publications/3899/Southern-Discomfort-Again
SOLACE annual conference slides now available
The presentations from the SOLACE annual conference can now be downloaded. See presentations from David Behan, Jo Miller, Ben Page, Dominic Campbell, Martha Lane Fox and others at: https://secure.solace.org.uk/conference2010/presentations.htm
The four capacities every great leader needs (and very few have)
Tony Schwartz blogs for the Harvard Business Review on four key capacities that he’s noticed in the most inspiring leaders: http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/10/the-four-capacities-every-grea.html.
Building a thinking laboratory: a new kind of local partnership
Sue Goss from OPM reports on her work with Worcestershire’s Shenstone Group, “an off-line partnership of some of the biggest players in the county … We have labelled the group a ‘thinking laboratory’ with the intention of forming a leadership development process that would build relationships between key partners, and a steering and critical friend role in the Total Place pilot.”
Read more from Sue at http://opmblog.co.uk/2010/10/06/building-a-thinking-laboratory-new-kind-partnership/
10 years on: participatory budgeting and the big society
The Participatory Budgeting Unit is hosting a conference celebrating the successes of PB in the UK over the past 10 years, and looking to the future and how PB involve people in difficult spending decisions. It takes place in London on 9 November. For more details and to book, see: http://www.participatorybudgeting.org.uk/events/10-years-on-participatory-budgeting-the-big-society
And finally, the University of Warwick is launching a UK-wide, longitudinal research study across the public and third sectors. The aim is to investigate the impact of the (anticipated) changes on how employees and managers think, feel and perform in the current climate. Click here by 20 October to get your unique link to participate: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/igpm/publicsectorsurvey/emailregister
More information on this study and the research team leading it can be found on this website: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/igpm/publicsectorsurvey/
Civic Pride, Big Society
http://www.local.gov.uk/leadership
The final major new publication responding to the challenge of empowering communities and individuals with a sense of civic pride was launched last week.
The third in the series, ‘Building a Civic Community: the ten principles to delivering the Big Society in Westminster’ was launched at the Conservative Party Conference. To download the full report, please visit http://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/docs/Building%20a%20Civic%20Community.pdf
You can also find the Liberal Democrat and Labour responses there, as featured on previous updates.
Place based approaches and the NHS: Lessons from Total Place
This report, written by Richard Humphries and Sarah Gregory, captures the content of a conference held by The King’s Fund to assess the involvement of the NHS in the Total Place programme. Speakers at the event included Cllr David Parsons CBE, Mike Attwood (Coventry, Solihull & Warks pilot), and Phil Swann (Dorset, Bournemouth & Poole pilot). The event was also an opportunity to consider how the Total Place approach might be applied in the context of the new government’s priorities and the imminent squeeze on public spending.
The full report can be downloaded here: http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/articles/placebased.html
YouChoose: a participatory budgeting tool
YouChoose is an online budget simulator that encourages members of the public to consider where council budget cuts should fall, where efficiencies might be made, and where income might be generated.
The tool was originally developed by the London Borough of Redbridge to engage its citizens in the difficult decisions that may arise from a substantial potential reduction to its budget. In partnership with the Local Government Group and YouGov, YouChoose is now freely available to all councils in England and Wales. It is designed as a tool to help them engage their citizens in decisions about how they spend their revenue budgets and help their citizens understand the tough choices the council faces.
For more information, visit http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=22436695
Local authorities ‘to retain council house rent’
Nick Appleyard, LocalGov.co.uk
“The Government has announced it will allow councils to keep the income generated through council house rent. Housing minister Grant Schapps has unveiled proposals to reform the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system to make it fairer for councils. The minister said: ‘For far too long, councils have been left hamstrung in their efforts to meeting the housing needs of their residents by a council house finance system that is outdated and no longer fit for purpose.’
Cllr Gary Porter, chairman of the Local Government Association’s housing and environment board, said: ‘We have campaigned hard for town halls to keep control of proceeds from council house rents and sales that could deliver tens of thousands of new homes over the next decade. Councils need to be given proper financial freedoms so that they can plan effectively for the long-term and get the best value for money while delivering the homes that people in their areas sorely need’”.
For the full article, click here http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=92219
BWB weekly review of government websites
Data protection:
The Information Commissioner’s Office has published a list of organisations that are being monitored because it appears they are not meeting the requirement to respond to freedom of information requests on time. They include the Cabinet Office and the Home Office. http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/press_releases.aspx
Equality Act 2010:
This is a useful link to a webpage listing all the Government Equalities Office guides: http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010/equality_act_2010_what_do_i_n.aspx
The guides include:
Buying Solutions launches new “Aggregation Portal”
“Aggregation is a key enabler of greater savings, and the new aggregation portal provides public sector organisations with the opportunity to join up with others looking to procure similar goods and services, facilitating greater savings for all through economies of scale. If you are looking to procure a product or service, why not consider pooling demand with other organisations?”.
For more information, you can contact the Buying Solutions customer service desk on 0345 410 2222 or info@buyingsolutions.gsi.gov.uk
IPPR report: ‘Now It’s Personal? The new landscape of welfare to work’
Last week the Institute for Public Policy Research published its new report Now It’s Personal? The new landscape of welfare to work. The report argues that localisation and enterprise should be key objectives for the Coalition Government in its plans for welfare- to- work reform.
“We set out plans for radically devolved, localised welfare-to-work system which will allow local areas greater discretion over commissioned services and improve integration with other policy areas such as economic development, transport and housing. A number of different scenarios for this are explored, including a far-reaching and ambitious proposal for full devolution of welfare to work.
We argue that a more enterprising welfare-to-work system could help create new job opportunities for unemployed workers. Through closer working with employers and a more entrepreneurial approach to the labour market, providers could support businesses to expand through recruiting, training and retaining staff while addressing skills gaps and skills utilisation.
Finally, we explore risks and opportunities presented by the new Work Programme and set out proposals for a more fluid and innovative sub-contracting market to improve support for those furthest from the labour market.”
The full report can be downloaded here http://www.ippr.org/publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=775
Hutton report: Public Service Pensions
The Chancellor invited John Hutton to chair the independent Public Service Pensions Commission. The commission will undertake a fundamental structural review of public service pension provision by Budget 2011.
The commission will make recommendations on how public service pensions can be made sustainable and affordable in the long-term, fair to both the public service workforce and the taxpayer, and ensure that they are consistent with the fiscal challenges ahead.
The interim report sets out Lord Hutton’s progress so far in his fundamental structural review of public service pensions. “He has set out the case for change in public service pensions: longer lives, the unfairness of a system that rewards high-flyers disproportionately, the imbalance of risk between taxpayers and employees and contribution rates that do not reflect the value of benefits received – all demonstrate the need for reform”.
The interim report has now been published and can be downloaded here. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/indreview_johnhutton_pensions.htm
Children, Young People & Families
Councils have been encouraged to consult children, young people and families about the services they use as part of a plan to overhaul the way local services are planned. In light of this, the commissioning support programme is launching a set of “outcomes and efficiency” resources, urging councils to use a “bottom-up” approach to redesigning services. This is intended to fit in with the big society and the drive towards “Total Place-style” commissioning.” For further details on these resources please contact Lorraine O’Reilly lorraine.oreilly@commissioningsupport.org.uk
Lastly, here’s a really useful post to get our head’s around Big Society and ‘the Great Transition’ from centralisation to localism, direct from Lord Nat Wei’s blog http://natwei.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/the-great-transition-what-it-means-for-local-authorities
“Local budgets: building the Big Society from the neighbourhood up”
The White Paper, published by the Local Government Association, lays out how the Government’s spending review can cut bureaucracy and waste by giving people real control over public services in their area. It sets out more of the case for local decision-making and accountability for local public services. The spending review scheduled for 20 October will identify dramatic reductions in public spending. Local budgets offers a way of making savings that protects the front-line services that people rely on. Local budgets would enable innovative services targeted on local needs, savings in back offices and assets through shared services, and savings in unnecessary bureaucracy and complexity.
They would help replace a big state with a Big Society. Democratic local government is at the heart of making that happen – encouraging community activism and voluntary action, and opening local public services markets to the voluntary sector. Local budgets can take account of the local voluntary and community sector landscape in a way national budgets run by government departments and national quangos just cannot.
Where budgets are devolved to local people and professionals to give people more choice and control over public services provided in hospitals, schools and colleges, democratic local government has a key role in championing local people’s interests. Local government can ensure that services are excellent, fit with local need, provide for vulnerable people, and that new and innovative providers enter the market and ineffective providers exit in a way that protects service users.
Over the next few weeks, the LGA will be asking Ministers to be bold – the bigger the step towards local budgets, the greater the protection for front-line services.
You can download the paper here http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/publications/publication-display.do?id=14041575
Civic Pride, Big Society
The second of three major new publications responding to the challenge of empowering communities and individuals with a sense of civic pride was launched last week. ‘Co-operative Communities: creating a shared stake in our society for everyone’ was launched at Labour Party Conference last week and can be downloaded here from our website homepage here http://www.local.gov.uk/leadership
The third in the series, ‘Building a Civic Community: the ten principles to delivering the Big Society in Westminster’ will be launched at Conservative Party Conference this week. We will update you with the links to that publication next week.
Localis report: “Total Neighbourhood – placing power back into the community”
“With a foreword by Lord Bichard, this report argues that funding streams must be simplified and pooled within areas; that early intervention programmes, where possible community-led, can deliver significant improvements in public sector outcomes; and that, alongside place-based budgets, new financial products should be developed to fund local social programmes that may have long term cost savings. Taken together, the recommendations put forward in this report describe the next step in the localisation agenda – Total Neighbourhood”.
http://www.localis.org.uk/article/734/Total-Neighbourhood.htm
Birmingham initiative hailed as future of ‘Big Society’
Birmingham City Council’s community-led early intervention programmes show local authorities how to deliver cheaper and “radically better” services, according to thinktank Localis.
A report into Birmingham’s Total Neighbourhood projects applauded efforts to give community groups greater power and investing in early intervention services using placed-based budgets.
The Aquarius project, which helps individuals suffering from alcohol and substance abuse on a face-to-face level, was found to have reduced alcohol-related antisocial behaviour by 54%.
The report called on the government to implement place-based budgeting and for councils to share expertise in early intervention programmes.
Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby (Con), right, said the city had become a “hotspot” for the development of the Big Society.
He added: “If we are going to do more with less, it is vital that we concentrate on early intervention and work with communities to strengthen their capacity to address local issues.
“In the years to come we may have a small council, but we will have a Big City in every sense of the word.”
Sir Michael Bichard, senior fellow at the Institute for Government, said: “The arrival of a new coalition government coupled with the now widespread acceptance that our governance system needs to change means that we have to quickly build on the Total Place thinking and lessons.
“This report seeks to do just that and is timely in describing the key components of this new approach.”
“Local public service providers must be freed – and forced – to collaborate, says outgoing head of IfG”
“Lord Bichard, the outgoing head of influential think-tank the Institute for Government, has called for the comprehensive spending review (CSR) to introduce “place-based budgeting” – the pooling of public spending budgets within local areas – with the aim of improving collaboration between frontline service providers.
“The CSR will be an important moment. It needs to send out some powerful signals on important issues: devolution, and place-based policy and budgeting,” Bichard said in an interview with Civil Service World.
“The big question is: will we all become so obsessed with the short-term and the deficit that we fail to deal with what I think are the major flaws in the governance system in this country? And I don’t expect all of this to be dealt with on 20th October [CSR], but we should be sending out some signals that we intend to deal with them. And one of those signals is place-based budgeting.”
For the full article, please visit http://network.civilservicelive.com/pg/pages/view/502972
Policy leads network meeting
The second of the policy leads network meetings was kindly hosted by Wigan on the 23rd September. The topic of conversation was asset management and we were joined by colleagues from Bradford, Birmingham, Leicestershire, LGID and Wigan. Each place gave an update on their asset workstreams and also gave some further information on their progress with place-based budgets. The next meeting will focus on performance management and CSR and will be held in London on the 4th November from 12.30pm.
Please get in touch with John Jarvis here on 0207 187 7385 or john.jarvis@local.gov.uk for more information.
Capital & Asset pathfinders
Here is some background and context for the capital & asset pathfinders from CLG:
“Often existing assets and new capital investment are treated separately by Local Authorities while capital investment is typically top-down, siloed and fragmented. This can make a local area-wide approach difficult. CLG has identified scope for increasing productivity through a new commissioning approach which we propose to develop through real-time learning with eleven pathfinder areas. This new approach has the potential to explore new capital spending and the existing asset base together to deliver significant savings and a more citizen focussed service. The aim of the Pathfinders is to test how a customer-centric and place-based approach to asset management and capital investment could improve local outcomes and generate significant savings.
The methodology needs to be simple and with the possibility of any place in England being able to use it. Central government will work with Pathfinders to identify and remove barriers to taking forward opportunities to better use the existing asset base and new capital investment.
The 11 agreed Pathfinders are Cambridgeshire, Durham, Hackney, Hampshire, Hull, Leicester/Leicestershire, Leeds City Region, Swindon, Solihull, Wigan and Worcestershire.
The true size of public estate is valued at some where between £370 and £500bn. Around two-thirds of this is owned by local authorities in the form of civic buildings, social housing and public facilities such as schools and libraries. Central government is the second largest owner of assets, including NHS, police and fire buildings. Public corporations such as British Waterways hold the rest, estimated at around 10% in terms of value.
Between 2003 and 2010, £224bn has been allocated to the built environment. At the time the research was conducted there was £30bn per year in capital expenditure across government, but this is set to fall in the coming years due to fiscal pressures. As a consequence better management of capital and assets is a high priority.
Our initial estimates show that through a strategic commissioning approach significant savings can be achieved.
If such a scheme were rolled out nationally the following savings might be achieved:
For more information, please contact John Connell on 0303 444 2630 john.connell@communities.gsi.gov.uk
Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing
Foresight is a BIS funded programme to help government think systematically about the future. The aim of the Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing has been to advise the Government on how to achieve the best possible mental development and mental wellbeing for everyone in the UK in the future. The findings were released nearly two years ago but they resonate now as things get tougher for everyone, and with many aspects of the ‘Big Society’ concept.
A key message from the project is that if we are to prosper and thrive in our changing society and in an increasingly interconnected and competitive world, both our mental and material resources will be vital. Encouraging and enabling everyone to realise their potential throughout their lives will be crucial for our future prosperity and wellbeing.
The project concluded that the steps to happiness are:
Connect: Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support
Be active: Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness
Be curious: Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you
Learn: Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence
Give: Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding
More about the research can be found on their website: http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/projects/current-projects/mental-capital-and-wellbeing
BWB weekly review of government websites
Liberal Democrats voluntary sector policy
Local authorities
National Leading Improvement for Health & Wellbeing 2011
Durham University and LGID have announced the launch of this unique leadership development programme bringing together senior staff from a range of public sector organisations to learn how to develop the way they lead, implement and deliver improvement of health and wellbeing in their local communities. Speakers on the programme will include a wide range of national and international experts in the fields of health and wellbeing improvement, leadership, and improvement science.
The National Leading Improvement for Health and Wellbeing Programme aims to respond to this challenging agenda by developing leaders with the necessary knowledge and skills to improve health and wellbeing in a partnership environment, raising the quality of services and reducing health inequalities, whilst ensuring a focus on value for money both locally and nationally.
All applications to the programme will be taken online and must be submitted by Friday 19th November 2010. The programme will commence in January 2011. Further information on the programme and an online booking form is available on the programme website: http://www.dur.ac.uk/public.health/nat.LIHWBP2011/
To discuss the programme further, please contact: Dr Catherine Hannaway (Programme Director) Tel: 07810 836306 / c.j.hannaway@durham.ac.uk
Media Trust: vote for your Community Champions
The Media Trust are offering the opportunity for that someone we all know who makes a real difference in our communities, whether it’s taking the local kids for a kick-about every week, tidying up the street without being asked, or spending time and effort helping charities and communities. You can nominate the people who volunteer and support your communities and charities so that they get the recognition they deserve.
The winner will feature in a film about themselves, their work, and that of the community or organisation they support, which will be broadcast on Community Channel and they will be named ‘Community Champion 2010’ at a special event in November.
The campaign is already taking off with great support from the Media Trust’s partners including FIVE, Metro and LivingTV. Votes and nominations need to be in before the 24th October. For further information, telephone 08708 505 500, email champions@communitychannel.org or visit the website at http://www.community-champions.org
Suffolk: the ‘enabling’ council
Last week Suffolk County Council voted on plans to become an ‘enabling’ authority. A press release on their website says:
“At today’s (23 Sept) Full Council meeting it was agreed that the future role of Suffolk County Council in delivering services will be different. By changing the way council services are delivered, the county council will be able to reduce costs, reduce its size, cut out waste and bureaucracy and give the people of Suffolk a better say on how they receive services.
In the future, the council will focus more on commissioning services and supporting other organisations, including the voluntary sector, private sector, and community groups, to deliver services.
Councillor Jeremy Pembroke, Leader of Suffolk County Council, said: “This decision was made with consideration to the financial deficit in the public sector and the Coalition Government’s priority to reduce the deficit and the size of the state. The Coalition requires lesser government and a bigger society, and Suffolk County Council has responded to this change.”
Councillor Pembroke continued: “Now that Full Council has debated the issue and agreed with the future model for the county council, we can begin to talk with the people of Suffolk so they can be involved in the shaping of services for the future.”
Today’s decision now enables the leadership within the council to further explore different options for the future delivery of services, along with beginning discussions with those people in the county who will be affected.”
For further details visit http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/News/CouncilServicesToBeDeliveredDifferently.htm
List of PCT functions drawn up to aid formation of GP consortia
A list of PCT functions has been sent to primary care trusts in order to aid discussions over the future transfer of commissioning powers with fledgling GP consortia. The comprehensive list of statutory and non statutory functions has been drawn up jointly by the PCT Network and the Department of Health, and has been distributed to PCTs this week.
PCT Network director David Stout told HSJ some PCTs had already drawn up their own similar lists and the central list was intended to reduce the duplication and variation of such work.
In a letter sent to all GPs last week, health secretary Andrew Lansley highlighted that not all current PCT functions would pass to consortia, with some becoming the responsibility of local authorities and some being stopped altogether.
Mr Stout told HSJ the new list was not an attempt to suggest who should take responsibility in future for the functions outlined or which ones should be dropped.
He said: “This is a very straightforward list of PCT functions we have drawn up for our members to act as an aid for the early stages of discussions on the establishment of GP led commissioning. There is a danger of burdening new consortia with functions that don’t particularly fit with their main focus. Andrew Lansley himself has said that some functions will cease, but we will need further clarification about the white paper’s proposals before know what these may be”.
For the full list of functions, please visit http://www.lgcplus.com/briefings/joint-working/health/list-of-pct-functions-drawn-up-to-aid-formation-of-gp-consortia/5020000.article
Lastly, it was picked up in the press last week but in case you haven’t seen it, here’s the full text of the letter Cllr Richard Kemp wrote to Danny Alexander MP on place-based budgeting http://richardkemp.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/letter/
]]>Links to what people have been saying about Total Place in October 2010.
The bonfire of local government targets – Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP for ConservativeHome, 15 October 2010
Healthy property industry is vital – Mortgage Intreoducer, 15 October 2010
It’s a new world – we do things differently here – Public Service, 13 October 2010
Sale-and-leaseback best for public property – Public Property UK, 13 October 2010
Don’t give up on Total Place – John Denham in LocalGov, 12 October 2010
Do you want your services localised or cheap?
– Flip Chart Fairy Tales, 11 October 2010
Eversheds study highlights concerns over public sector staffing – Eversheds, 11 October 2010
The great transition: what it means for local authorities – Nat Wei’s blog, 10 October 2010
New chief executive prepares HCA for smaller future – Inside Housing, 08 October 2010
Cameron’s speech has shown new political battlelines for pro-establishment vs anti-establishment – Solution Focused Politics, 07 October 2010
Community budgets get green light – PublicNet, 05 October 2010
Total Place legacy will survive deficit reduction tsunami – PublicNet, 05 October 2010
Neill backs place-based budgeting – Public Finance, 05 October 2010
Property management moves up the cuts agenda – PublicNet, 05 October 2010
Share resources to cut violence – Children and Young People Now, 05 October 2010
Localis study backs up case for place-based budgeting – Public Finance, 05 October 2010
Pickles: councils will have to share planners – Public Property UK, 04 October 2010
Irish are all at sea and Scotland is entering very choppy waters – Herald Scotland, 04 October 2010
]]>Links to what people have been saying about Total Place in September 2010
Maude’s men have the whole public sector in their sights – UKAuthorITy.com, 29 September 2010
Councils told to consult with children on service provision – Children and Young People Now, 28 September 2010
Local benefits (again) – Touchstone blog, 28 September 2010
Treasury urged to implement Total Place-style welfare budgets – Public Finance, 27 September 2010
Giving councils power over benefits – But what does Richard Kemp think, 27 September 2010
Place-based budgeting – the future? – But what does Richard Kemp think, 26 September 2010
Total Place budgeting set for starring role in Spending Review – Public Finance, 23 September 2010
Total Place – Total Success? – Paul Gosling’s blog, 21 September 2010
Big Society, Big Lottery? – Cllr Sharon Taylor in Progressonline, 20 September 2010
Cumbria looks to local collaboration and multi-skilling – Police Professional, 16 September 2010
Pickles gives CSR hint on place-based budgets – MJ, 15 September 2010
Local government finance review ‘to happen next year’ says Pickles – Public Finance, 14 September 2010
Total Place reception – Richard Stay’s blog, 14 September 2010
Don’t expect too much from the Big Society – Flip Chart Fairy Tales, 13 September 2010
In praise of Total Community – Solution Focused Politics, 12 September 2010
In praise of Total Place – Solution Focused Politics, 11 September 2010
Councils urged to seize Total Place agenda – MJ, 08 September 2010
For us, the phoney war is over – MJ, 01 September 2010
]]>An archive of Local Government Leadership’s email updates for Total Place and related working for September 2010.
Total Place update 54: highlights
Total Place update 53: highlights
Total Place update 52: highlights
Total Place update 51: highlights
Civic Pride, Big Society
Local government is facing a challenge to empower communities and individuals with a sense of civic pride for their place. During this year’s conference season we will be launching three major new publications responding to this challenge from a Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative perspective. The first ‘Community Politics in the 21st century: the challenges and opportunities for community politicians’ was launched at the Lib Dem conference last week and can be downloaded here http://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/images/Community%20Politics%20Sept%202010.pdf
The second ‘Co-operative Communities: creating a shared stake in our society for everyone’ will be launched at Labour Party Conference this week and the third in the series, ‘Building a Civic Community: the ten principles to delivering the Big Society in Westminster’ will be launched at Conservative Party Conference at the end of the month. We will update you with the links to these publications as they are released.
LG Group Submission to the Spending Review
The Local Government Group submission to Spending Review 2010 has now been published, following extensive consultation with the sector and contributions from around the whole LG Group.
The submission sets out the key pressures facing local government services while recognising that public spending will be reduced in order to tackle the deficit. It reinforces that local budgets offer the best opportunity to make savings across public services while delivering the necessary savings. It also calls for local government to receive a fair funding settlement alongside five essential commitments from central government: certainty about funding, removal of all ring-fencing, deregulation of fees and charges, freedom from administrative and regulatory burdens and a strong signal to discourage cost shunting by other public bodies.
The Spending Review is due to report on October 20, and the LGA will be hosting a conference the next day to offer our overnight analysis of what the outcomes mean for councils. As an incentive for registration, the LGA is offering every Local Government Association member authority sending a paying delegate to the conference a personalised financial projection, showing how decisions in the Spending Review are likely to affect their authority.
You can view the LG Group submission to the Spending Review at http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/aio/13759861 or contact lgfinance@local.gov.uk.
“Total Place budgeting set for starring role in Spending Review”
By David Williams in Liverpool 23 September 2010
“Remarks made by the chief secretary to the Treasury at the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool this week suggested that joined-up budgeting is at the forefront of ministers’ minds as they prepare for the October 20 CSR. During a fringe meeting on September 21, Danny Alexander said the single greatest source of waste in the public sector came from duplication between agencies at a local level. ‘One of the best things we can do is break down barriers between departments, between different levels of government, get budgeting done locally at a place-based level, give someone responsibility for sorting out their problems, and let them get on and do it,’ he said. ‘We’ll save money, and people will be better supported.’ The following day, Alexander, together with Norman Lamb, chief political advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, visited a Total Place-style scheme in Toxteth, Liverpool.
Speaking to PF after the visit, Lamb praised the project, in which bodies including the police, the NHS, housing associations and Liverpool City Council share resources to tackle complex problems such as long-term worklessness.”
For the full article, please visit http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2010/09/total-place-budgeting-set-for-starring-role-in-spending-review/
Place based productivity events
“Place based budgets will create opportunities for councils and partners to bring together budgets, reduce costs and deliver better outcomes for local people”. Joint Local Government Group and Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships events will set out how the Place Based Productivity programme will work.
Four events, aimed at Chief Executives and Directors will be held between 22 September and 11 October in Leeds, Birmingham, London and Bristol. For more information, please contact http://www.improvementeast.gov.uk/events/view_event.aspx?ID=752
Healthy Places, Healthy Lives
On 10th September Healthy Places, Healthy Lives held its first learning event. The event was attended by over 80 delegates from the partnership sites, NHS Institute and department of health colleagues. The initial feedback has been very positive and there will be a follow up event in January 2011.
Please find below the link to the Healthy Places, Healthy Lives pages on the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement website where you will find:
If you would like more information about the programme please contact healthyplaces@institute.nhs.uk
The Staffordshire Third Sector Commissioning Partnership
The Staffordshire Third Sector Commissioning Partnership has been signed up to at the highest level by all of the Public Sector Organisations operating in both Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent: Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, all eight District Councils, all three Primary Care Trusts, the Fire & Rescue Service, Staffordshire Police and the Probation Service.
The project involves mapping existing investment by those organisations in the Voluntary Sector and rationalising the commissioning and procurement processes across all partners by adopting a “Total Place” or Area Based Approach: Data has been received from 16 Public Sector Organisations and it reveals an investment of at least £70 million in the sector across Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent, including approximately £10 million in concessions. Investment has been made into 1,000 individual Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations.
Of the £70 million, 65% goes to 20 “nationally branded” organisations e.g. Citizens Advice Bureau, Age UK, etc., with 76% of the investment into 29 organisations, of which 24 are funded by more than one Public Sector Organisation.
For further information on this project, please visit http://sdvs.org.uk/?q=content/voluntary-sector-commissioning-across-staffordshire-and-stoke-trent
Whitehall cuts: learning from Canada and Sweden
“The Spending Review is looming large over Whitehall. It is no surprise the current focus of attention is what the numbers are going to be. However, looking ahead, the bigger question will be how to implement the cuts”. The Institute for Government has looked at the very different approaches to reducing public spending taken by Sweden and Canada.
In Sweden, the focus was on reducing the cost of transfers (such as unemployment insurance), but leaving departments and agencies largely untouched in terms of staff numbers and service delivery. The Canadians reduced some transfers and subsidies too. However they took a more fundamental look at what the government should no longer be doing or could do differently. This led to a radical re-think of how several federal departments operated.
For further information, please visit http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/559/whitehall-cuts-what-we-can-learn-from-canada-and-sweden/ The comments attached to the blog are particularly informative.
Councils can generate income without turning motorists into cash cows
Councils that are offering MOTs rather than wielding the wheel clamp and waging war on motorists are showing how it is possible to earn income and save their residents money, says Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.
Visiting a council MOT test centre in Wandsworth South London Pickles said:
“MOT schemes show that there are plenty of opportunities for councils to raise extra income without turning motorists into cash cows. With a little bit of innovation and creative thinking councils can use the skills and resources already at their disposal to charge and trade in a way that boosts town hall coffers whilst helping rather than hitting the pockets of drivers.
There is nothing inherently wrong with councils making the most of opportunities to generate extra cash offering and charging for services. In many cases this is happening as an add on to their normal business.”
Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis said:
“The feedback we’ve received from council run MOT centres is fantastic, as people tend to find their vehicle passes with far less fails. The fact councils don’t offer repairs and therefore have no vested interest in erring on the side of fails has a lot to do with it.”
Council MOTs are just one example of local authorities using their resources to generate income. Across the country there are hundreds of council run MOT test centres which are used to check council vehicles like buses for their safety and roadworthiness. These centres can also open their doors to the public and because these council run garages only offer tests, not repairs, customers can feel assured that there is no hidden agenda for extra trade. For a handy map of council run centres, visit http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=51.49999999999999~-0.13999999999998636&lvl=6&cid=976091EF58DEF9E9!2139
Lastly, the Big Society community of practice is looking for facilitators. Basic duties are to look out for interesting and helpful information and post it to Library or Wiki or forum or a combination of them – or you could actually come on board and help them work as a team to make this community even more helpful and effective. Follow this link for more information http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/c/5263910/forum/thread.do?id=7649674
Supporting the case for Place-based Budgets
As you know, over the summer LG Leadership, LG Improvement and Development and the LG Association have been gathering evidence from councils to help support the case for place-based budgets being made to Government in the lead up to the Spending Review in October.
We have gathered evidence from over 25 councils on the way they anticipate a place-based budget would work in their area, the potential thematic scope of a place-based budget, potential governance models and the savings it could realise.
The evidence was presented to the Total Place High Levels Officials Group chaired by Lord Bichard on 8 September, and it will be used to support elements of the LG Group’s ongoing campaign, including a second publication on place-based budgets and lobbying of Ministers and senior civil servants.
The LG Group is calling upon the Government to implement place-based Budgets in all places that want them as part of the Spending Review in October. Some individual councils are also holding discussions directly with the Treasury and other Government departments. The LG Group’s view is that place-based Budgets are an option that should be available everywhere.
For further information please contact me at nicky.debeer@local.gov.uk
“Pickles gives CSR hint on place-based budgets”
“Communities secretary Eric Pickles has provided the strongest indication yet that chancellor George Osborne is ready to introduce place-based budgeting through next month’s Comprehensive Spending Review. Mr Pickles told the Commons’ CLG select committee on 13 September that the chancellor, who will deliver his CSR on 20 October, is ‘as keen as mustard’ on the concept of place-based budgeting, likely to become known as ‘community budgets’ under the coalition government.
He said the chancellor supported prime minister David Cameron’s ambition to devolve large chunks of public funding down through localities to neighbourhood level, although he warned that bespoke neighbourhood funding would take ‘a long time to put together’.
Although he did not reveal whether council co-ordinated place-based budgets would be piloted extensively or rolled-out in full next month, Mr Pickles added: ‘I think you might be able to see the very beginnings on the 20th of October”.
For the full article, please visit http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=91819
From Social Security to Social Productivity: a vision for 2020 Public Services
The final report of the Commission on 2020 Public Services is now available. The report calls for a complete reconfiguring of public services around the needs and capabilities of citizens, based on the principle of social productivity. It argues that our public services are increasingly unsustainable. The Commission calls for a new deal between citizens and the state, based on social productivity – greater social responsibility and more intelligent collaboration between citizens and public services.
http://clients.squareeye.com/uploads/2020/documents/PST_final_rep.pdf
“Public services ‘under threat’ from ageing population”
Mark Conrad writes following the release of the 2020 report
“Coalition ministers should consider ways to increase, not cut, investment in local ‘early intervention’ programmes – such as public health and social care – if public services are to cope with an £80bn hike in the cost of Britain’s ageing population, a comprehensive new study has warned.
The final report of the cross-party Commission on 2020 Public Services, published on 14 September, calls for a complete reconfiguration of public services ‘around the needs and capabilities of citizens’ and based on the principal of ‘social productivity’.
The Commission, chaired by former Audit Commission chief Sir Andrew Foster, warns that the UK’s current public services are ‘increasingly unsustainable’ and under threat from the impact of an ageing population that is expected to require an annual funding increase estimated at 4% to 6% of GDP – up to £82bn – over the long-term.”
For the full article please visit http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=91763
Commissioning Support Programme
“Ten local areas are now using the new Outcomes & Efficiency model to plan and implement their cuts. Another 60 have expressed an interest in doing so. This update is about how you can get the model for free and access free support. The climate we face in local government is unprecedented and whilst there are lots of emerging solutions such as Total Place, commissioning, Big Society, systems thinking, etc, the big question is how to practically implement these ideas to get the savings?
The Outcomes & Efficiency model originated in Children’s Services and is now being used by Directors and CEs to radically redesign corporate services. It brings together approaches from commissioning, system design, change management, new models for government, leadership and staff management into one pragmatic programme which can redesign the whole system in 6 to 9 months.
Surrey County Council is using the model in children’s services and say “This is the approach that works best with our Politicians”. Outcomes & Efficiency is one of the only practical models for delivering Total Place.”
For more information, visit www.commissioningsupport.org.uk/efficiency or contact Richard Selwyn at richard.selwyn@commissioningsupport.org.uk
See IT in Action: Efficient Services, Improved Lives
Wednesday 6th October 2010 • 9.00am to 4.00pm • Rich Mix, London E1
“The combination of bringing local organisations together around the needs of the vulnerable, and looking through a technology lens to produce new approaches, provides the potential to address the fiscal challenges of the next five to ten years.
See IT in Action is a free market place event, supported by Communities and Local Government, local authorities and civil society partners, demonstrating how public sector providers across the country are making creative use of ‘off the shelf’ technology to improve outcomes and deliver more for less.
It will show how we can make efficiency savings while ensuring the most vulnerable are not disadvantaged, and explore new government priorities around increasing internet usage, the Big Society, and data transparency, openness and accountability.”
Find out about the stalls, workshops and speakers and register your place at www.seeitinaction.org.uk, or telephone 020 7592 9490.
Policy Network: new Social Democracy Observatory
“Policy Network is delighted to launch its new Social Democracy Observatory. Serving as a platform for an international network to debate and contest the key ideological and policy dilemmas the centre-left is currently facing, it brings together facts and figures, innovative ideas and critical thinking from across the world.
Together with the new Policy Network website, the observatory will complement substantial work programmes currently in preparation on social democracy, immigration and political trust, the future of the EU, social protection and social model reform, and sustainable globalisation, as Policy Network seeks to drive forward the progressive agenda over the coming months.”
Please visit their website at http://www.policy-network.net
Total Place: Problem, Purpose, Power, Knowledge, Time & Space – follow on research
Professor Keith Grint’s final research report drew some provisional conclusions from the ‘Total Place’ project. We are now conducting further longitudinal research over the next six months to look at what has happened since the pre-election budget and the leadership implications of that. We’ll bring you further information on this as it unveils. In case you missed it in July, here’s the link to Professor Grint’s report again http://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/totalplace/leadership/purpose-power-knowledge-time-space/
Building the Big Society
Lord Wei, Government Adviser for Big Society, gave the following presentation at the Institute for Government’s Big Society Public Services Seminar Series. It’s a handy summary of the Big society concept.
For the full presentation, please visit http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/pdfs/Building_the_big_society_lord_wei.pdf
Lastly, John Atkinson has announced he has been appointed Director – Local Government at KPMG and will be taking up that position at the end of November. Lord Smith of Leigh, chairman of Local Government Leadership has thanked John for his huge contribution to identifying and developing the role of leadership in local government. LG Leadership will miss John immensely but we wish him all the very best – we’re especially pleased he will continue to work with local government in the future.
Place based budgets
The proposals discussed at Lord Bichard’s high level officials group last week sparked a lively debate. Following on from the meeting, MPs from all parties have been invited to attend a parliamentary reception tonight organised by Local Government Leadership to promote proposals for devolving spending decisions to local government through place-based budgets.
The LGA is completing its final submission to the Government’s spending review this week. The submission will build on a huge amount of work over the past months to influence Ministers as they draw up their spending and reform plans.
The LG Group will be at the three party conferences making the case for reform on the fringe and in one-to-one meetings with key political figures. The media have been briefed extensively as they explore what the new financial world means for public services.
105 Town Hall regulations that should be scrapped
Hammersmith and Fulham Council have sent the Government a long list of bureaucratic burdens that they propose should be lifted. If the changes were made they estimate the council would save a minimum of £500,000 (or £200 million across the country). They say “nine million council officer hours a year would be saved across Britain not counting the millions of hours that residents and business spending on dealing with the red-tape their end”.
Some examples from the list include: the requirement to have a Sustainable Community Strategy, National Indicators, burdens created by government relating to grant conditions and oversight, multiple regulatory regimes, and streamlining the National Curriculum.
For the full list, please visit http://conservativehome.blogs.com/localgovernment/2010/09/governancedescription-of-regulation-or-bureaucratic-burden-statutory-basis-proposalsustainable-community-strategyall-areas-ar.html
Department for Education Family Savings Calculator
The Family Savings Calculator is a tool to help local authorities who are managing intensive support services for families with multiple problems, to quantify the cost benefits saved by services and agencies from a family at risk undergoing and successfully completing an intensive intervention. The aim is to give a broad estimate based upon a list of specified unit costs.
This tool is based upon the reduction in risk analysis and estimate outcome costs listed in the annex of Guidance Note 03 of the Think Family Toolkit (2009). These costs have been taken from the research paper Family Intervention Projects: Assessing potential cost-effectiveness, S. Parrott and C. Godfrey, Department of Health Sciences, Alcuin College, University of York (2008). http://www.york.ac.uk/colleges/alcuin
The reduction in levels of risk listed in this annex has been determined from data collected by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). The percentage in reduction of risk has been calculated from looking at the percentage of families engaged in a particular negative outcome at the start of the intervention and then at the end of the intervention.
The link to the family savings calculator can be found here: https://registration.livegroup.co.uk/fip/Downloads/
The LIFT Council
“Effective infrastructure asset management is essential in delivering the aims of Total Place – better services at less cost – and The LIFT Council is working hard to put that vision into reality. A failure by the public sector to understand what assets it uses, the levels to which those assets are being utilised and how to get the most from them risks billions of pounds being wasted. Via innovative public private joint ventures, drawing on the investment of the private sector and the accountability of the public sector – LIFT companies throughout England have the necessary property skills to work with their public sector partners and initiate asset reviews for their areas. Through this approach many public bodies will reap an immediate financial benefit and then longer term benefits of facilities that are better located, more appropriate and of the right standard. Total Place’s excellent work is neatly aligned to this and we believe the public sector can achieve even more by looking closely at its infrastructure and asking the question, could we be using this better?”
If you would like further information on LIFT then please contact info@theliftcouncil.org.uk or visit our website, www.theliftcouncil.org.uk.
Total Place community of practice update
There’s a great discussion about place-based budgets and the third sector in the forum. There are also a number of new documents in the library, including a paper on local public services in Wales, and more detail about place-based budgets.
Big Society CoP
The Big Society CoP is growing fast. If you’re already a member of the Total Place community, why not join up? Current topics include – examples of volunteering strategies; research on shared delivery models; and a wiki on ‘what the leaders are saying about Big Society’.
The top 10 search terms across the platform for August were:
Counties urged to seize Total Place agenda
Mike Burton www.localgov.co.uk
“The stalled momentum for Total Place is set to be kick-started in the autumn comprehensive spending review and counties must seize the agenda, the new chairman of the County Councils Network (CCN) has predicted.
Cllr Robert Gordon, leader of Hertfordshire CC, told Localgov that Total Place, or its successor community budgeting, would ‘be in the mix’ in the CSR, adding: ‘I’m quietly optimistic it will come out the other end as it will save the public purse a chunk of money. There will be a call for pilots and I expect a number of counties to be at the table.’ He added: ‘I hope the Government grasps the nettle on Total Place as there are significant savings to be made.’
Mr Gordon, elected on November 8 at the CCN’s AGM, said he did not anticipate a large number of schools opting out to become academies nor did he see opt-out as a hostile gesture.
And he rejected calls by CLG secretary Eric Pickles for executive leaders saying: ‘Where Eric is right is where he says political leaders cannot hide behind their professional local government servants. When I first became a councillor the council’s lead spokesman was the chief executive. Now it must be the leader. Partners look to me not the chief executive for leadership. But we need professional support. You can’t have a big organisation run by politicians.”
For the full article please visit http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=news.detail&id=91664
Which companies might want to sponsor a town?
By Jonathan Isaby
Kent Online reports that Conservative-run Kent County Council has a new money-spinning idea:
“Your village or town – and grass verges near where you live – could be sponsored under plans by Kent County Council to raise cash. The scheme is an extension of an initiative to allow companies to advertise on roundabouts, which started in 2007 and already makes thousands of pounds for the authority.”
Cllr Roger Gough, the cabinet member for corporate services, explains:
“There is a revenue potential here which is not to be sniffed at and it will offer a platform for local businesses to advertise. Obviously, we will want to strike a sensible balance and we do have the power to veto anything we think might not be appropriate.”
For more information, please visit http://conservativehome.blogs.com/localgovernment/2010/09/which-companies-might-want-to-sponsor-a-town.html
New Permanent Secretary for Communities and Local Government
The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, has announced the appointment of Sir Bob Kerslake as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government. Sir Bob, currently Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, will take up the post on 1 November.
The appointment has been approved by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State. It follows Sir Peter Housden’s departure from the Department in June to become Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government.
The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, said:
“I am delighted Bob has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary at Communities and Local Government. He will bring a wealth of experience and credibility to the role, driving forward the new Government’s agenda for devolution of power and autonomy to local councils and neighbourhoods. I would like personally to thank Irene Lucas, who has done a tremendous job leading the Department as Acting Permanent Secretary since Peter Housden’s departure.”
Commenting on his new role, Sir Bob Kerslake said:
“I am honoured and excited by the opportunity to manage a major government department and drive forward the Government’s localism agenda.”
The Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles MP, said:
“I am delighted with Sir Bob’s appointment. He has an impressive track record in local government and I know he will make an invaluable contribution to the Department at a crucial time. I look forward working with him closely in the coming months.”
Sir Bob Kerslake was the first Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which he joined in March 2008. The Agency is the national housing and regeneration body for England, and has an annual budget of more than £4bn.
From 1997 to 2008 he was Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, the fourth largest in England. The Council achieved 4-star status under his leadership, and was Council of the Year in 2005. Previously, Sir Bob worked for the London Borough of Hounslow initially in the post of Director of Finance and then for seven years as Chief Executive. Before that he worked for the Greater London Council, handling transport finance, and the Inner London Education Authority, where he was responsible for more than £1bn of spending.
Nationally, he has been a non-executive board member at the Department for Communities and Local Government. He also served on the Equalities Review Panel and the National Employment Panel.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/1706124
CLG – departmental business during recess
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Mr Eric Pickles, has updated fellow MPs on the main items of business undertaken by his Department since the House rose on the 27 July 2010. The list expands on the work done on transparency, localism and people power.
For the full update, please visit http://services.parliament.uk/hansard/Commons/bydate/20100906/writtenministerialstatements/part002.html
Lastly, Lord Nat Wei has started a blog, if you’ve not already seen it visit http://natwei.wordpress.com/ and for all the Londoners or visitors here on Friday, here’s a list of road closures whilst the Pope is visiting http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/friday-17-september-1130-2100.pdf
Place-based budgets
A big thank you again to every place that gave us further details on their proposals for place based budgeting over the past week or so. The information that places have sent through and the findings from the themed workshops with DfE and DH last week will be taken to Lord Bichard’s high-level officials group meeting tomorrow, 8th September. We hope to have feedback quickly from that meeting and will endeavour to keep everyone up to speed as things progress.
Lincolnshire ‘Excellent Ageing’ project launched
“Lincolnshire has an older population that is increasing at a faster rate than the rest of the country. Already 28% of our population is over 60, compared to 22% in the UK as a whole, and this is set to rise in Lincolnshire to 36% by 2030. The Excellent Ageing programme is looking to put in place long term solutions which will enable people in Lincolnshire to enjoy an active and happy later life.
Excellent Ageing is a project which is bringing together public, private and voluntary sectors to work with communities and individuals to improve opportunities for older people. It will look at how a wide range of services used by older people can be radically re-shaped to deliver better outcomes for customers and reduce social and financial costs. It will also focus on the contribution which older people can make to the county and the role of communities in supporting well-being in later life. It is difficult to determine the benefits at this early stage as these will emerge as we work together to develop ideas, but our aim is that any new solutions should:
The project was launched on the 1st September. For more information or to find out more please call us on 01522 553953, email sophie.dickinson@lincolnshire.gov.uk or go to www.lincolnshireassembly.com/excellentageing
21st Century Welfare consultation
Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, set out his plans to completely change the benefits system in the paper 21st Century Welfare. This was published on 30 July 2010. He proposes to help people move into work by letting them keep more of their earnings. This would make sure that the advantages of work are clear and easy to understand. There would be a major reform of the range of credits and benefits available, and how help from these will reduce bit by bit as people start and progress in their work.
The proposals for a simpler benefits system could:
People would be encouraged to get a job as they would not lose benefit until their earnings reached a certain level. Over this level benefits would gradually reduce as their earnings increased. As support is not linked to the hours they can work, people will also be able to progress their careers.
A modern automatic payment system will be introduced. This will allow a fast and flexible response to changes of circumstance. So people can be sure of getting the right support even if they take on temporary work. This simplified system will reduce mistakes and fraud, and will mean that customers need to spend less time filling out forms when a job ends.
Overall the ideas will aim to provide an affordable welfare system for the future. In doing so this will guarantee that those who cannot work get all the support they need. There will be a consultation period on these changes from 30 July 2010 until 1 October 2010. The full paper is available online at: www.dwp.gov.uk/21st-century-welfare
MyPolice – helping the police and the public to talk
“MyPolice is an online feedback tool that enables the public and the police to have a conversation. It fosters constructive, collaborative communication between people and the Police forces which serve them. MyPolice helps communities identify weaknesses and opportunities in Police services.
In providing analysis and data for the Police to act on, MyPolice challenges policy decisions that are made and ensuring that service users have an active part in changing the Police for the better. You can give your opinion at a time when you feel strongly about an encounter with the Police and feel that the service offered by the Police could be improved. It’s the place where you can see how your thoughts translate directly into action”.
For more information, please visit www.mypolice.org
Right to Control Trailblazer – making choice and control a reality for disabled people
“The Right to Control Trailblazer represents an innovative project that seeks to bring together a whole range of funding streams so that disabled people have more choice and control over how they use the funding they’re eligible for. The trailblazer has 3 aims; the first is to ensure that the services and resources a disabled person accesses, and the systems and processes they have to navigate to secure those resources, are organised around the individual. This rather than the more typically found arrangements in which individuals have to fit around service providers, sometimes changing their behaviour to do so.
The second is to ensure that the services and individual accesses are personalised to their requirements, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
The third and final aim is, as far as possible, to put choice and control in the hands of the individual instead of the service/professional (the idea of “professionals on tap, not on top”). This includes cash-quantifying a service and working towards giving an individual this cash equivalent amount in lieu of the service to achieve the same results/outcomes.
For more information, please visit http://www.arbitraryconstant.co.uk/2010/08/right-to-contro-1.html
Coventry City Council & iMPOWER – putting people and communities in charge
Coventry City Council and iMPOWER Consulting are hosting an interactive learning event for senior professionals across all sectors, charged with delivering better services in challenging times. The event is a chance for people to hear about how the personalisation agenda can make difference to both outcomes and efficiencies. It will be held on the 30th November at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. To register your interest, please email communitiesconference@coventry.gov.uk
Labour’s commission calls for alcohol ‘floor price’ (31 August)
“A UK-wide ‘floor price’ for alcohol should be established to reduce consumption, according to a commission set up by the Scottish Labour Party. The alcohol commission recommended a UK-wide ban on alcohol sales below the total cost of production, duty and VAT. It said a levy on alcohol retailers should also be considered, to help pay for alcohol-related services”.
For the full article please visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11134165
Partnerships Bulletin roundtable event: From Total Place to Big Society
13 September 2010, 8:30am to 1:30pm, Executive Boardroom Suite, Hilton Tower Bridge
“The new government’s obsession with reducing public debt will mean lean years for local authorities. But councils are still being tasked with delivering better public services and reducing duplication between organisations. New initiatives need to deliver on both counts by using a ‘whole area’ approach to lead to better services at less cost. New initiatives, such as Total Place, are reporting encouraging results but what needs to happen to encourage a countrywide roll out of the scheme? And how can the private sector help deliver shared services on the ground?”
Partnerships Bulletin is a monthly magazine and website with a circulation of 2,500 central government, local government, funders, contractors and advisors involved in public private partnerships. You can find out more on www.partnershipsbulletin.com
For more information about the event, please contact Amanda Nicholls on 020 8675 8030 or amanda.nicholls@partnershipsbulletin.com
‘A simpler way of making it simple’
This article is from Harvard Business Review’s daily blog bulletin. It has an interesting take on Tesco’s rules about innovation and simplicity.
“Before rolling out an enterprise innovation, Tesco insists that it must meet three conditions. The first is that innovation must in some way be better for customers; second is that it should ultimately prove cheaper for Tesco; and, finally, the innovation must make things simpler for staff”.
For the full article and others, please visit http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2010/09/how-to-make-making-it-simpler.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-DAILY_ALERT-_-AWEBER-_-DATE
LG Group Research Update – September 2010
This monthly update from the Research Team brings you the latest information and key findings from a selection of their current and recently completed projects.
This month it features:
For more information, please visit http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/aio/13174794
BWB weekly review of websites: Funding and funding cuts
“See IT in action: Efficient Services, Improved Lives”
6th October, Rich Mix E1
See IT in Action demonstrates how councils and partners can use technology to transform the delivery of public services, improve outcomes, and help achieve more for less.
This is a free event, supported by Communities and Local Government, local authorities and civil society partners. It targeted towards all those who commission or manage local public services, who are looking to make their work more efficient, cheaper, and targeted at supporting those most in need.
With local government facing severe financial pressures, there is the need to look for urgent and innovative ways to make efficiency savings, while ensuring the most vulnerable are not disadvantaged. Incremental change and individual cuts are unlikely to meet the challenge, therefore it has never been timelier to examine services and outcomes and ask whether there are more effective and efficient alternatives to ‘business and usual’.
See IT in Action will bring together examples of best practice from local government, to show how public sector providers across the country are making creative use of existing ‘off-the-shelf’ technology; improving outcomes and delivering increased value for money across a range of front-line local services. The event provides a timely forum to explore new government priorities around increasing internet usage, the Big Society, and data transparency, openness and accountability.
For more information, please visit http://www.seeitinaction.org.uk
Lastly, a bit of a challenge for last thing on a Friday (as tweeted by Stephen Fry) http://www.lufthansa-vp.com/vp1/play.html
]]>An archive of Local Government Leadership’s Total Place updates for August 2010.
Place-based budgets
Over the summer we requested detailed information from the 49 original responders to further develop the proposal that place-based budgets form an integral part of the spending review. As part of the place-based budgeting work, we are identifying those places that can work with departments to consider the potential for place-based budgets building on existing activity in the following policy areas:
We also asked places to submit information on:
It’s important that places demonstrate what additionality place based budgets might bring as opposed to ‘business as usual’ and how the savings might actually be cashed. In the ‘numbers’ workshop last week it was stressed that we shouldn’t let ‘best be the enemy of good’ – the more evidence we can gather, however caveated, the stronger the argument will be to influence the spending review.
The findings from this and themed workshops with DfE and DH last week will be taken to Lord Bichard’s high-level officials group meeting on the 8th September. We will endeavour to keep everyone up to speed as things progress with this agenda.
National productivity programme
Led by Local Government Improvement & Development (LGID) this programme of work serves two purposes, first to help councils save money in line with the results of RSG consultation and secondly as an assurance programme that more councils will be in the position of driving productivity and efficiency to take on place based budgets in future years. The joint government/LGG steering group have met and good progress is being made. Over the next few weeks meetings will be held with all nine champions in order to establish milestones and priorities for the work groups. Work is now taking place on the governance of the programme and on communications/events around the issues to be confronted in improving local authority productivity and what the role is for champions and leading Members in doing this.
Big Society
Local Government Leadership will be launching three publications at respective party conferences this autumn. We are planning some follow up work and an event later focussed on the Big Society policy later in the year. This work is also featuring prominently in our 21st Century Councillor programme as it rolls out www.21stcenturycouncillor.com
The case for Foundation Councils
Cllr Colin Barrow, the leader of Westminster City Council, has started a series of articles on Conservative Home outlining proposals for Foundation Councils:
“Councils are hampered in their ability to innovate and provide good quality low cost services by three factors:
An onerous, centrally-imposed performance framework – despite the welcome end of the CAA and Audit Commission, we still have the onerous regimes of Ofsted and CQC plus the ‘control freakery’ from Whitehall departments with directives, guidance and data demands requiring us to produce numerous plans and strategies implementing Government priorities. This leads directly to the next factor and leads to Whitehall telling local authorities how to run their services.
The solution:
We believe that the solution to these issues is the creation of Foundation Councils – a concept that has been jointly developed by three authorities with a long established track record of delivering high-quality, value for money services – Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth and Westminster.
Foundation Councils would automatically be granted powers to:
We believe that the establishment of Foundation Councils would:
Over the next few days I will be setting out further details of how Foundation Councils could work and the sort of powers and areas that we believe they could make a genuine difference to delivering high quality, cost effective public services”.
Non-emergency 111 health number to be piloted
‘Trials of a three-digit telephone number for those needing non-emergency medical care in England have been launched in the North East. NHS County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trusts are to pilot the free 111 number, to act as an alternative to 999, followed by Nottingham, Lincolnshire and Luton. The government service will not initially replace NHS Direct, but may do so in the longer term if successful.
People calling 111 will be able to get health advice and also information about local services such as out-of-hours GPs, walk-in centres, emergency dentists and 24-hour pharmacies.
It is hoped it will take the pressure off 999 calls, amid estimates suggesting that up to half of these calls do not need an emergency response. But anyone calling the number with an emergency will have an ambulance despatched without the need for the call to be transferred’.
“It is essential that we improve access to, and understanding about, urgent care services, which includes out-of-hours care,” said Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. “At present, too many people are confused about who to contact and how to do so. By putting in place one, easily memorable 111 number for all urgent enquiries to run alongside the emergency 999 number we will simplify NHS services for patients.”
Professor Stephen Singleton, medical director of NHS North East, said: “The introduction of the NHS 111 service in County Durham and Darlington is an important part of our regional vision to improve access to urgent healthcare for local people. Most importantly it will help improve efficiency across the whole health care system by reducing unnecessary waste and making sure people get access to the right service, first time.”
The full story can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11036575
Local Enterprise Partnerships
The LGC have released a handy roundup of LEPs as they stand, including a draft map of the UK produced by LGID. Follow this link for more information;
CIPFA Performance Improvement Network: Shared Services and Total Place
CIPFA’s Performance Improvement Network has developed a series of workshops that will focus on the ways in which the Shared Services agenda and Total Place can help organisations towards identifying, achieving and managing efficiencies.
Workshop objectives:
Workshops will be held at the following regional locations:
For queries regarding the programme of these events, please contact Wendy Williamson, CIPFA PIN Advisor on 01543 410 412 or email at wendy.williamson@cipfa.org.uk
NW Efficiency: Shared Services & Total Place Projects
Funding has been made available to NW local authorities to bid for shared service or Total Place project. Sixteen shared services and twenty Total Place bids and were received and were evaluated by a small panel. As such the following have been funded:
Shared Services
Total Place
For more information, please visit http://nwefficiency.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/new-shared-services-total-place-projects/
PQASSO quality system
“Developed by Charities Evaluation Services, PQASSO is the leading quality system in use in the voluntary sector. It is an award-winning system encompassing all aspects of an organisation’s performance including good governance, effective risk and financial management, and a focus on outcomes.
PQASSO is a self-assessment tool – organisations measure themselves against the quality standards using an evidence-based method to ensure reliability. Organisations can go beyond self-assessment and be externally assessed by independent reviewers. Those that opt for external review and are successful are awarded the PQASSO Quality Mark.”
If you would like to find out more please visit our website www.ces-vol.org.uk or contact the PQASSO team on 0207 0789392 or pqm@ces-vol.org.uk
SURF – Mainstreaming Regeneration Initiatives Learning Point
This learning point highlights key messages from a participative workshop discussion on how local authorities in Scotland can use mainstreamed resources to support improved approaches to tackling poverty in their most deprived communities.
The event was delivered in partnership by the Scottish Government, through its Community Regeneration and Tackling Poverty Learning Network, and SURF, Scotland’s independent regeneration network, in June 2010. It brought together a range of relevant practitioners from England, Northern Ireland and Wales to draw on their experience and knowledge in order to explore key issues and lessons for mainstreaming of effective regeneration activity.
It was recognised that, historically, the record of successful mainstreaming examples could be strengthened across the UK. It was also recognised that the current financial context will throw up more challenges for mainstreaming, perhaps as well as some opportunities. The main focus of the workshop was to therefore use the differing UK experiences in order to try and draw out some useful practical lessons and strategies that we can all benefit from.
For further information, please visit http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/pir/learningnetworks/cr/publications/LP66MainstreamingRegen
CLG Localism inquiry
The Communities and Local Government Committee has launched an inquiry into localism. Interested parties are invited to submit evidence by Friday 1 October 2010.
Terms of reference for localism inquiry: the Communities and Local Government Committee has decided to conduct an inquiry into the Government’s plans for localism and decentralisation of public services.
The Committee will be considering:
• The extent to which decentralisation leads to more effective public service delivery; and what the limits are, or should be, of localism;
• The lessons for decentralisation from Total Place, and the potential to build on the work done under that initiative, particularly through place-based budgeting;
• The role of local government in a decentralised model of local public service delivery, and the extent to which localism can and should extend to other local agents;
• The action which will be necessary on the part of Whitehall departments to achieve effective decentralised public service delivery;
• The impact of decentralisation on the achievement of savings in the cost of local public services and the effective targeting of cuts to those services;
• What, if any, arrangements for the oversight of local authority performance will be necessary to ensure effective local public service delivery.
• How effective and appropriate accountability can be achieved for expenditure on the delivery of local services, especially for that voted by Parliament rather than raised locally.
The Committee would be particularly interested to hear of examples, from the UK or overseas, of models of decentralised public service delivery from which lessons could be learnt for further decentralisation in England.
For further information, please visit http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/communities-and-local-government-committee/news/localism/
“Councillors are key to local project success”
New research shows that community campaigns benefit greatly from the involvement of local councillors. A new joint publication from bassac and Urban Forum, ‘Local Action: The Handy Guide to Communities Working with Councillors’ shows that councillor involvement is key to the success of local community projects. The Handy Guide looks at how to get local councillors involved in community projects and highlights the benefits that councillors can bring.
It finds that getting councillor support for a community project can greatly improve access to councils, attract publicity to a campaign, introduce valuable contacts, add credibility and help to secure funding. http://www.urbanforum.org.uk/handy-guides/local-action-a-handy-guide-to-working-with-councillors
This guide is available online at www.bassac.org.uk/localaction or for a free hard copy contact joanna@bassac.org.uk.
A review of government websites
This review is borrowed from the Bates, Wells & Braithwaite weekly review of websites. Some of the stories are more than likely ‘old news’ but I hope the links to government content is useful.
This week, funding and cuts & public services and local government:
Healthy Places, Healthy Lives
“Tackling health inequalities is one of the most complex and important tasks facing primary Care Trusts and local authorities. This DH funded programme, aims to identify, develop and spread joint public service and commissioner-led actions that lead to greater impacts in improvements on the determinants of health – and by doing so improving World Class Commissioning and Local Area Agreements outcomes.
The programme will work with the early adopter sites and specifically seek to address the recommendations of Sir Michael Marmot’s review of Health Inequalities post 2010”. Newsletters can be found at http://www.institute.nhs.uk/world_class_commissioning/general/healthy_places_healthy_lives.html
‘Total Place’ in the news: August
Here are some links to what people were saying about Total Place in August 2010.
Pickles’ localism is not what it seems – Guardian, 04 August 2010
How Lansley’s NHS can keep sharing in place – SmartHealthcare.com, 04 August 2010
Place based budgeting gets top level backing – PublicNet, 03 August 2010
A golden opportunity to share – Guardian Public, 03 August 2010
Public health must not be sidelined – Public Finance Opinion, 03 August 2010
The economics of value and localism – John Seddon in Public Service, 03 August 2010
Peak state – Be ready for change, 03 August 2010
Lost! Local government – last seen in the vicinity of the Big Society – Toby Blume’s Posterous, 03 August 2010
There’s been a request to bring this update back on a weekly basis so from today’s issue that’s what we’ll do. If you have something you’d like featured in it which has relevance to any place-based work, please do let me know at nicky.debeer@local.gov.uk.
]]>Links to what people are saying about Total Place in August 2010.
Steve Douglas: Housing ‘needs a seat at the table’ for effective place based budgeting debates – 24dash, 25 August 2010
The case for Foundation Councils – Colin Barrow in Conservative Home, 23 August 2010
Notes on People Places Power – Robert’s Notes, 22 August 2010
Total Place islands – Tony Travers in the LGC, 19 August 2010
New shared services and Total Place projects – NWIEP blog, 18 August 2010
A business strategy for growing local – LocalGov, 17 August 2010
Warnings against a headlong rush to localism – PublicNet, 10 August 2010
The race to replace Gordon – Public Service, 09 August 2010
Big Society – LGiU blog, 09 August 2010
Prospects for public finance – Public Finance, 06 August 2010
Parliament to scrutinise Parliament’s planning reforms – Lib Dem Voice, 05 August 2010
Pickles’ localism is not what it seems – Guardian, 04 August 2010
How Lansley’s NHS can keep sharing in place – SmartHealthcare.com, 04 August 2010
Place based budgeting gets top level backing – PublicNet, 03 August 2010
A golden opportunity to share – Guardian Public, 03 August 2010
Public health must not be sidelined – Public Finance Opinion, 03 August 2010
The economics of value and localism – John Seddon in Public Service, 03 August 2010
Peak state – Be ready for change, 03 August 2010
Lost! Local government – last seen in the vicinity of the Big Society – Toby Blume’s Posterous, 03 August 2010
]]>The Institute for Government and National School of Government are partners in an international project to develop a “new synthesis” of public administration. The New Synthesis project has its origins in series of articles and presentations given by the Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon (President Emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service and former Secretary to the Cabinet) over the course of 2007-2009 and aims to advance the study and practice of public administration.
A central aspect of the thinking behind the project so far has been the need for government to rebalance its approach to governing, from using the authority of the state to using collective power to achieve public policy and civic results. Connected to this is the need to build resilience within communities and develop the capacity to respond quickly to emerging problems and exploit emerging solutions.
Tim Hughes, from the Institute for Government and National School of Government is looking for stories of local projects achieving better for less to help demonstrate the benefits of these approaches. He says:
“We’re contributing a case study of citizen, family and place focused initiatives – which of course includes Total Place – as we think these are some really exciting and potentially transformational ways of tackling complex social problems buying viagra that fit well with the thinking behind the New Synthesis.”
The case buy viagra free shipping study will be presented by Lord Bichard to an international audience in November, so this is a great chance to spread your stories of success far and wide.
You can contact Tim through the Total Place community of practice (sign in required) or by emailing him directly at tim.hughes@instituteforgovernment.org.uk.
]]>Links to what people have been saying about Total Place in July 2010
NHS ‘blocks’ Total Place – MJ, 01 July 2010
Insight in place – The great E-mancipator, 01 July 2010
Local Communities debate – House of Lords via They Work for You, 01 July 2010
Delivering the IT promise – Public Service, 02 July 2010
Cuts put Big Society agenda at risk, says Hurd – Civil Society, 02 July 2010
Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark: shared services or shared struggle? – Jon’s union blog, 03 July 2010
40% cuts are political, not economic – John Tizard in Public Finance Opinion, 05 July 2010
Total Place thinking provides pain-free solution to deficit – LGiU blog, 05 July 2010
Big Society and barriers in Government – Podnosh, 06 July 2010
Pickles looks to a better Total Place – LGC, 06 July 20100
CSR will be hard on public services – LocalGov.co.uk, 06 July 2010
Tory backbenchers agitate for NHS cuts, and the afterlife of Total Place – HSJ Editor’s blog, 06 July 2010
Wanted: better, cheaper, public services – Guardian, 07 July 2010
Councils face 33% funding cuts, the NLGN warns – Public Finance, 07 July 2010
How council building review could free up much more than £35bn – Guardian, 07 buy viagra with discount July 2010
LGA and Eric Pickles back Total Place approach – Public Property UK, 07 July 2010
Coalition puts Total Place at risk, warns Denham – LGC, 08 July 2010
Changing Times, Changing Minds – the LGA annual conference – TweetyHall blog, 08 July 2010
Total Place needs Total Commitment – Rob Weaver’s blog, 08 July 2010
Double vision on public services of the future – Public Net, 13 July 2010
Can the Coalition Government deliver Radical Service Innovation – Su Maddock’s blog, 13 July 2010
It’s more complicated than that – Support from the Start, 13 July 2010
Call for Town Hall role in police accountability – LocalGov.co.uk, 15 July 2010
Stoking fires for change – Inside Housing, 16 July 2010
In this age of austerity, Total Place still has a place, says Jo Stocks – Property Week, 16 July 2010
Benefits of a Total Place approach – LGC, 22 July 2010
Heseltine’s renewal recipe needs some added sauce – Regeneration + Renewal, 23 July 2010
Total Place report calls for collaboration – Kable, 26 July 2010
The night watchman state? – Matthew Taylor’s blog, 26 July 2010
Response to the LGA offer – Speech by Eric Pickles, 27 July 2010
Give us the tools and we’ll do the job – LocalGov.co.uk, 27 July 2010
Councils must be bolder with wellbeing powers, says Pickles – Public Finance, 27 July 2010
The picture is getting clearer – Mike Burton’s blog, 28 July 2010
Is the welfare state in terminal decline? – Guardian, 28 July 2010
Public and private: a collaborative approach – Guardian Public, 28 July 2010
Whitehall officials may be grilled over joint budgets – MJ, 28 July 2010
CLG committee to scrutinise localism plans – PublicNet, 30 July 2010
Total Place policy briefing – Centre for Public Scrutiny, 30 July 2010
Maintaining momentum – Project datafile, 30 July 2010
]]>Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, told the Local Government Association’s Chairman’s Summit today that he welcomed the LG Group’s offer to government.
The offer was launched at the LG Group conference earlier this month, and comprises three themes:
Mr Pickles told attendees that he looked forward to working with them further on ‘place-based budgets’ – as long as they’re renamed ‘community budgets’. He said, “I’m not the only one who loves the idea of community budgets, by the way. The Prime Minister loves them. The DPM loves them. The Chancellor loves them. There’s huge interest right across Whitehall.”
On the subject of Total Place, Mr Pickles said that had been “a step in the right direction”, but that councils would now have the opportunity to be more radical and innovative. He urged councils to “just get on and do it” over the summer, and that he would “shout from the rooftops” the best ideas.
Total Place pilots, among others, are working with Local Government Leadership (formerly the Leadership Centre for Local Government) and the LG Group to explore specific proposals around community budgets with HM Treasury and other departments. Together they will work rapidly over the summer to determine the scale of financial impact that such profound change would make and to evidence why the changes are required to deliver these benefits.
]]>Local Government Leadership (formerly the Leadership Centre for Local Government) commissioned Keith Grint, Professor of Public Leadership and Management at Warwick Business School, to deliver a report on how Total Place fits within the broader academic literature on leadership and change. This final report, Problem, purpose, power, knowledge, time and space, follows the interim findings released in May.
The report draws some provisional conclusions from Total Place. It is based on a reading of documents and interviews with key stakeholders and participants, and locates the initiative within a wider body of academic literature on leadership and change. At this point, (July 2010), the empirical data remains illustrative rather than definitive because the nature of the initiative precludes any final conclusions.
The bulk of the report is concerned with establishing the academic context for this new localism and suggests that the following issues remain critical to any future success:
An archive of the Leadership Centre’s fortnightly Total Place updates for July 2010.
Total Place update 49: highlights
Total Place update 48: highlights
Place-Based Budgeting
Following our request to places for expressions of interest around place-based budgeting, we’d like to say a big thank you to all of you who responded so quickly and so positively. We appreciate that this was a potentially wide-ranging request, particularly given the incredibly short time frame.
In all we have received 45 responses that are now with HMT and CLG and which will be considered jointly with the LGA.
This has created a particularly positive response from government. HMT officials told us this week that both Chancellor and Chief Secretary wish to see the option of place-based budgets properly explored in the spending review. Receiving such a volume and quality of response at such a short notice has only served to underline the determination of local authorities and their partners to pursue this route. The consistency regarding intent, scope and benefit is telling.
We took the summary of responses alongside CLG and HMT to Michael Bichard’s High Level Officials Group. The next stage is to work rapidly over the summer to determine the scale of financial impact that such profound change would make and to evidence why this change is required to deliver these benefits. This will mean working with specific policy departments over the summer on specific budgets (some of this work is already ongoing or can be an extension of work already underway) but anyone who can give good figures or data should please let us know. We will need to make a clear case for why we cannot already just do this.
Once again, many thanks for your efforts so far and support. We’ll keep you up to date as things develop.
LGA Chairman’s summit: Total Place, Place Based Budgeting & Big Society
Today was the LGA Chairman’s summit on the local government offer to government. Secretary of State Eric Pickles was delighted to receive the LGA’s offer and stated that ‘we are going to change the nature of the British Constitution, you and me’. Although not a fan of the name, Eric sees Total Place as having ‘loosened the leash – now its time to let your hair down’. (Look forward also to ‘Open Source Planning’ and elected mayors taking on a dual chief executive role.) Eric sees neighbourhoods as the centre of service delivery, finance and planning and his closing phrase was ‘change the reality, not the structure’. He confirmed that Place-Based Budgeting had the support of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd spoke in favour of Big Society and saw an opportunity through Total Place to drive Big Society further.
The abiding message was be bold and get on with it. Have a busy summer!
Continuing the story of Total Place
I’ve been visiting the pilots over the past few weeks and it’s been incredibly encouraging to see that the momentum hasn’t ceased and there’s still so much work going on locally. We feel it’s important to carry on the story of Total Place through the voices of the people whose lives it affects. So, to kick us off, here are two from the Manchester City region pilot featuring an extension of the work of Sure Start centres:
Margaret’s story: “I grew up in care and stopped school when I was young. I’ve now had two children. Both times the fathers wanted me to abort the children. Now I’ve moved back home and my kids come to the Sure Start nursery. They gave me a Link Worker, and she told me about all these different courses I can do. I’ve been to parenting courses, adult literacy, and I’m now volunteering at the nursery. Now my Link Worker is helping me find out about training to be a Teaching Assistant. I want my kids to have a better chance than me”.
Susan’s story: “I came across Sure Start first at the open day, but we didn’t know it was going to be as good as it is. We couldn’t afford the nursery for Rory, but then we got a sponsor to pay for it. Lorraine from Sure Start helped me get the sponsorship. They sorted it all out for me. I had to fill in the forms but they helped me with that. It had nothing to do with me! If that hadn’t happened then I’d be at home five days a week with him cos no other nursery would take him. Before this Centre came here it was a nightmare. In the last few months I’ve done a few courses here; Practical Parenting, English and Maths, Fun with Phonics, they’re brilliant. It’s just somewhere to go to have a brew and a chat, a place where I can get some pressure taken off me. It’s nice to do something for myself for once! As well as for them”.
If you have any stories like these and you’d like to share them more widely, please do get in touch nicky.debeer@local.gov.uk
Total Place: Final Research Report: Problem, Purpose, Power, Knowledge, Time & Space
Keith Grint’s report draws some provisional conclusions from the ‘Total Place’ project. The executive summary states
“(the report) is based on a reading of documents and interviews with key stakeholders and participants, and locates the initiative within a wider body of academic literature on leadership and change. At this point, (July 2010), the empirical data remains illustrative rather than definitive because the nature of the initiative precludes any final conclusions. The report suggests that mapping local expenditure is relatively simple and very enlightening – very large sums of public money are expended on a small number of recipients and much of the funding is channelled into repairing social problems rather than preventing them. Very often we treat such problems as Tame – essentially open to ‘fixing’ through efficiency drives and more rational processes. However, many such problems are Wicked not Tame and are thus beyond conventional ‘fixes’. Furthermore, identifying the problem and its costs is always easier than constructing a more effective alternative, especially when the ‘solution’ is imposed from outside – by central government or from above – by the organization itself. Total Place suggests that enrolling the ‘customer’, ‘citizen’ or ‘consumer’ of public services in the resolution of their own problems is not just politically important but practically critical. In reality only those people with the problem can really address it properly. How long Total Place style approaches will last is difficult to predict but although the original work predates the current governing Coalition, the latter’s predilection for localism and decentralization, especially its Big Society agenda, implies some degree of continuing political support for the movement, especially in the light of contemporary concerns for reducing public debt.
The bulk of the report is concerned with establishing the academic context for this new localism and suggests that the following issues remain critical to any future success:
The Public Service Challenge – implementing the lessons from Total Place
The MJ and the Local Government Group have produced a special report to publicise the lessons from the Total Place pilots and parallel places. The aim was to collate the views of the Total Place participants and create a record for posterity. To download the report, which was launched at the LG Group conference, please follow this link http://www.localgov.co.uk/index.cfm?method=analysis.item&id=90421
Integrating local public services: the workforce issues
LG Improvement and Development and LG Employers, working with councils and partner bodies, have launched a new web resource – Integrating local public services: the workforce issues: www.idea.gov.uk/integratingservices
Today’s economic context urges the public sector to find radical new ways to deliver more efficient services better tailored to local needs. Many councils and their public sector partners are aiming to achieve this by integrating services. This web resource considers the workforce issues in this complex and rapidly developing area. The resource will be updated with more guidance and good practice as it emerges.
If you have any queries about the resource or suggestions for changes, or additional materials we should add, please contact Martin Stein from LG Improvement and Development on martin.stein@local.gov.uk.
“Is Britain facing a prolonged jobs deficit?”
The CIPD concludes that economic growth in the next few years has only to be slightly weaker than the +2.5% per annum forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility for the jobs outlook to look a lot worse than the coalition Government hopes. Examining the scale of looming public sector job cuts and making comparisons with various job recoveries since the 1980s, the CIPD predicts that Britain is facing at least half a decade of serious jobs deficit.
To read the full report, please follow this link http://www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy/_work-audit0710.htm?wa_src=email&wa_pub=cipd&wa_crt=leadfeature_affinity_none&wa_cmp=cipdupdate_210710
Total Place in the news: July
Here are just a sample of some of the things people having been saying about Total Place in the latter half of July.
It’s more complicated than that – Support from the Start, 13 July 2010
Call for Town Hall role in police accountability – LocalGov.co.uk, 15 July 2010
Stoking fires for change – Inside Housing, 16 July 2010
In this age of austerity, Total Place still has a place, says Jo Stocks – Property Week, 16 July 2010
Benefits of a Total Place approach – LGC, 22 July 2010
Heseltine’s renewal recipe needs some added sauce – Regeneration + Renewal, 23 July 2010
Total Place report calls for collaboration – Kable, 26 July 2010
For more articles from earlier in the month and before please visit http://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/totalplace/category/news
Plans to abolish regional government
“Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has announced the Government’s intention in principle to abolish the remaining eight Government Offices for the Regions across England, subject to using the Spending Review to resolve consequential issues. The final decisions will be made at the end of the Spending Review in the autumn.
Reducing bureaucracy and rolling back regional government is central to the Government’s wider aims of transferring power from central government to councils and communities.
The Government has already announced the abolition of the Government Office for London, the Regional Spatial Strategies, the Regional Assemblies/Regional Leaders’ Boards and the Regional Development Agencies.
The Coalition Agreement committed Government to a review of the remaining eight Government Offices as part of its wider localism and decentralisation agenda, and Ministers have decided in principle to close the Government Offices for the Regions.
Over the coming weeks the Department for Communities and Local Government will continue to work with other Government Departments, trade unions and others to lead a process to agree arrangements for the transfer of a small number of on-going functions and redeployment of staff”.
Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State, said:
“I do not believe the arbitrary government regions to be a tier of administration that is efficient, effective or popular. Citizens across England identify with their county, their city, their town, their borough and their neighbourhood. The case for elected regional government was overwhelmingly rejected by the people in the 2004 North East Referendum. Unelected regional government equally lacks democratic legitimacy, and its continuing existence has created a democratic deficit.
“Let me be clear: The Government Offices are not voices of the region in Whitehall. They have become agents of Whitehall to intervene and interfere in localities, and are a fundamental part of the ‘command and control’ apparatus of England’s over-centralised state.”
During the Spending Review the 13 sponsor Departments of the Government Offices will work on the details of the closure and transition arrangements and consider how the civil resilience responsibilities will be reallocated. The detailed outcome will be reflected in the final decisions which will be announced in the autumn.
A copy of the written statement can be found at www.communities.gov.uk/statements/newsroom/regionalgovernment
BWB review of websites: funding cuts and spending review
Four government departments have agreed to reduce their unfunded spending commitments by the amounts below http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_22_10.htm :
The press release states “The Departments will provide more detail on how they are managing these reductions in additional funding, by cancelling or re-prioritising spending plans that are not affordable within their existing budgets, and through better financial management”
LGI&D Efficiency Exchange
The Efficiency Exchange is a web-based professional social network, launched by Local Government Improvement and Development (formally the IDeA) in 2010. It has over 800 members – including some from as far afield as Australia and Canada – who share their working knowledge with the very specific aim of boosting efficiency and collaborative working for their sector.
Rob Whiteman, Managing Director of the IDeA, explains:
“The public sector is under pressure to deliver better services for less money, and the Efficiency Exchange is a tool that will help achieve that aim. Not only can the Exchange help you figure out if you’re getting good value for money when dealing with suppliers, but you’ve got a raft of experts, best practice and suggestions for improvements at your fingertips.”
Even if you contribute one sentence to an online conversation, adds Efficiency Exchange Programme Manager Gordon Murray, that information could be what someone else needs to solve a problem. Murray says:
“There’s something you can get out of it and something you can contribute. It’s no longer about an individual in a local authority thinking ‘if I do this, will it work?’ but about someone else joining in saying ‘I’ve done almost that and here’s what I learned’. It’s a creative lab where people can prove what’s worked or put forward ideas and test them.”
The Exchange uses the principles of the IDeA’s Communities of Practice, but goes a step further. Like other networking sites, it offers Facebook-style contact with hundreds of public sector experts, who can exchange information. And the exchange acts as a library of innovative work.
However, what could set it apart is a planned benchmarking standard, allowing users to compare costs and performance on a whole range of services both regionally and nationally, which will be available from September. It also casts its net more widely viagra no prescription to refer to the most interesting work from the private sector and involves online conversations from other interested parties, such as academics. The aim is to share learning, stimulate innovation and support efficiency within local government using web-based technology.
To access the exchange, please visit http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=19230976
Lessons from election 2010: local politics and social media
“Ahead of 6 May 2010, there was great anticipation in media circles about the prospect of the first digital election, or even the first social media election. Most post election analyses focused on the extent to which digital media affected the final general election result – and concluded with disappointment that 2010 was not the digital triumph they had hoped for.
But this focus misses the point. In fact, 2010 was, without doubt, a media election. Presentation was key, underpinned by the televised debates, and the campaign was fought more than ever before through the media. Alongside the printed press, TV and radio, digital played its part.
This was not only a media election; it was a multi-media election”. Emma Maier, Editor, Local Government Chronicle
This report was produced by Local Government Leadership’s 21st Century Councillor programme with it’s local election partners TweetyHall, the Local Government Chronicle and the Local Government Information Unit. It is a follow up to Connected Councillors: a guide to using social media to support local leadership published back in March this year.
Both publications are available at: http://socialmedia.21st.cc
For all reporting as it happened during the elections, visit TweetyHall at: http://tweetyhall.co.uk/blog
‘Beyond light bulbs and pipelines’ report on innovation
“Innovation will be vital over the coming years to ensure public services can achieve more with less, but how ready is the public sector to be innovative?
The need to “achieve-more-with-less” moved from being the latest Civil Service buzz phrase to a very stark reality with the announcement of George Osborne’s first budget.
Over the next four years, unprotected departments will see their budgets cut by at least a quarter, and for some possibly 40%. But the social and economic challenges facing public services in the 21st century will continue to persist and in many cases intensify. Tackling stubborn and complex problems with cuts of this magnitude, demands public sector innovation.
But there is a considerable risk that a narrow view of efficiency will prevail which will see public services deteriorate and miss the potential of innovation to offer different and better for less.”
Beyond Light Bulbs and Pipelines: Leading and Nurturing Innovation in the Public Sector is authored by Professor John Bessant (Exeter University), Professor Sue Richards (Sunningdale Institute Director) and Tim Hughes (Sunningdale Institute researcher) and can be accessed here http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-sector-training/training-innovation-nsg-hughes
Lastly, the update will be taking a break over August but will be back on 1st September. If you have stories or items you’d like to contribute, please do get in touch.
LG Group ‘place based budgets’ report
The report, ‘Place-based budgets – The future governance of local public services’, argues that councils or groups of councils should be responsible to local voters and to Parliament for spending on frontline services under a new system of “placed-based budgeting”.
The report calls for local decision-makers to oversee economic regeneration, planning, housing and regeneration, home energy efficiency, managing flood and climate risks, adult skills, local transport, primary health care, policing and probation, and support into employment for the long-term unemployed and workless.
Proposals in the report include:
For the full report, please visit http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/publications/publication-display.do?id=12294112
‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ White Paper
“Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley yesterday set out the Government’s ambitious plans to reform the NHS during this Parliament and for the long-term.
The White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ published today, details how power will be devolved from Whitehall to patients and professionals.
Professionals will be free to focus on improving health outcomes so that these are amongst the best in the world. Improving the quality of care will become the main purpose of the NHS.
Patients will get more choice and control, backed by an information revolution, so that services are more responsive to patients and designed around them, rather than patients having to fit around services. The principle will be “no decisions about me without me”.
Under the new plans, patients will be able to choose which GP practice they register with, regardless of where they live, and choose between consultant-led teams. More comprehensive and transparent information, such as patients’ own ratings, will help them make these choices together with healthcare professionals.
Groups of GPs will be given freedom and responsibility for commissioning care for their local communities. Providers of services will have new freedoms and they will be more accountable. There will be greater competition in the NHS and greater cooperation. Services will be more joined up, supported by a new role for Local Authorities to support integration across health and social care.
As a result of the changes, the NHS will be streamlined with fewer layers of bureaucracy. Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts will be phased out. Management costs will be reduced so that as much resource as possible supports frontline services. The reforms build on changes started under the previous Government”.
The full paper can be accessed at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/LiberatingtheNHS/index.htm
Local Government Group saves £18m by outsourcing
The Local Government Group is on course to save £18.2 million by the end of a 10-year outsourcing contract. The organisation entered into a partnership with Liberata Ltd two years ago to outsource its Finance, Human Resource administration, IT, Facilities Management, Customer Services, and Design and Print departments.
Latest figures show the Group, which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, is saving millions of pounds by outsourcing back office staff so it can represent its members even more effectively.
John Ransford, Chief Executive of the Group, said:
“Councils are currently under enormous financial pressure and need to find every way to become more efficient to avoid cutting vital frontline services on which millions of people rely.
We too are committed to making the most effective use of our budget as we strive to give the best service to our members, providing real value for money for their subscriptions.
We entered into the contract with Liberata with a view to making cost savings, increasing the quality of services and, as far as was possible, we protected the terms and conditions of staff that were transferred.
We’re delighted to see such positive results after only two years and are keen to share our experience with councils. Money saved from back office work is money we can plough into our frontline services lobbying for our members and representing their interests as effectively as possible.”
For full details, please visit http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=12384946
CLG structural reform plan
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/structuralreformplan
“This new action plan marks a radical shift of power from Whitehall to local councils and communities that will make the Big Society part of every day life. The plan sets out a new 18 month programme for the department that will deliver radical decentralising and transparency reforms that put citizens and councils in control of their communities. It is one of the first fundamental Structural Reform Plans for making departments accountable for the implementation of the reforms set out in the Coalition agreement”.
LSIS report: ‘Leading and Managing in a Recession’
In January 2010, LSIS set out to investigate future leadership and management and skills needs during recession and any implications for its learning and development provision. The research was conducted by the Institute for Employment Studies in partnership with the Learning and Skills Network and The Work Foundation.
The research examined:
The full document is on their website.
Guardian article on ‘asset management’
Max Rashbrooke writing in the Guardian last week said ‘Buildings – and how they are run – will pay a surprisingly large part in the coming efficiency drive. Buildings played a vital role in the Total Place pilots, which last year explored how public bodies could deliver better services by working more closely together. Getting the right staff in the right buildings not only encourages cooperation, it allows agencies to sell off unwanted assets and reduce running costs’. He said the council building review ‘could free up much more than £35bn’. Read the full article.
There was also an interesting article written by David Brindle last week, looking at the demand for ‘better, cheaper public services’.
Total Place CoP update
The CoP continues to grow, and now has nearly 1,200 members. Thanks to everyone for their contributions. Some highlights from the past fortnight include:
Getting more for less online conference
Getting more with less Community of Practice online conference starts on Monday 19 July.
The conference runs all week and features a huge range of speakers from across the public sector. You can see the agenda and full range of speakers here. Conference materials are being uploaded to the CoP this week, so you’ll be able to view videos from some of our speakers and download various conference materials.
And, of course, it’s your conference. So you can start discussions, contribute and share your story, too.
Not sure how an online conference works? Have a look at the delegates guide to find out more. If you do have any specific questions or query feel free to post them into the CoP forum or email/call us direct using the details below.
Website: http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/c/4693375/home.do
Contact: Neil Rimmer
Email: neil.rimmer@idea.gov.uk
LG Group conference
More than 1,200 council leaders, chief executives, councillors and officers gathered in Bournemouth last week for the first major debate on the future of public services since the Emergency Budget, which laid out in stark detail the financial situation facing us all. The LGA Group Annual Conference was an opportunity to meet colleagues, hear about innovation, and share ways of tackling the challenges we face.
You could feel local government growing in confidence and stature during the conference in Bournemouth last week. There is a real sense that councils are ready for the challenge of greater power and influence that we have been pressing so hard to secure. For a full round up please visit http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=20399
Launch of the new Local Government Group Brand
The launch of the new branding took place last week at the LG Group conference, showing a more joined up, cohesive offer to the sector. It brings the six organisations closer together by focusing on joint shared priorities, developed with local government, designed to enable the Group to serve the sector more effectively.
This list shows the new website addresses for the group:
Local government services pay update
National Employers have issued the two recent circulars setting out the position on local government pay following the Chancellor’s recent Budget statement: they can be accessed at http://www.lge.gov.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=119211
BWB ‘Coalition and the Third Sector’ policy analysis
This is an interesting and exclusive briefing which assesses the impact of the Coalition’s policy programme on the third sector. It features ‘big society’, social action, international development and communities & local government. For the full briefing, please visit http://www.bwbllp.com/Files/Updates/Coalition.pdf
De Vere venues: public sector hubs
The De Vere Public Sector Hubs have been set up as a direct result of cuts across the Sector. Essentially they have selected three venues across the country which offer fit for purpose meeting/training accommodation and also great value for money.
The venues are:
I thought I’d send this information to you because the rates are excellent and in true Total Place style, we would like to pass on the benefit of an already existing relationship! For further information, please contact Mark Bailey on 07969 724030 mark.bailey@devere.co.uk
We’ll be starting a thread on the CoP with this, so please do send us your money saving top tips.
Lastly, congratulations to Croydon Council who won the prestigious Total Place Achievement award at the MJ awards at the end of June. It was brilliant to see your hard work recognised in such a public way.
]]>Local Government Leadership (formerly the Leadership Centre for Local Government) commissioned Keith Grint, Professor of Public Leadership and Management at Warwick Business School, to deliver this final report on how Total Place fits within the broader academic literature on leadership and change.
This report draws some provisional conclusions from Total Place, a series of experimental programmes in 2009, designed with the then Leadership Centre for Local Government (now Local Government Leadership) to map public expenditure in local areas and experiment with alternative – and more efficient and effective – delivery systems. It is based on a reading of documents and interviews with key stakeholders and participants, and locates the initiative within a wider body of academic literature on leadership and change.
At this point, (July 2010), the empirical data remains illustrative rather than definitive because the nature of the initiative precludes any final conclusions. The report suggests that mapping local expenditure is relatively simple and very enlightening – very large sums of public money are expended on a small number of recipients and much of the funding is channelled into repairing social problems rather than preventing them. Very often we treat such problems as tame – essentially open to ‘fixing’ through efficiency drives and more rational processes. However, many such problems are wicked not tame and are thus beyond conventional ‘fixes’.
Furthermore, identifying the problem and its costs is always easier than constructing a more effective alternative, especially when the ‘solution’ is imposed from outside – by central government or from above – by the organization itself. Total Place suggests that enrolling the ‘customer’, ‘citizen’ or ‘consumer’ of public services in the resolution of their own problems is not just politically important but practically critical. In reality only those people with the problem can really address it properly. How long Total Place style approaches will last is difficult to predict but although the original work predates the current governing Coalition, the latter’s predilection for localism and decentralization, especially its Big Society agenda, implies some degree of continuing political support for the movement, especially in the light of contemporary concerns for reducing public debt.
The bulk of the report is concerned with establishing the academic context for this new localism and suggests that the following issues remain critical to any future success:
Download the full report. (NB: link will take you to the DivShare site to download the file.)
]]>An archive of the Leadership Centre’s fortnightly Total Place updates for June 2010.
Fortnightly update 47: highlights
Fortnightly update 46: highlights
Fortnightly update 45: highlights
Places, people & politics: helping you make the best use of the Total Place Learning History
The attached slide pack with accompanying facilitator’s notes has been created to assist the use of the learning history as a tool and form the basis of a four hour workshop. The workshop’s purpose is to introduce the learning history, understand the experiences and lessons learnt so that you can consider how to apply this to future holistic and area based work. If you would like further information on how to use this tool, please contact Holly Wheeler at holly.wheeler@localleadership.gov.uk and to download a copy of the learning history please visit www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/current/publications
New CLG Ministers’ views on the Total Place agenda
Greg Clark on decentralisation
“When you give people the opportunity to get on and do the things that they have a passion about and let them make use of their knowledge of the community they can work wonders.
Decentralisation is about giving power back to local people so that they can to come together to shape their communities in the way that they want. I want it to be easier for people who have a great idea to be able to get on and do it.
If you can get the money away from the bureaucrats in the centre who tell people how it should be spent, and transfer it so that people can come together and say how they’d like to spend it, more of a difference can be made.
Decentralisation is about giving power back to local people so that they can to come together to shape their communities in the way that they want.”
For more information, please visit CLG’s website www.communities.gov.uk
Bob Neill on localism
Last week, local government minister Bob Neill said “it is time for a culture change across Whitehall and local government to ensure that localism – the real devolution of power to local people – takes place”.
Speaking at the Municipal Journal (MJ) annual leadership conference in London, Bob Neill said that there is much to do to promote a radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups.
He said change is needed at a time of financial pressure for local government, especially when it accounts for almost a quarter of UK public sector spending. He highlighted that these challenges are not mere problems but a mandate for radical change, and that we need a strong society where individuals, families and communities are more able to take on responsibility to improve their areas.
He said:
“The old rules of central control are not a fixed part of the system – we need to change the culture to enable us to rewrite the rules. We want local deliverers to be much more accountable to the people they serve rather than focussing on Whitehall.
“The tired, old bureaucratic approach needs to go and the balance of power between central and local government needs to be reset. It’s time to build a new system around our trust in people and professionals.
“Strong local government ultimately comes from rising voter turnout. Success will be further recognised when local citizens and national media routinely ask locally elected leaders for answers and not Ministers in Parliament.
“Decentralisation needs to happen by moving decision making down through the town hall, starting with individuals, families, communities and voluntary groups. It’s not about which type of politician is in charge. Hard questions have to be asked by everyone about how far power can be transferred to put people fully in charge of their own destinies.”
For the full article, please click on http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsstories/localgovernment/1621287
Benefits realisation: a Turning Point report
“As we know, commissioners around the country support closer working across health and social care. However they need data to test some of the assumptions of integrated services. Turning Point Connected Care has carried out a comprehensive desktop review of the evidence base of the costs and benefits of integrated services. This work has shown that integrated approaches are not only better for the service user, but lead to big cost efficiencies and savings for commissioners. In particular early intervention and prevention can realise significant financial benefits. For example, studies have illustrated that integrated early intervention programmes can generate resource savings of up to £2.65 for every £1 spent. The benefits realisation work complements their separate programme of cost benefit analysis carried out across different projects”. To access the report, please follow this link http://www.turning-point.co.uk/commissionerszone/centreofexcellence/Documents/Benefitsrealisation2010.pdf
Connected Care
Connected Care is Turning Point’s model for community led commissioning; one that integrates health, housing and social care service delivery. Launched two years ago, they are now successfully working with commissioners across the UK to bring community-led solutions to health and social care problems. Connected Care supports commissioners by:
Connected Care is currently working in ten areas of the country, including Hammersmith and Fulham, Bolton, Essex, Hartlepool, East Lancashire, Suffolk and East Sussex. Their projects are undertaken in different geographical areas and a number also focus on specific communities of interest, for example the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller population in East Lancashire and carers in Suffolk.
The Leadership Centre will be working closely with Turning Point on taking this work forward. For more information on Connected Care and Turning Point, please follow this link http://www.turning-point.co.uk/Pages/home.aspx or contact Richard Kramer at richard.kramer@turning-point.co.uk
Total Place Summit : Sharing and building on whole area working
Once again, thank you to all those who made the event. It was fantastic to have so many enthusiastic people at the event discussing the future of place based working. Please find below an overview of events and a collection of experiments that you created during the open discussions on day two.
Further summit details, including video and workshop presentations are available at the Total Place website and can be accessed by following this link: www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/totalplace/news/missed-the-total-place-summit/
BBC Radio 4’s Today programme
Prior to last week’s Budget, BBC Radio 4’s Today programme featured Lord Bichard discussing public sector savings and Total Place. As part of the discussions, public sector workers were invited to send in their examples of service redesign and efficiencies. The request was not for “imaginative, hypothetical, untested” ideas (their words not ours!), but tangible examples of work underway.
This is a great opportunity to raise the profile of the important work you are all engaged in. Examples will be “considered by the Institute for Government” but will also be seen by the Radio 4 team. Emails to: today@bbc.co.uk with PUBLIC SECTOR SAVINGS in the subject bar.
For more details and a chance to listen again at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8753000/8753114.stm
HMT launches the Spending Challenge
“The Spending Challenge is your chance to shape the way government works, and help us get more for less as we try to bring down the deficit. It’s open initially to people who work in our public sector. Share your idea with us. Your idea could be small-scale, but quick and easy to put into action. It could be more radical, involving significant changes to where and how government works. Every single idea will be considered and the best ones taken forward by departments, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office. The steps are as follows:
For more information visit http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk – deadline for submissions is the 8th July
LGA group response to the emergency budget
Commenting on the Budget, Dame Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:
“This is a very tough Budget that will have far-reaching effects. Councils provide vital front line services upon which millions of people rely. Ministers need to recognise that council services such as adult social care and safeguarding children are as important to residents as services such as education and health when the Government makes detailed decisions on spending in the autumn.
“Councils are in the vanguard of reforming the public sector and will work with the Government to ensure that savings will be made by pruning out the maze of quangos, middlemen, bureaucratic funding streams and audit arrangements, rather than salami slicing services that the most vulnerable people depend on. We need nothing less than a transformation of the way the public sector works to deliver savings by giving power to the people who know their areas best.
“Town halls are the most efficient part of the public sector and have led the way taking difficult decisions to deal with the financial crisis. They have already made significant savings, and have already made it clear that they are unable to offer staff a pay rise this year.
“Councils work hard to keep council tax down, and are looking to government to confirm that the proposed tax freeze is paid for from savings outside local government such as central government marketing and consultancy.”
To access the group’s full ‘on the day’ briefing please visit http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=12016217
Workforce issues: CIPD response to the emergency budget
John Philpott, CIPD’s Chief Economic Adviser, warns that economic growth will slow by far more than the budget suggests.
You can read the CIPD’s repsonse to the implications of the Emergency Budget for jobs, public sector pay, pensions and the default retirement age here http://www.cipd.co.uk/pressoffice/_articles/220610-The-CIPD-responds-to-the-implications-of-the-Budget.htm?wa_src=email&wa_pub=cipd&wa_crt=editorial_1_none&wa_cmp=cipdupdate_230610 .
The Innovation Unit: Radical Efficiency report
“Radical Efficiency is about public service innovations that deliver different, much better outcomes for users at significantly lower cost. Radical Efficiency is not about tweaking and improving existing services. It is about generating new perspectives on old problems to enable a genuine paradigm shift in the services on offer – and transform the user experience.
The Innovation Unit have uncovered more than 100 examples of radical efficiency across the globe in different services, contexts and on different scales. Our top ten case studies range from Mental Health First Aid in Australia to mobile banking in Kenya and from Chicago Police Department’s virtual crime mapping tool to Solar Lamps in India”. For the full report please follow this link http://www.innovationunit.org/radicalefficiency
“The Innovation Unit has begun to develop the case for radical efficiency in practice. Working with colleagues in Croydon, Central Bedfordshire, the Eastern Region of the UK, the Royal College of General Practitioners and Early Years professionals across the country has demonstrated the power of radical efficiency to inspire and structure a new kind of thinking about public service reform”.
‘Control Shift’: Conservative localism policy paper
Although over a year old, we thought it was worth sharing the policy green paper outlining Conservative plans to give power back to local communities for those who haven’t seen it.
In February 2009, David Cameron explained that “decentralisation, devolution and empowerment” were naturally part of a Conservative approach to government, and stressed the importance of an “empowering state” rather than an “overpowering state”.
‘Control Shift’, their decentralisation green paper, outlined a series of policies that would see powers transferred from the central state to local people and local institutions:
For the full document, please visit http://www.conservatives.com/news/news_stories/2009/02/its_time_to_transfer_power_from_the_central_state_to_local_people.aspx
CAA brought to a close
Communities secretary Eric Pickles officially brought to an end the short-lived system of Comprehensive Area Assessments on Friday, after instructing the five inspectorates behind the unpopular rankings they are no longer required.
“Mr Pickles wrote to all council leaders in England on 15 June, stating he had instructed the Audit Commission, Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and the prisons and probation watchdogs to halt the ‘costly top-down reports officially known as the CAA’. Instead, the coalition government has said it wants to hand responsibility for the quality of local services, and their continued monitoring, to local public bodies. The move forms part of the coalition’s wider plan to empower localities, which also includes a “general power of competence” – a wide-ranging power allowing councils, not Whitehall, to determine the future direction of many public services.
Mr Pickles said: ‘In the face of the £156bn deficit, central government needs to stop the costly top-down monitoring that is engulfing councils and start trusting them to do what is right locally.’
It follows widespread concern across local government that the area-based CAA system, introduced to replace Comprehensive Performance Assessments last year, had been a costly and bureaucratic regime that unnecessarily used up councils’ scarce resources.
Camden LBC, which emerged from the inaugural CAAs as England’s highest rated local authority, had led calls for the regime to be ditched.
Independent research had put the average cost to public bodies of reporting back to the government through the CAA at £1.8m. Some councils said the internal cost of reporting on the complex system, which attempted to assess the quality of public services across entire localities, including joint working practices, had risen to £3.7m.
The CLG effectively announced the end of CAA as soon as the coalition government came to power. While in opposition, the Conservatives had pledged to scrap the new regime”.
A statement by the department on 15 June read: ‘The government is committed to shunning the bureaucratic levers of the past by replacing the heavy burden of Whitehall oversight with greater public transparency and accountability so councils can focus on frontline services.’
Mark Conrad writing for www.local.gov.uk
High level officials group meeting: 22 June
The high-level Total Place officials’ group met last week. They are actively exploring place-based working to determine its viability for inclusion in the spending review process. Meetings of this group are planned well in to the autumn.
Website and practitioner’s guide updates
We’d really appreciate any updates you might have to add to the Total Place website. If you’d like to update your page, please send text to Rebecca Cox at rebecca.cox@localleadership.gov.uk We’re particularly interested in any new contact details as your work has progressed, and also in the range of organisations which might now be involved. We receive enquiries on a daily basis from places who want to start doing work with a Total Place approach and correct contact details for the website and the CoP are really useful for sharing your learning.
Similarly, if you have any tools, concepts, activities and/or other approaches to this way of working that you’d like to share in the practitioners’ guide, please do email them through to me. The guide has been downloaded across the globe and sent to over 1500 people in the UK. It now needs a reprint so anything new and exciting you have to add to it would be greatly appreciated.
CLG breakdown of £1.166bn grant cuts: LGA briefing
On 24 May, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of £6.2bn of savings from the current year. A significant share of this total, £1.166bn, was to come from local councils. The LGA Group has stressed to the Government that councils will have to make exceptionally tough choices; even more so as the cuts are to 2010/11 budgets which have already been approved. The extra flexibility to take local spending decisions through the un-ring fencing of certain budgets should help councils cope with this.
CLG has announced details of these savings, of which:
Of the £878m revenue grants only some £451m (51%) has been identified to individual councils; the balance of £427m (49%) has not been disclosed. Councils need urgent clarification of how and where these other cuts will fall.
CLG has ensured that the £451m of identified cuts amounts to no more than 2% of any authority’s total revenue grant allocation. However this total revenue grant allocation includes ring-fenced elements such as the Dedicated Schools Grant, over which councils have little control.
Of the £288m capital cuts, some £212m has been specified but £76m remains to be disclosed. Several capital reductions fall heavily on individual authorities.
CLG also set out details of the £1.3bn of grants they will un-ring fence.
Details of individual reductions are available on the Communities and Local Government website.
Download the full briefing from the LGA.
Dr Monica Sharma: ‘scaling up of systemic change for service improvement’ masterclass
The Leadership Centre for Local Government is keen to build on the key role of sharing learning and experiences of systemic change work, especially in view of efforts to spread insights and good practices to broaden the place based approach further across the public sector. The Centre is collaborating with AeneasKTC on a masterclass which will focus on scaling up of systemic change for service improvement. The masterclass will be presented by Dr. Monica Sharma and will take place on the 16th July 2010 in London.
The class offers colleagues an opportunity to explore whole system change and gain practical experience from working with a renowned international practitioner. As the public sector moves into a period of fiscal restraint and focuses anew on the importance of keeping users at the heart of public service, leaders at all levels need to be able to work effectively with change and to leverage efficiency and productivity through collective and collaborative efforts on scaling up good and best practice
Monica is a thought leader and transformational change practitioner. She was until a few weeks ago Director of Leadership and Capacity Development at the UN. Her large scale change programmes have impacted on the lives of hundreds of millions of individuals. Through our partnership with Aeneas KTC the masterclass is offered at a discounted rate of £355 per delegate. For further information, please email eli@aeneasktc.com quoting LCMS1
National Audit Office and the Audit Commission: a review of collaborative procurement across the public sector
The National Audit Office and the Audit Commission last week called for public bodies to work together much more effectively than they currently do to maximise savings from procurement activities.
“The public sector procurement landscape is fragmented, with no overall governance. There are nearly 50 professional buying organisations, as well as individual public bodies running commercial and procurement functions. Many of these organisations operate framework agreements for similar goods and services.
The implications for value for money are clear. Public bodies are incurring unnecessary administration costs by duplicating procurement activity. In addition, the public sector is paying a wide range of prices for the same commodities, even within the existing collaborative arrangements.
The public sector is not maximising its significant purchasing power. There are a large number of framework agreements and organisations are not exploiting the potential benefits of volume when using these agreements. There are also few constraints on brand or specification choice.
In 2007, the Office of Government Commerce established a Collaborative Procurement Programme which has led to some real improvements to the way public bodies buy goods and services and is managing over £18 billion of spend under nine categories of goods and services. However, a step change in public sector procurement is now required, which builds on the Office of Government Commerce’s existing work”.
More details and the full report.
Local Government Group Annual Conference and Exhibition 2010
Changing times, Changing minds, Tuesday 6 – Thursday 8 July 2010, Bournemouth International Centre
A new central government, the deficit, the Olympics, devolution, climate change – what do all these mean for local government in the coming year?
The conference is an opportunity to meet new contacts, build on existing relationships and to speak frankly with leading thinkers inside and outside the sector.
Plenary, workshops and fringes sessions will provide delegates with an opportunity to tailor each day to suit your needs and interests and provides plenty of opportunity to network.
The Gala Dinner will be held on the last day at which the Council Worker of the Year Awards and the results of the Local Government Challenge will be announced.
Hear from and interact with key chairs and speakers such as:
To book your place at conference (either as a full delegate or day delegate) and the Gala Dinner, visit the dedicated website.
Commissioning for Better Outcomes and Efficiency
“Across the country those working in children’s services are facing a significant challenge to cut spending while continuing to improve outcomes for local children and young people. Directors of Children’s Services and Chief Executives of local authorities will be charged with leading their organisations through these changes while avoiding the paralysis and uncertainty that have too often been a feature of past attempts to reduce expenditure, recognising that there is a risk to services if efficiencies are not sought in an intelligent and strategic way.
The Commissioning Support Programmme’s Outcomes and Efficiency Methodology is tailored to children’s services enabling the delivery of Total Place ideas and concepts. It has been developed specifically for leaders of children’s services to tackle the need for efficiencies. It builds upon the tools we already have to redesign children’s services through commissioning, but accelerates the usual commissioning processes which can be too slow or cumbersome as they are designed for a steady state economy.
Directors of Children’s Services and other area leaders are encouraged to make contact with the Commissioning Support Programme to find out more about their Outcomes and Efficiency methodology and the support that is available. Running all of the key elements of transformation in parallel and applying user-centric systems-thinking gives the best chance of overcoming our local financial, political and social challenges.”
For further details, please contact Lorraine O’Reilly, Programme Director, Commissioning Support Programme lorraine.oreilly@commissioningsupport.org.uk
Community of practice
This week we have linked the CoP to the Workforce Matters community to start to address workforce issues as pilots and parallel places move to the implementation phases of their projects.
We have also made the community of practice a public resource. At nearly 1100 members it is a hugely useful tool for sharing information, making introductions, and keeping up to date on activity within places. If you haven’t yet joined, please do so at the website.
BIS report on evaluation
In December 2009, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) jointly developed the Impact Evaluation Framework (IEF) as a basis for guiding RDA work on evaluation. The IEF incorporates, or makes reference to other major guidance on evaluation, for example, HMT’s Green Book and English Partnership’s Additionality Guidance. It provides a set of guidance concerning the approach to evaluating impact and provides a robust overall approach on the principles of evaluation. A central thrust of this guidance concerns helping move from monitoring and reporting on outputs to measuring net outcomes and impacts. For the full report please follow this link www.bis.gov.uk/files/file54095.pdf.
Young people driving change: 21 July 2010
The Citizenship Foundation will be hosting a unique event showcasing ‘Young people driving change’ on the 21st July 2010. Taking place at the House of Lords, the reception will be a chance for young people from Citizenship Foundation projects to share their commitment to driving change in their communities. There will also be an awards ceremony to recognise the outstanding work of some of the schools that we work with. The event will take place in the Cholmondeley Room, 12.30pm to 2.30pm. Further details to follow shortly, however, if you would like further information please contact the Citizenship Foundation’s Press and Events Officer, Emma Doyle on emma.doyle@citizenshipfoundation.org.uk
(The Citizenship Foundation flagyl er 750 mg is an independent education and participation charity (registration no 801360) that aims to encourage and enable individuals to engage in democratic society).
Summit feedback
Feedback from the Summit, including video footage, presentations from masterclasses, and other information will be available on the Total Place website this week. See the page for more details.
Lastly, for those of you who will be watching the World Cup football (and have got over Saturday night), we found a handy tool you can use to plan your viewing.
Learning History launched at the Total Place summit
The Leadership Centre hosted the Total Place Summit at the Honourable Artillery Company on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. We were joined by 180 delegates from local government, central government, the voluntary sector and local partners. It was great to see so many of you there.
We were delighted that Bob Neill MP could join us for dinner on Tuesday evening. Mr Neill spoke to delegates after dinner about the forthcoming spending review and the importance of focusing on outcomes for citizens rather than the process of service delivery. He could also be seen last Sunday morning on the BBC’s Politics Show talking about joined up working.
The Total Place learning history was launched at the Summit and can be downloaded at http://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/totalplace/learning/total-place-learning-history/
Government responds to LGA’s call for a general power of competence
The Government’s recent announcement http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/100518-news-big-society-launch.aspx on the Big Society programme marks the first lobbying success for the LGA Group in the new parliament by including a commitment to a general power of competence for councils. The LGA’s draft bill, which seeks to set out how such a power might be enacted can be accessed here http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=4716749
Dame Margaret Eaton said
“We proposed a general power of competence to give councils greater freedom to save money and deliver great services that people want. It is good news that the new Government has listened. This will deliver better results for communities, and citizens will truly believe their vote matters, helping to create a more vibrant local democracy.
National politicians have called for a ‘new politics’ that is closer to voters and brings them closer to the people they serve. Locally elected councillors are already practising it. We believe a radical devolution of power to local authorities will deliver big savings to the taxpayer and help make vital services even more responsive to people’s needs.”
Lord Bichard: no need to wait for government support for before implementing Total Place
Speaking via video link at the Total Place national members event on the 21st May, Lord Bichard said “local authorities must not wait for central government legislation before implementing Total Place”. He urged council leaders to “maintain the momentum” of Total Place in order to “convince the new government this can not be let go”.
In the Budget in March, the Labour government launched the second phase of Total Place, saying public bodies could sell up to £35bn of property through taking a more joined up approach to their assets. Speakers at today’s conference confirmed this work is continuing.
Bichard said councils should not wait for the new coalition to back the initiative before they implement its thinking. He said: “I don’t think Total Place as a brand will survive. But in a way, that misses the point. It’s a way of working.”
Bichard welcomed the new coalition’s promise to devolve more power to local authorities, saying: “We have one of the most centralised governments in the world.”
However, he warned that decentralising without breaking down the barriers between different funding streams and departments, such as health, police, and councils, would make matters worse.
“There is now a minister for decentralisation, which is a good thing,” he said. “But if we devolve power through silos of government spending, we could make get the worst of both worlds, by giving more power to small public bodies that are not joined up and conflict”.
“Can we justify not sharing back-office resources – sharing property and IT? There is real money to be saved there.”
Cllr David Parsons, leader of Leicestershire County Council and chair of the Local Government Association’s Improvement Board, called on the new chief secretary to the Treasury to follow his predecessor’s lead in backing Total Place.
Towards Total Partnerships- the Challenges and Opportunities of Total Place for LSPs
Hosted by CLG this event on the 10th June will address the practicalities of Total Place from an LSP perspective and explore the challenges and opportunities of moving towards Total Partnerships. Delegates will hear the current thinking from both CLG and the Leadership Centre post-election, and in a workshop setting discuss developments with two Total Place Pilots.
The programme aims to:
For more information and to book, please contact Prue Dakin on 0845 4715202 or prue@lspfutures.org.uk
Total Place ‘second life’
The Leadership Centre is working with the Coventry, Solihull & Warwickshire pilot to develop a virtual world where ‘Total Place’ is a reality. People often respond better to ideas when they are graphically represented and they can interact with that representation. The virtual Total place would enable the end user to simulate scenarios of changes over a number of years, showing what the area would be like in the future based on their decisions. Simulations of 10 to 15 years of real-time are compressed in the computer model to the timescale of minutes. One suggestion is a ‘SimCity’ style tool where users can affect the outcomes of the population by changing a set number of variables, e.g. moving money from acute to preventative care
We’re really excited about this work and will keep you updated on progress.
Coalition agreement
For those who haven’t seen it yet, the coalition agreement is available via this link http://programmeforgovernment.hmg.gov.uk/files/2010/05/coalition-programme.pdf
The LGA group have put together an open and comprehensive offer from local government to the new coalition government which can bee accessed via this link http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=1
“Local government is ready to work with the new coalition government to reduce spending and reform the state. Councils are ready to strike a deal with central government which will see local government take full responsibility for delivering more with less”.
The LGA’s offer in summary is:
For more detail, please click on the links above.
UK Location Council – invitation for a Total Place pilot
“Most local authority information has a geographical component……after all everything happens somewhere and location matters!
However, the data is often held in isolation and cannot be easily accessed, linked and shared with other organisations to delivery services locally, in many ways similar to accessing information during the Total Place project”.
The Location programme is establishing an infrastructure to make it easier to access and evaluate location based data through metadata discovery and data publishing services linked to data .gov.uk and by adopting common data standards based on the EU INSPIRE. http://location.defra.gov.uk/
The UK Location Council is inviting submissions from Total Place contacts for a pilot to demonstrate and deliver operational and financial benefits that would be derived from adopting the location infrastructure and publishing model and the EU INSPIRE regulations on data sharing.
An ideal pilot would solve a significant operational problem drawing on their own data sets and information flows, along with at least two from other organisations, that once correctly formatted or incorporated in a process change will deliver a business wins by exploiting their enhanced geographical intelligence (“interoperability” is the jargon word!)
So if you are ever left wondering “if only this were not like that or if we could just get this dataset to combine with that and that…..”. then maybe you have the makings of a suitable pilot.
To discuss or submit your suggestions please contact Gesche Schmid at gesche.schmid@lga.gov.uk or dean.morton@ordnancesurvey.co.uk
Pilot criteria can be seen at http://location.defra.gov.uk/programme/pilots-and-early-adopters-programme/pilots/
Full background on the UK Location Council and the context of the pilots can be found by exploring their web pages at http://location.defra.gov.uk/
AGI Local Public Services Special Interest Group (LPSIG) & Local Government Association (LGA) seminar: 29 June
Share to Save: How GI can equip the public sector to do more with less
“Total Place pilots have demonstrated that a whole area approach to public services can lead to better services at less cost. Now though, the challenge for everyone in the public sector is to save money by sharing local public services, staff and buildings.
Geography and GIS are fundamental to understanding place. Many government organisations already employ GIS to deliver better services for the customer at less cost. The seminar will concentrate on three key elements:
The seminar will provide an opportunity for participants from the Local Government and Health sectors to discuss best practice, learn from peer organisations and see where opportunities exist to do more geospatially with less.
For further information, see http://calendar.agi.org.uk/ViewItem.html?integral=0&detail=0&cal_item_id=702&dtwhen=2455377&style_sheet=userStyle.css&checkafter=1274692435955
New CLG department takes shape
Eric Pickles, the new secretary of state for communities and local government, has been joined at the department by fellow Conservatives Grant Shapps and Greg Clark. Mr Shapps, MP for Welwyn Hatfield, steps directly up from his shadow housing minister role. He will be responsible for driving through plans to introduce a council tax incentive mechanism to encourage more councils to build homes.
Mr Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells and former shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change, will take responsibility for the government’s decentralisation agenda.
Before becoming an MP in 2005, Mr Clark was director of policy for the Conservative party for three successive Leaders – William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.
The department has three junior ministers. Bob Neill, MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, was a London councillor for nearly 30 years, serving on the former Greater London Council and London Assembly, and as leader of the Greater London Authority’s Conservative group until June 2006. Andrew Stunell, MP for Hazel Grove and the former Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman on communities and local government, served as a councillor on Cheshire and Stockport councils. Conservative peer Baroness Hanham was leader of the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea for 11 years until 2000.
Elsewhere, Nick Hurd, MP for Ruislip Northwood Pinner, was appointed minister responsible for charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations in the Cabinet Office. He said such organisations were “at the very centre” of the new government’s ‘Big society’ mission to deliver better public services. Mr Hurd steered the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 onto the statute book.
Irene Lucas appointed acting permanent secretary at CLG
We hope you’ll join us in congratulating Irene Lucas, one of local government’s most vocal supporters, as she takes the helm at the Department for Communities & Local Government.
Ms Lucas has been appointed acting permanent secretary of the department following Peter Housden’s appointment as permanent secretary to the Scottish Government. An open competition will be held for the post.
Ms Lucas joined the department last year as director general for local government having spent seven years at South Tyneside MBC as chief executive.
Mr Housden was appointed to his new post by cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell with the agreement of First Minister Alex Salmond. Commenting on his appointment, Mr Housden said: “To be leaving Communities in these circumstances is a huge honour, but also a great wrench. I have tremendous regard for my colleagues in the Department, and for our all partners and friends in public services and in civic society. In the four and a half years we have worked together, we have served communities to the very best of our ability.”
Mr Housden was chief executive of Nottinghamshire CC between 1994 and 2001.
http://www.lgcplus.com/briefings/people/management/lucas-to-take-the-helm-at-dclg/5015004.article
The Ethics of Privacy: University of Leeds
The IDEA CETL at the University of Leeds is hosting two major events on the Ethics of Privacy in June 2010. An academic conference (17-19th June) will address applied and theoretical issues on the nature and value of privacy. Within this, a public event (18th June, 5.00-6.50pm), open to all and free of charge, will focus on privacy issues in politics and public policy, addressing the question, “How much importance should be given to privacy considerations when making public policy?”
Speakers include Susan Mendus, Pauline Neville-Jones, Onora O’Neill, Geoffrey Scarre, Matthew Taylor and Georgia Testa
For more information visit www.idea.leeds.ac.uk/privacy
Total Place community of practice
The Total Place CoP continues to grow, and now has over 1000 members. Thanks to everyone who participates and shares ideas, events, research and news. We are now considering how the CoP might work in the future, with an eye to making it more accessible to anyone interested in Total Place; please let us know if you have anything to add to the discussion. Don’t forget that the CoP is a great way to connect with other Total Place practitioners and to carry on networking after events…
Look out for a new CoP poll today on a new name for Total Place! www.communities.idea.gov.uk
Lastly, the Total Place ‘Practitioners Guide’ has been downloaded over 1000 times since its launch in May. For your copy please visit http://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/totalplace/learning/a-practitioners-guide
]]>Links to what people have been saying about Total Place in June 2010
Regeneration charm offensive – Regen.net, 01 June 2010
Can Total Place survive? – John Tizard in Public Finance, 01 June 2010
Clear and present danger – LocalGov.co.uk, 01 June 2010
What next for Total Place? – LocalGov.co.uk, 01 June 2010
The experts’ view on the cuts – LocalGov.co.uk, 01 June 2010
Leadership programme focuses on a new type of civil servant – Guardian, 02 June 2010
Total Place under the Tories – Arbitrary Constant blog, 02 June 2010
Neill supports Total Place principles – LGC, 03 June 2010
‘Follow the money’ – Paul Wheeler in The MJ, 03 June 2010
Consistency is needed – Tony Travers in the Nursing Times, 03 June 2010
Conceptual logic – not a survival plan – Public Service, 04 June 2010
The future of local government – Ken Budd, 04 June 2010
What will happen to Total Place under the new coalition government? – Peter Baeck, Innovation Unit blog, 07 June 2010
Translating Total Place findings into national cost savings – Public Net, 09 June 2010
Total Place pilot success – Public Net, 09 June 2010
The Total Place legacy lives on – Jon Rouse in LGC, 10 June 2010
Let’s just get on with it – Stephen Taylor in the MJ, 15 June 2010
Rebalancing localism – MJ, 15 June 2010
Ipswich Police joins forces with council – Public Property UK, 18 June 2010
Localism, localism, localism – Alan Goodrum in the MJ, 18 June 2010
PMO: Total Place Integrator – Project datafile, 18 June 2010
How will local authorities decide where to drop the axe? – Children and Young People Now, 22 June 2010
Further education needs an integrated service – Guardian, 22 June 2010
Savings of 80% through cuts is optimistic – Guardian, 22 June 2010
Total Place could improve health and social care integration – Confed – HSJ, 23 June 2010
Don’t gripe, get a grip – Public Finance Opinion, 23 June 2010
Will the Budget make Total Place initiatives more difficult?
– The Campaign Company blog, 23 June 2010
Housing Pact delivered to Grant Shapps at CIH Conference – 24dash, 25 June 2010
Slashing is no solution – Public Service, 25 June 2010
Radical Efficiency in Whitehall – Disciplined Innovation, 25 June 2010
Public services badly equipped to find out where the money goes – Public Net, 28 June 2010
Sometimes you have to make yourself useful – Policy and Performance blog, 29 June 2010
Charities must have their say on Total Place, says Navca – Third Sector, 29 June 2010
Lib-Con public sector cuts indicate an incoherent strategy – Guardian, 30 June 2010
Norman conquest? – John Redwood’s blog, 30 June 2010
Total Place – the future and what it means for HR – Personnel Today, 30 June 2010
]]>You can now keep an eye on activity from the Total Place Community of Practice (CoP) via a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed. RSS feeds allow you to see when new content has been added to a website via a piece of software called a ‘newsreader’.
You can add feeds from several aspects of the CoP. Clicking the links below will take you to the feed itself.
To find out more about using RSS feeds, visit the IDeA’s RSS information page.
Visit the community of practice – membership is open to all.
]]>The winners of the MJ Achievement Awards 2010 were announced last night at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane. The 14 categories celebrate the best in local government and showcase the excellent work taking place across the sector.
Special congratulations must go to the London Borough of Croydon, winners of the Total Place Achievement of the Year Award, sponsored by Capita. This category was open to both pilots and non-pilots who could demonstrate “innovative projects that show joint working across different parts of the public sector between local authorities and their partners in a locality with a benefit for residents, either in lower costs or a better service or ideally both.” London Borough of Hackney and Suffolk County Council were highly recommended.
Plymouth City Council took out top honours as Best Achieving Council of the Year, with judges praising its impressive journey and brave decision-making. You can see a full list of winners and nominees at the MJ Awards website.
]]>We’ve added some new content to the recap of the Total Place Summit. Throughout the event, participants worked on their ideas for taking forward the work begun in Total Place and we’ve shared a selection of these on the Day 2 wrap-up. Ideas from participants include:
Read about Day 1 of the Summit here.
After an invigorating first day at the Total Place Summit, participants were keen to get stuck in on Day 2. They started with coffee and a look round the ‘marketplace’ of stands from places while being addressed by a variety of speakers at the speaker’s corner stand. Once everyone was sufficiently warmed up, they moved back into the main room to hear Lord Bichard being interviewed by our excellent compere, Karen Ellis. You can see excerpts from the interview in the film from the day.
Later in the day, the participants worked together to work out a way forward for the work that was begun under Total Place. Using the questions generated in discusssions on the first day, they mapped out a long list of ‘experiments’ that could be put in place to build on the work of of pilots and parallel places.
Nearly 100 suggestions were generated, and these are currently being pulled together so that they can be taken forward.
We were fortunate to be joined throughout the Summit by a group of young people from Worcestershire. They shared their stories of being Not in Education, Employment or Training with the group. At the closing session, they posed some challenging questions, which deserve a wider audience:
This is a great list of questions and would be a useful reference point for anyone who’s working in public services. If you can’t come up with an answer to one of these questions, maybe it would be useful to take some time and reflect on your own approach to young people – or the elderly, or single mothers, or immigrants, or even your co-workers!
We were really pleased that the group could come and take part in the event. They’ve been a very busy group – check back soon for more details of what they’ve been up to and what you can expect to hear from them next.
This is a question we’re asked, ooh, roughly 37 times a day here at Total Place HQ. Thankfully, we had the combined force of the best and brightest at the Summit working on experiments that could be run locally or between areas and Whitehall to test a change idea across a number of themes. We’ve shared a selection of ideas below, and you can download the full list as a Word document.
Throughout both days of the event, we had a graphic artist working with us to record the conversations and themes of the two days and create a piece of artwork that would reflect this and prompt new observations from the group. In the end, there was so much conversation that we ended up with two enormous murals. On the left you can see Nick explaining the work. You can also see higher resolution images for The Adventure of Total Place and What Next taken by Nuala O’Rourke. Our thanks to Nick Payne for his excellent work.
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