Chameleon PR

I attended a forum on the future of local government led by the weekly The MJ and Civica a leader in software-based solutions that help organisations to improve service delivery and efficiency

The event was attended by nine different council chief executives and heads of directorate. It took the  intriguing title of “Budget Airline model – or Scandinavian model?” to examine how the planned slowdown in public spending levels – and anticipated funding cutbacks in the next few years – will affect council services. It was also a great opportunity to find what makes the boss of a public organization tick.

Quickly dismissing any thoughts of Scandinavian models, the forum examined whether authorities will be forced cut back services. Do they pare them back to a core of standard items and charge for extras (as Barnet plans to do). The discussion asked whether councils can raise service levels as central funding declines?

What came across strongly was CEOs’ delicate role in reconciling different needs: elected members’ policies, community needs – particularly in areas badly hit by the downturn – and constraints on funding or legal restrictions on moving or redeploying staff.

There was an overriding drive to look at ways to do ‘more with less’ that any private organisation would recognise. Councils are gradually starting to share jobs, departmental resources and IT backbones. There’s no easy way to do this – ask any workforces after a merger – but change is taking place.

I was struck too by the attendees’ knowledge of partnering with and exchanging ideas with private sector companies to deliver services as extra services like entertainment licensing or parking control have been added to their to-do lists.  In a 24/7 world, councils need to let people pay for school dinners or report anti-social behaviour in the street, to suit their daily lives.

However, around a third of the population doesn’t use the Internet and councils have a legal duty to offer services through different channels. In an age of online-only shopping and banking, these requirements are too easily forgotten.

CEOs were acutely aware that if a service delivered from a local office, over the phone and isn’t working, you not only leave the consumer frustrated and you miss the opportunity to put the workforce’s talents to best use.  

Most of all, I was struck by the massive differences between borough, town and rural districts and the resources available to councils that serve them. Council CEOs keenly appreciate the characteristics and and economic factors that make their community unique. While everyone expects more these days – from 24/7 service availability to snow being cleared off their driveway – local authorities are certainly taking a clear-eyed view of how they can build better services and manage their resources to meet these challenges. 

Councils have met government efficiency targets without fanfare but they still hear the complaints about council tax bills. It will take time, but to use the current in-vogue catchphrase, their CEOs are quietly confident of delivering more for less.

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