Labour local government taskforce begins inquiry

25 Sep 13
Labour has launched an inquiry on local public service reform and is seeking ideas on how existing provision can be restructured to better meet the needs of local areas.

By Richard Johnstone in Brighton | 25 September 2013

Labour has launched an inquiry on local public service reform and is seeking ideas on how existing provision can be restructured to better meet the needs of local areas.

The party’s Local Government Innovation Taskforce, established by Ed Miliband in June, said there was a need to re-examine the relationships between public services, organisations and people and would be gathering evidence of innovation on the front line.

Sir Richard Leese, taskforce co-chair and leader of Manchester City Council, said the group would ‘build a case for a different approach to public services using evidence from local areas of what works and is already producing results’.

He added: ‘Inequality by definition plays out differently in different areas, so the ideas, innovation and drive to overcome the challenges it presents must start at that level.

‘We already know local government is the most efficient part of the public sector, and we want to build on the passion and commitment of all those who work hard for their communities. There will be lessons to be learnt from other local partners and this call for evidence inquiry will seek out the best local innovation and use it to set out a case for national reform.’

The taskforce includes Hackney mayor Jules Pipe, Barnsley leader Sir Steve Houghton, and Stevenage leader Sharon Taylor.

Taylor, who acts as co-chair with Leese, said that, although town halls had been working hard to ensure fairness for their residents, the current situation was not sustainable following cuts to government funding.

‘This taskforce inquiry is an exciting opportunity to fundamentally rethink the way we do things,’ she added.

‘Our communities have been on the receiving end of top-down decision-making for too long. The taskforce inquiry takes the places people live in as its starting point, and will seek evidence from areas where local approaches are empowering communities and delivering better, more cost effective results.

'It will also enable us to fundamentally consider what the balance should be between services designed and delivered locally and services where it is more appropriate for the design to be universal.’

Spacer

CIPFA logo

PF Jobsite logo

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top