Despite the prevailing doom and gloom in local government, there are still plenty of grounds for optimism if councils rise to the challenge
A few days ago, whilst addressing a local government conference in Australia, I was asked if I was optimistic or pessimistic about the future of English local government. The conference was aware that that the coalition government is imposing major public expenditure cuts. However, you could hear the sound of disbelief and amazement when I explained the scale of the cuts that many councils are having to make over a very short period.
I guess that they immediately assumed that my response to their question could only have one answer, and that it would be 'pessimistic' - perhaps prefixed by 'extremely'. But of course, it’s not that simple. The truth is that many of those involved with English local government are confused over about whether to be optimistic or pessimistic about the future.
Clearly, the scale and front-loading of the cuts are cause for deep concern. Not simply because they will seriously diminish the size and range of activities of local authorities but because of the impact these cuts will undoubtedly have on communities, local businesses and the most disadvantaged. They are also making it much more difficult for local authorities to invest for the future.
Regrettably, many public service employees are paying the price of these cuts with their jobs, pensions and salaries. This will do little to motivate staff and encourage improved productivity and change just when this is most needed. Local government is also being adversely impacted on by cuts across the wider public sector too. So the cuts are without question, prima facie, cause for pessimism.
However, it is also true that a more considered view is that the scenario which faces local government can be a catalyst for change, forcing challenges to orthodoxy and requiring us to be behave differently. This demands a positive mindset from local authorities and will be best secured by engaging communities, staff and service users.
At a macro scale, the government has undoubtedly reduced the degree of national performance management and prescription. Its rhetoric is very strongly localist. Local government is to have a new general power of competency. It is set to regain responsibility for public health and will provide strategic leadership on ‘health and well-being’ boards. These are all reasons for optimism.
However, we also know that the new legislation simply gives the secretary of state more powers to intervene and have heard him continuously talk about salaries and bin collections. Different government departments interpret localism in their own fashion and for some it does actually mean a role for local government. We’re facing a complex and contradictory tapestry.
Prior to the general election there were cross-party high hopes for Total Place, but the government decided not to proceed with it. This could have given local government the powers and resources to shape public services and secure optimal outcomes for their communities. But let’s not get too pessimistic about this for the opportunity now rests with councils and their leaders. They should not wait for Whitehall. They have the opportunity to display local political leadership.
Drawing on their political mandate they can fulfil their community leadership role - persuading, cajoling and negotiating with public sector partners as well as local businesses to act on behalf of local communities too.
These opportunities do not outweigh the impact of the cuts but where local authorities are acting strategically they can deploy community leadership, and empower staff and communities to mitigate against these cuts. They are working with the local private, community and voluntary sectors, and their public sector partners, to devolve power. The co-operative councils’ initiative is exciting as are some of the progressive Conservative approaches. Some authorities are also looking at different ways of delivering services through a strategic commissioning approach.
It is positive that authorities are seizing the opportunity to develop new relations with providers from the private, third and social enterprise sectors. Some are actively working to provide their staff with the skills, capital and resources to establish and pump-prime employee-led co-operatives. Given the right conditions many of these initiatives have the potential to prove very successful.
Then there is the exploration of asset rationalisation, as well as introducing new social investment capital to finance preventative work and better outcomes. These are exciting and will, in time, produce results. The adoption of such strategic approaches is cause for optimism and demonstrates the capacity and optimism of many council leaders and chief executives.
However, I have to admit to being frustratingly pessimistic as I witness too many authorities struggling, unwilling to consider the opportunities that are there for the taking. They could find themselves forever locked into what seems to them the safer and more familiar ground of a demoralising series of annual budget cuts and attacks on their staff and communities - to the point where there is nothing left to cut and little to justify the council continuing to exist.
Local government has demonstrated its resilience before but now it needs to be innovative and not simply survivalist. Councillors and their officers must never allow central government to hasten their demise. Whatever their formal legal powers, councils must push to the absolute limit of the law and their finances in order to protect and promote their communities. The public deserve no less. At a time of economic and social uncertainty and hardship, local government must demonstrate its optimism on behalf of its communities.
For, unless we are optimistic, we might as well shutter up all the town and county halls throughout the country, and throw away the keys.
This post is based on a keynote speech to the annual conference of the Queensland Local Government Association in Gold Coast, Australia
