Top performing UK councils to be offered greater freedom

Local authorities that perform well will be offered the chance to take a bigger hand in the management of funding and delivery of services in their area under proposals unveiled by the government.

The 'single offer' announced by chief secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne, will allow councils with strong track records to negotiate with Whitehall to agree a smaller number of targets, reduce the number of inspections they face and remove all funding ring-fences, except those for core school grants and counter-terrorism.

Authorities that take up the offer will be expected to deliver significantly higher savings than other councils and public sector bodies but they will be permitted to retain a share of their efficiency gains.

Mr Byrne said that Treasury had decided to move forward with the initiative after assessing the work of the 13 pilot areas involved in the Total Place scheme. The project aims to identify and reduce overlap between public services in order to deliver improved value for money and better serve local needs.

"Total Place recasts the relationship between local government and the centre," Mr Byrne said. "The message to local authorities is clear - if you perform well, you'll get more freedoms."

Karen Cherrett, PA's local government expert says, "If Total Place has demonstrated one truth it is that setting targets and allocating funding along traditional, centrally driven silos of delivery leads to duplication, customer confusion and inefficiency. Incentives even for high performing councils must take this message on board - encouraging connectivity at the centre will inevitably support more cross sector working at local level. Until an approach to 'Total Funding' is considered it is little wonder that the public sector falls short of 'Total Performance'. The question remains whether the relationship between Whitehall, regional bodies and local government is ready for this yet."

To speak to a consultant about our thinking on Total Place or to find out more about our work in local government, please contact us now.