The Localism Bill, unveiled this week, claims to shake up the balance of power in local service delivery. It may well achieve this aim, but at the same time it also fundamentally shakes up the balance of risk – a factor all local authorities and the public need to be aware of.
Local authorities and communities are being granted unprecedented levels of freedom over everything from tax tariffs and setting up their own bank, to housing targets and running key community assets like pubs and shops. This devolution, whilst laudable in principle, nonetheless presents several challenges in reality, as new and often inexperienced groups and individuals are offered the opportunity to take on responsibility for local service delivery.
Small states could mean big risks for those who do choose to take up that mantle – and it’s not clear that significant numbers will. Only a quarter of people we spoke to in our recent Tough Choices report agreed that individuals should have more responsibility for delivering local public services, whereas half believe it should remain the council’s job.
The risks of engaging the wider community in decision-making and service provision are many and varied, especially if community groups and organisations are being involved in new or different tasks. It’s entirely possible that, for example, service quality may be compromised, budgets may be exceeded or reputation may be harmed. There is also the risk that certain ‘populist’ services may be prioritised over those that, while seemingly less important to one area of society, are actually critical to another.
Of course, that‘s not to say that the Big Society won’t work – only time will tell whether it will succeed both in delivering services and driving efficiencies. But it’s highly unlikely that more people will come forward to run services, set up their own schools or volunteer with a local charity if they think that there will be some personal risk to them.
It is vital then that communities are armed with the right protection and guidance to take on more direct local service delivery. Far from getting in the way of a ‘Big Society’, insurance and effective risk management will in fact be vital in helping to deliver it – and make it a success.
Andrew Jepp is director of public services at Zurich Municipal
