The economic downturn has seen employment in the UK rise to 7.9%, with almost 2.5 million people out of work, just under a million of which are aged between 16-25. In a new report, NLGN argues that a place-based approach is needed for employment and skills, with greater local economic activism by councils to steer funding towards particular sectors to stimulate new jobs.

It recommends that ‘skills accounts’ are reshaped to give individuals more choice over the training they receive and councils greater democratic strategic control, by enabling them to vary the public subsidy for different skills training options based on current and future local economic needs. With such a system, a local authority seeking to diversify the local economy to make it more resilient in the future may, for example, wish to increase jobs in renewable technologies, and could direct skills funding to meet the skills needs of that particular sector.

The report also advocates streamlining some existing skills quangos to create an integrated and less cluttered employment and skills system. It suggests merging current national and regional skills agencies into one organisation – the UK Commission for Employment and Skills – and devolving all operational functions to local authorities.

Report author Nick Hope argues that councils must also do far more themselves to stimulate demand for jobs, by creating the environment for new dynamic business opportunities and acting themselves to forge a new era of municipal entrepreneurship. He suggests that the Government should take forward proposals in their Smarter Government White Paper to allow councils to use their trading powers to create commercial opportunities.

Report author Nick Hope said:

“We must urgently and fundamentally reconstruct the architecture of the skills and employment system, to allow a far more devolved and flexible approach that is not based around programmes, age-categories and funding streams but around the specific needs of particular places and, crucially, individuals.”

“We need to move beyond the concept of “demand-led” skills, where employers and learners drive learning but risk perpetuating a short-sited approach that reinforces industrial weaknesses, towards a “place-led’ era, rooted in an area’s unique assets, characteristics and economic potential. Local authorities must be at the heart of this new era, working collaboratively to orchestrate opportunities and drive economic growth.”

• Warning that dramatic budget deficits could plunge Britain back into era of crumbling infrastructure.
• Local authorities should plan now for a new environment of constrained capital allocations from the Treasury.
• Councils must be better prepared to raise capital in novel ways in order to meet critical investment needs

With the credit crunch causing the “tsunami of a public sector recession” from next year onwards, the shockwaves hitting investment in road and rail, school buildings, housing, regeneration and other public facilities could be extremely severe, according to a new thinktank report. The New Local Government Network (NLGN) says that inadequate investment into public infrastructure could lead to a decline in growth and hamper the modernisation of public services.

The UK has huge demands for the new provision and refurbishment of infrastructure, and it is local authorities who are at the forefront of investment in housing, transport, regeneration, education and waste management.

In its new report “Capital Contingencies” NLGN sets out how local councils could raise alternative forms of infrastructure investment in a scenario where the Treasury begins to clamp down on orthodox capital expenditure. NLGN suggests that local authorities should consider going directly to capital markets through bond issuance, potentially explore alternative revenue raising powers including the workplace parking levy once the recession ends, and that councils should rapidly exploring the potential to apply their own financial reserves more intelligently.

With Treasury plans to halve capital expenditure from £44bn to £22bn by 2013/14 and with private capital now only available to the public sector in a more limited form and quantity, councils will need a stronger approach to partnerships and rethink regeneration and construction plans. In order to lessen the capital funding crisis NLGN is proposing a number of innovations:

• Local authorities to generate new revenue stream opportunities through modest user charging including workplace parking levy implementation, when the recovery allows, and new trading opportunities as permissive powers of wellbeing and general competence become available;
• A new lending approach which treats the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) on a level playing field with other local capital finance models, removing bias and allowing greater local choice;
  A new collective fund for council reserves which could aid infrastructure investment across the country.
• NLGN Director, Chris Leslie, urged all political parties to think hard before making large scale cuts in capital grants and loans:

“Anxiety over the level of public sector debt is set to define the next decade of public service provision in the UK but such a mindset risks a scenario in which economic growth is fettered by inadequate investment in the nation’s infrastructure.”

“Local authorities are the principal agents in much of the nation’s infrastructure development and must be ready to rediscover the skills and techniques that can enable self-determined capital investment. The constitutional circumstances which have created a local government community almost totally reliant on Whitehall now risk leaving much of our public services and facilities bereft of investment. We urge preparedness within the sector for the looming political obsession with national debt which could see a Treasury cutting capital grant and loan availability severely.“

“Councils have the powers, albeit dormant, to relate to capital markets directly should they choose to do so, and also possess great assets and reserves of their own which hold enormous potential for domestic reinvestment. We see it as vital that making more these powers and assets forms the vanguard of future locally-driven investment.”

“To do this we must address on a fundamental level the relationship between central and local government. The parameters within which local authorities operate are too restrictive, and it is only by removing these that the potential for a wider suite of independent options – whether municipal bonds, mutualisation, trading, alternative revenue streams or other forms of partnership with the private sector – can be realised.”

National rail services are currently managed by the Department for Transport through a series of franchise agreements, which generally last for between seven and ten years. Under the scheme, groups of sub-regional local authorities could be able to trigger a contract refresh or reconsideration if certain local targets or levels of satisfaction with trains’ services are not achieved. This would give a greater voice to local people in areas that suffer delays, poor services, overcrowding or unreasonable fares policies.

The recall would work by giving new powers to sub-regional authorities to demand that the Secretary of State reconsiders the terms of a franchise agreement where it can be shown that train services are not meeting satisfaction levels or responding to local needs. All franchise agreements would have additional clauses inserted allowing for councils to represent the needs of local commuters in this way.

On the Right Track: New models for integrated transport also proposes a range of new powers and initiatives to integrate transport. Measures include a regional ‘Oyster’ system for rail and bus services which would allow sub-regional authorities to offer cheaper and more convenient travel options throughout their region. Such a scheme would also provide a capital pot to allow authorities to invest in better public transport. According to the report, the scheme could raise a floating loan of almost £50m for the Leeds city-region and almost £45m for the Manchester city-region. The scheme could also allow users to register “land miles”, a reward for using public transport.

To help cut congestion and tackle climate change, the report also urges local authorities to offer financial incentives for local residents to reduce their car usage. One suggestion is for councils to offer forms of car insurance that reward drivers who only use their car sparingly, for example to do the weekly shopping. The scheme could benefit drivers who use public transport to go to work or take their children to school rather than using a car.

Author of the report, Nigel Keohane argues that the new transport Secretary of State should make integrated transport a priority:

“Transport affects all aspects of our lives: whether getting to work, travelling to school or college, accessing hospitals or visiting family and friends. At a strategic level, mobility is an enabler for economic growth, social inclusion and will determine the health of our environment.

“However, transport still remains too disjointed – in terms of how we buy tickets, receive information, make connections and exercise our choice of travel. Without new approaches, congestion is likely to stall economic recovery, we will struggle to meet our climate change aspirations and passengers will be left frustrated and unconvinced by what public transport has to offer.”

The research, published in association with Serco and Kent County Council, argues that there is a close correlation between general satisfaction with an area by its local residents and with the level of satisfaction specifically on street cleanliness issues. With the Comprehensive Area Assessment introducing new indicators for public satisfaction, the think tank is urging councils to look again at how it conducts its streetscene strategy.

In particular the research found that perceptions of streetscene are highly localised and can vary substantially by individual streets. Satisfaction levels can be higher when services are delivered on a street by street basis rather than pan-ward or pan-authority. NLGN argues:

“Often, the relationship between the quality of local environments and perceptions of places as being good to live in is intuitive. However, delivering on ‘people and places’ will require a more strategic understanding of what shapes perceptions and satisfaction. We recommend that all local authorities give careful consideration to new evidence in this report suggesting that a ‘geopsychology’ of resident perceptions has widespread consequences for other service level activities and underpins the community’s sense of place.”

The report also recommends:

• Local Authorities should inform residents of the cost of fly-tipping – social, environmental, financial – and use imaginative social marketing techniques alongside tough enforcement measures to influence behaviour.
• Councils should annually reconsider how its local public funding might be better allocated to neighbourhood and community groups for ‘clean, green, safe’ issues through participatory budgeting or community kitties.
• The Audit Commission should reward authorities in the new CAA process who demonstrate a deep commitment to establishing new approaches aimed at widening citizen engagement in improving the streetscene. The reward could consist of a prize fund for those councils that used innovative technology and could show that within a set number of years they had
increased satisfaction levels and increased the rapidity of responding to local environment problems.
• Local authorities should consider auditing their entire workforce to understand the potential range of staff and contracted employees who might be able to contribute to a new streetscene oriented working approach.

NLGN is today (Wed) publishing new proposals to accelerate sub-regional economic collaboration across England to help areas weather the economic storm and emerge strong from the downturn.

In a major report to be launched at the LGA conference, NLGN warns that if central government fails to incentivise deeper sub-regional working by putting greater powers “on the table” important opportunities for economic development will be missed. In particular concern is voiced that the city-region forerunners announced at The Budget and the Economic Prosperity Boards (EPBs) currently being legislated for in Parliament will not be granted the powers they need.

Author Nick Hope sets out eight proposals for reform:

1. Accelerated Development Zone (ADZ) status should be made widely available to sub-regions at the earliest opportunity to ensure large infrastructure schemes do not become unviable

2. Sub-regional partnerships should be granted additional latitude for Supplementary Business Rates or Business Rate discounts within their functional economic area to match economic activity
3. Sub-regional partnerships should be able to receive longer-term funding commitments from Government, in turn leveraging benefits from this greater financial certainty
4. A new three year statutory financial balance for local authorities in sub-regional partnerships should be offered in order to expand the policy choices available to them
5. A single capital pot for economic development and regeneration would allow spend to vary between themes and projects in a more responsive way and support a more integrated approach
6. All skills and worklessness commissioning powers should be available to sub-regions at the earliest possible opportunity to help improve educational attainment and tackle unemployment
7. Multi-Area Agreements and sub-regional partnerships should have their cooperative efforts rewarded with a new ability to appeal to the Secretary of State against NDPB and Executive Agency decisions it feels may hamper their strategy
8. The concept of ‘Total Place’ should be extended to incentivise multi-area agreements and sub regions to pool efforts and create new efficiencies across a wider area – the notion of ‘Total MAAs’

In addition to incentivising collaboration with new powers, the report argues that there should be greater support for sub-regional working with:

• The creation of a new ‘sub-regional catalyst fund’, where central government ‘match funds’ the cost of the additional spending and resources needed to establish and strengthen sub-regional partnerships. This money would be paid back by the sub-regional partnership over an agreed period from the efficiency savings that sub-regional collaboration brings.

• Improvements to the interface with Whitehall should be improved, particularly in the current climate, by strengthening the MAA Team to reflect the growing number of sub-regions that are emerging, looking to develop, and wishing to expand their role.
• A more flexible, simpler and inclusive approach from government under the MAA umbrella, so that they cover a far wider variety of partnership arrangements, harnessing the economic potential of a wider spectrum of sub-regions.

Nick Hope urged the Government to be bolder in its approach to sub-regions, arguing:

‘“If Whitehall fails to match the ambition of sub-regions with greater ambition itself very few areas will go down this more formal statutory route.

There is a real opportunity for robust governance arrangements at the sub-regional tier, which provide the leadership and drive for important strategic economic decision-making and interventions to take place, but these collaborative partnerships need new tools and flexibilities if they are to be effective.

Both local and central government need to prioritise economic needs over institutional self-interest or they will fail future generations. It will take more than “business as usual” to deliver the infrastructure and inward investment needed for prosperity.”

The paper calls on the UK Government to lobby the European Commission to place a greater emphasis on local discretion and the needs of particular communities rather than enforcing rigid practices that stymie creativity across the £50 billion of spent by local government.

This research argues that across the country there is an increasing shift to promote local economic resilience, wider community goals, environmentalism personalised services and innovative design through procurement. This requires new approaches to considered risk taking and to driving wider community outcomes beyond simply the bottom line price.

However, despite unearthing some excellent practice across the sector, NLGN’s survey found that there is scope for greater innovation in how local government procures.

Underlying this cultural risk-aversion is a prescriptive European legal framework that rewards compliance. The report argues that the legal framework leaves councils who are seeking to pursue local economic sustainability and innovative service design battling against a set of rules that prohibit innovation, reward the status quo and narrow the scope for service improvement.

Radical reforms to the European Union’s Competitive Dialogue procedure are also proposed to allow more innovative ideas to flourish, to ensure greater efficiency and for more proactive dialogue between authorities, bidders and providers.

The research argues that councils should go further to replicate some of the best practice including:

• Tracking their procurement spend in their communities to ensure economic sustainability
  
• Opening up opportunities to smaller businesses
  
• Specifying their contracts in terms of the goals they wish to achieve rather than stating particular methods of working

Author of the report and Senior Researcher Nigel Keohane said:

‘Procurement covers some £50 billion and about half of the money spent by our local authorities. How it is done, therefore, is critically important not only in terms of efficiency but also in terms of ensuring that we build schools that last and design services that meet the specific needs of our community.

‘However, European legislation is undermining the scope for innovation and discretion at the local level and its influence spreads far beyond the simple letter of the law.

‘Especially now, as local communities seek to ensure their local economies are resilient, that we try to factor in our response to climate change and provide quality services, it is time for the Government to push for change to free up a more community-focused approach.’

The report will be launched in association with 4Ps and CABE on Tuesday 30 June at the LGA conference.

The collection brings together think pieces from China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Denmark, Holland and Malaysia, as well as the UK, to share ideas and experiences on policy making and delivery.

Mayor Ge Honglin of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China details how public services are bring improved in urban and rural areas in one of the country’s largest cities, whilst Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa, Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan looks at the innovation of style of Japanese “local manifestos” in his area, which have developed local laws to combat smoking and to promote the use of electric cars at the local level.

Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand, Kerry Prendergast looks at the lessons that other countries can learn from their experience of community engagement, noting how reforms to local government have demanded a high degree of community involvement in decision making and put the onus squarely on councils to encourage the maximum involvement possible. Also, Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen reviews the success of local decision-making and community engagement activities in his city.

The collection, Local Experiences, Global Perspectives: Local government across the world is edited by NLGN Researcher, Giorgia Iacopini and Daniel Klemm, Manager of International Relations and Trade at Creative Sheffield.

Daniel Klemm commented:

“local government in the UK should strive to learn how comparative overseas authorities, who experience similar problems, best serve their local communities. Instead of finding new approaches in isolation, using approaches from overseas allows us to find effective ways of tackling challenges such as engaging people and businesses in local decision making. The vast array of different approaches used in resolving internationally common problems provides a rich seam of new ideas for British local government.”

]]> http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/new-publication-assesses-global-solutions-to-local-issues/feed/ 0 http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/first-among-equals-diversity-in-local-government-leadership-and-public-appointments/ http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/first-among-equals-diversity-in-local-government-leadership-and-public-appointments/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:33:27 +0000 editor http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/publications/first-among-equals-diversity-in-local-government-leadership-and-public-appointments/ NLGN calls on organisations to recognise equalities policy as a strategic necessity to developing high -quality public service delivery. Public sector organisations should use their capacity as the heart of their community to promote good practice and reach out to under-represented groups.]]> Public Service organisations should not use the economic downturn as a reason to reduce their commitment to equality of opportunity according to a new report published today.

The New Local Government Network is calling on organisations to recognise equalities policy as a strategic necessity to developing high-quality public service delivery, particularly in leadership roles.

The report recommends that local authorities and other public sector organisations use their capacity as the heart of their community to promote good practice and reach out to under-represented groups.

It suggests that local authorities should draw on their extensive local partnerships with businesses, universities and FE colleges, community groups and the voluntary sector to attract a more diverse work-force through secondments, work-experience and job-shadowing and using the forthcoming creation of a National Apprenticeships Service as an opportunity to target under-represented groups.

The report is based on in-depth interviews with almost a hundred chief executives, council leaders, senior officers, recruitment consultants, politicians and NDPB Board members and is published in advance of the Government’s Equalities Bill, which is expected to be published this month.

The report also argues that central Government has a key role in developing equalities policies within the public sector and suggests that departments only commission recruitment consultants who can demonstrate that they take a proactive approach to the promotion of vacancies across the widest range of the population, particularly to under-represented groups, and that they have a track record of delivery on this agenda.

Where public appointments have an important regional impact, such as for Regional Development Agencies, the report recommends that the selection process should be gradually delegated from central government and localised, as the national influence of existing civil service procedures have not ensured representative appointments.

Author of the report, Anna Turley argues:

“The public sector must harness the potential of all our society, through its workforce, its political representation, and its public appointments, if it is to create the kind of leadership our society demands.”

“In the current economic climate it is more important than ever that we enable everyone to fulfil their potential; that within local government and government agencies we create a culture of ambition, aspiration and equality of opportunity; that we value rather than hide from constructive challenge, transparency and learning opportunities.”

“Having a diverse workforce is key to ensuring this kind of leadership. Yet local government and regional public leadership are still far from being representative of the communities they serve, or from harnessing the best of the talent available.”

]]> http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/first-among-equals-diversity-in-local-government-leadership-and-public-appointments/feed/ 0 http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/people-power-how-can-we-personalise-public-services/ http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/people-power-how-can-we-personalise-public-services/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:41:33 +0000 editor http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/press-releases/people-power-how-can-we-personalise-public-services/ In an increasingly consumer-driven society, we have begun to expect more from our public services. We want to be empowered and engaged, and treated like individuals with specific requirements, rather than passive recipients who simply get what we are given or handed out the basic minimum.]]>
Decisions on public services across health, leisure, transport and the local environment should be handed down to individuals and communities according to a new report from the think tank New Local Government Network (NLGN).

In this report NLGN argues that the traditional centralised provision of services often disregards the specific needs of individuals, leads to massive wastage and fails to meet the rising expectations of citizens. Instead, the next stage of public service reform should see citizens making their own choices – with greater individual control of resources – and communities empowered to generate their own revenue and invest in services that meet the needs of their local neighbourhoods.

But, it concludes, current efforts to drive this agenda from the centre looks set to fail. Centralised investment, decision-making and performance management has made few inroads. ‘Personalising’ a service requires in-depth knowledge of consumer demand, of how markets can best provide for this demand, and how to involve citizens in designing and even running these services. It is only elected local government that is best placed to intervene and tailor responses to individuals who are out of work, homeless or in receipt of care.

The research identifies 26 practical ways in which individuals and communities can be given greater control and influence over the services they receive. It calls for new freedoms to allow funding to follow individuals and wrap around their needs and for Whitehall to step back and let citizens evaluate how services should be improved.

The report concludes by setting out new reforms to bring personalisation about:

• councils should provide leisure and recreation vouchers and allow young people to choose how to spend these on sports services (such as leisure centres or renting football pitches) or recreation (such as hiring a recording studio);

• there are increasing moves to provide convenient access to information and ticket sales across the national rail network, but this concept should be developed to bring about a National Oyster Card that would allow easy access for commuters and travellers across localities, regions and the country;

• current contractual arrangements in dental health mean that millions are going without treatment with the most significant reason remains lack of NHS dentist capacity. As a driver for wider choice, access must be opened up and the Government should, as part of its ongoing review, consider obliging those dentists who receive NHS training to conduct a minimum proportion of their work under NHS terms;

• lessons should be learned from market leaders such as the Tesco Clubcard and Amazon, with councils providing residents with local swipe cards to access services that can be credited with rewards and topped-up, and in turn provide evidence for shaping services based on customer usage and preferences;

• under a system of electronic patient records, the days should be over when commuters are forced to take a day off work to visit their GP

• individuals should be allowed access any GP, whether near their workplace, friends or family – to provide convenience and prevent wasted time;

• revenue from parking charges, environmental fines and infrastructure charges from utility companies should be devolved to the street level, where this money could be invested to make roads safer, hire a community hall or enhance the local environment.

Senior Researcher and author of the report, Nigel Keohane said:

‘For too long, we have been in a situation where public services have been designed around the institutions that deliver them rather than having citizens foremost in their minds. Whether it is a question of paying a bill or receiving care at home, citizens now rightly expect their public services to fit around their daily lives, in terms of convenience, time and point of access, choice of providers and speed of delivery.

‘But, it makes little sense to try and drive through these reforms from Whitehall. Services can only be responsive when they factor in local circumstances and the particular needs of individual citizens. So, devolution to the local level must be a prerequisite as we push this agenda forward.

‘While there is a risk that in the current economic climate we may shy away from these new challenges, if designed on the right lines, there are significant savings to be found. Personalisation and public sector efficiency should move hand in hand.”

]]> http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/people-power-how-can-we-personalise-public-services/feed/ 0 http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/better-with-age-reforming-the-future-of-local-social-care-for-older-people/ http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/2009/better-with-age-reforming-the-future-of-local-social-care-for-older-people/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:36:39 +0000 editor http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/press-releases/better-with-age-reforming-the-future-of-local-social-care-for-older-people/ With too many frail elderly people being forced to sell and move out of their homes, this report argues that a nationwide ‘combined social insurance’ offer is needed to pay for a higher quality of care for Britain’s ageing population with local government remaining in the driving seat.]]>
The UK will only be able to pay for future social care for older people by introducing a radical new ‘combined’ social insurance scheme according to a new report from the think tank New Local Government Network (NLGN).

In this report NLGN argues that local government must remain in the driving seat when commissioning care services and facilities for older people, but that the current local funding strains are unsustainable in there present state. With too many frail elderly people being forced to sell and move out of their homes, the report argues that a nationwide ‘combined social insurance’ offer is needed to pay for a higher quality of care for Britain’s ageing population. In particular, a combination of gradual social insurance payments by all should be supplemented by a chance for the baby-boomer generation to buy into a higher-grade of care options through a Government-backed ‘first charge’ on the equity of their properties, only to be recouped after death. In this way, a new higher quality care ‘guarantee’ could commence in 2030 funded by the compulsory social insurance payments, and until then, retirees would have the choice to commit a small portion of the eventual proceeds of their property to an insurance fund to cover their own-home care costs for the remainder of their lives

It is expected over two million extra people will need care by the middle of the 21st century, however state funding for social care is currently growing at a much slower rate than the population explosion among older people demands. Health experts have predicted that the UK is heading for a funding gap of £6bn within two decades unless the system is changed. The Government is expected to publish a new Social Care Green Paper within the next few months.

NLGN’s social insurance scheme would be based on citizens make gradual contributions over the course of their working lives, with regular contributions added to a hypothecated social insurance fund. This scheme may be funded solely on worker contributions or on a national insurance basis with contributions from both workers and employers. Similar scenes already exist in Germany and the Netherlands.

NLGN also calls for a new ‘equity release scheme’ to protect older people from having to sell their homes to pay for care costs. It advocates allowing homeowners the option to pay for immediate care by freeing up a portion of their home value which would only be realised as a ‘first charge’ on their property after their death. The state would cover the immediate costs until such a time that the capital would be available.

NLGN Director Chris Leslie said that the reforms would help more people to grow old with dignity. He said:

“Local and national government need to work together to solve this enormous demographic challenge. We believe that the only option is to move to a nationwide social insurance model, with a transitional phase involving a voluntary ‘first charge’ on home values for those facing care needs before 2030. However, we also believe that a new role for local government should be set out – less reliant on the council taxpayer to fund social care, but more reliant on elected councils to shape how the money is spent and how services are commissioned. A giant national quango for elderly social care would be too unwieldy – we need tailored provision to fit local circumstances and community needs. If councils extend their commissioning powers into the wider health and social care arena over the coming decades, this would be a thoroughly good thing.”

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