By David Williams
3 November 2009
Early results from a flagship government scheme to increase public sector efficiency prove that more spending should be brought under local government control, councils say.
Only £350 of the average £7,000 spent per head on local services – 5% – is controlled by councils, according to figures released by the Leadership Centre for Local Government. The data comes from interim reports published as part of the Total Place initiative, currently being piloted in13 local authority areas around England. The scheme is designed to save money by viewing all money spent on local services as a single sum.
The pilots have shown that in one area, 49 separate organisations, from councils to health bodies and police authorities, are involved in spending public money.
The Local Government Association has described the findings as ‘shocking’ and restated its call for elected members to have more control over local spending.
David Parsons, chair of the LGA’s improvement board, said: ‘It is absurd that people do not have a bigger say over how their taxes are spent in the area they live. During these tough times democratically elected councils have a vital role to play if people are to get the local services they demand and deserve.
‘The recession is forcing everybody who spends taxpayers’ money to think about how they can do more with less.
‘Town halls are at the heart of the areas they represent. As the most efficient part of the public sector, councils are better placed than anyone to work with all the different organisations in an area to find ways of saving money and improving those services that matter most to local people.’
Chris Leslie, director of the New Local Government Network, said a consensus was now emerging that local spending should be pooled and councils should have more say on how it is distributed.
‘The question is how,’ he told Public Finance. ‘What’s the proposal that comes next?’
He said one option could be to force each agency spending in a local area to put 1% of its budget into a pooled pot each year. ‘That’s probably the only way to force change. You need that ratcheting-up effect, otherwise you get people protecting their fiefdoms.’
3 November 2009
Early results from a flagship government scheme to increase public sector efficiency prove that more spending should be brought under local government control, councils say.
Only £350 of the average £7,000 spent per head on local services – 5% – is controlled by councils, according to figures released by the Leadership Centre for Local Government. The data comes from interim reports published as part of the Total Place initiative, currently being piloted in13 local authority areas around England. The scheme is designed to save money by viewing all money spent on local services as a single sum.
The pilots have shown that in one area, 49 separate organisations, from councils to health bodies and police authorities, are involved in spending public money.
The Local Government Association has described the findings as ‘shocking’ and restated its call for elected members to have more control over local spending.
David Parsons, chair of the LGA’s improvement board, said: ‘It is absurd that people do not have a bigger say over how their taxes are spent in the area they live. During these tough times democratically elected councils have a vital role to play if people are to get the local services they demand and deserve.
‘The recession is forcing everybody who spends taxpayers’ money to think about how they can do more with less.
‘Town halls are at the heart of the areas they represent. As the most efficient part of the public sector, councils are better placed than anyone to work with all the different organisations in an area to find ways of saving money and improving those services that matter most to local people.’
Chris Leslie, director of the New Local Government Network, said a consensus was now emerging that local spending should be pooled and councils should have more say on how it is distributed.
‘The question is how,’ he told Public Finance. ‘What’s the proposal that comes next?’
He said one option could be to force each agency spending in a local area to put 1% of its budget into a pooled pot each year. ‘That’s probably the only way to force change. You need that ratcheting-up effect, otherwise you get people protecting their fiefdoms.’
