Local, Regional and National - Where do the town and community councils fit? ? Steve Thomas CBE Chief Executive WLGA
Welsh Government approach to Public services reform feels a bit like this at present.
The current financial climate – times are very tough • Local government £57m in redundancy costs thus far • Capital spending cut by 40% • No protection to NHS spending has led to smaller cuts than England
Wales – From a potential train wreck to Opportunity Knocks?
The Welsh public sector might be financially better off than across Offa ’s Dyke but….. Huge Pressures on the NHS and social care budgets • 21 st Century Schools capital bids equals £5.7billion. Money • available £300million. Massively variable local government performance. ESTYN • inspection reports are mostly a “ celebration of the adequate ” Perceived track record of failure on Shared Services • Costs of Welsh approach to University tuition fees. • Council tax freeze? Impact on the precept? •
Enough Reviews to shake a stick at! • The Simpson Report: “Local, Regional, National: What Services are Delivered Where? ” – • The Vivian Thomas Report : “The Structure of Education Services in Wales • The Gwenda Thomas Review - “ Sustainable Social services for Wales – A Framework for Action ” –
Background - 1996 and all that • Ministers would love to reorganise local government but hold on a moment ……………… • Cost, impact on service delivery, potential rows over councillor numbers and boundary disputes . • Are reorganised services inherently more efficient? • DELIVERY - collaboration not competition, regionalism not reorganisation. • Reorganisation will happen some time, but by that time will it be of “ super districts ” rather than “ unitary authorities ” ? • Reality – Reorganisation is happening in functions not structures. • What options do town and community councils offer?
The context of Welsh politics – Delivery, delivery, delivery “ I want much greater efficiency • across the board ” “ If we are to avoid financial • pressures turning into crude service cuts, we have to accelerate the pace of change dramatically. ” • “ Public services in Wales must get used to fact that the words status quo are not longer part of the lexicon ” “ Establish an Independent Commission to review the governance and delivery arrangements of public services in Wales and make recommendations on the most effective delivery of those public services ” .
Education – The John Riggins approach to driving policy “ There are fundamental questions • about the strategic capabilities of LEAs in education…..22 directors are too many ” “ We need a proper debate on the • role of councils in education ” “ I want money to go on clear • priorities, not simply disappear into county hall budgets ” • Issues – The PISA report, Estyn inspections etc • Result - The most profound changes occurring in education policy and delivery. • Viv Thomas Report - For local government possibility of Education being delivered through 4 regional boards?
Local Government – 22 is not the magic number but what is? “ The days of Wales' 22 local • authorities having 22 chief executives 'are coming to an end ‘ “ Why do we need 22 of everything • – 22 fleets of council vehicles; 22 education services; 22 trading standards? We cannot afford just to accept traditional service models and ways of thinking ” . • Result – Local Government Measure can force collaboration and mergers – Can also see the devolution of services • An emerging fixation on the need to share senior posts as “ THE ANSWER ” • Social Services White Paper – 3 regional commissioning hubs
The Compact – Opportunity or Threat. Its all about economies of scale.
The Big Offer – the big ticket stuff moving to the regions • Education and school improvement shared services to be in place by September 2012 • Regional commissioning hubs and improvement collaboratives for of Social Care to be in place by 2012/13 • Waste management collaboration on procurement plus examination of the management organisation of the service • The formation of 2 Trunk Road Agencies leading to an examination of the expansion of role of Regional Transport consortia • Regional Delivery of the Supporting People Programme to commence in 2013-14.
Service delegations - Being aware of all the pitfalls as well as the positives. A R
The Role of Charters and building trust. What’s your relationship like? A R
Meaningful delegation of services or the local government version of a “hospital pass”? QUESTIONS - 1.What are the sorts of services that may be delegated; 2.What are the different types of delegation scheme; 3.What are the considerations for setting up a scheme; 4.What is typically involved in taking on a service delegation; ISSUES - • Is it delegation or dumping? Real Partnerships • Is sufficient funding passed on and is lack of resources the best driver for service change? • What are the legal issues? • Do you really want it? The key question of capacity • What’s the view of council tax payers
Examples of the “ 57 varieties ” of functions which could be devolved Some of the many functions that might be considered for delegation: • Winter maintenance • Maintenance of highway verges, • Open spaces, Tree preservation orders • Street cleansing (such as litter picking, sweeping and graffiti removal) • Public conveniences • Street lighting (except on principal roads) • Parking restrictions • Cutting grass verges and looking after local footpaths; • Managing council allotments. • Street naming
Need for honesty around the flashpoints – plenty of good and bad examples • Planning issues • Slow response to correspondence • Proper consultation • Double taxation • Institutional relationships can be cumbersome
Conclusions • All the meaningful discussions occurring with the Welsh Government currently are about regionalisation and economies of scale •There appears to be no robust debate about the “localist” agenda in Wales, but what could be the new service models? • What are the governance models for big regional collaborations and what does this mean for local democratic control and for your influence. • Would Local Government Reorganisation be a cleaner option?
Thanks for listening Steve Thomas CBE Chief Executive WLGA steve.thomas@wlga.gov.uk
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