Fortnightly Issue 56724 May 2014

News and views from the Local Government Association

P8 Local and loyal

Councillors are increasingly using social media to connect with residents, according to the latest census

10 Preventing problems

Early intervention to help children in tough circumstances is the smart choice for scarce public money

“The LGA has been resolute in negotiating a firm position with the EU and our Government that it is local, rather than national decisions which will better direct EU funds to drive local growth and jobs.”Sir Merrick Cockell, LGA Chairman, p2

13 Workforce planning What do you want from your future council officers?

14 Public buildings Why rebuild when you can renovate at a lower cost?

2 FIRST NEWS

EDITORIAL

Euro funding

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05 PolicySchool run near-misses

06 LettersClimate ‘sceptics’

07 OpinionCities need inte-grated transport systems

08 first featureWho councillors are and why they stand

12 firstReadership survey results

14 ParliamentA round-up of the latest session

15 Last wordJoining up social care partners

Inside this issue

Blue Badge fraud prosecutions up

Councils have cracked down on dishonest motorists robbing disabled people of their independence and the right to easier parking, with Blue Badge fraud prosecutions doubling in three years.

Professionals including lawyers and estate agents have all been hauled before the courts by councils in the past 12 months. Unscrupulous fraudsters have even been caught using a dead relative’s pass or having left a disabled parent stuck at home in order to park for free to go shopping or travel to work.

More than two million disabled people use Blue Badges for free parking in pay and display bays and parking for up to three hours on yellow lines through the nationwide scheme. In London, badge holders are exempt from the congestion charge.

The LGA said the number of people caught abusing the scheme is on the rise with 686 successful council prosecutions in 2013 – up

from 330 in 2010.Stoke-on-Trent City Council,

Plymouth City Council and Hull City Council recently secured their first prosecutions against fraudsters while Manchester City Council has a 100 per cent conviction rate with more than 500 prosecutions in the past five years.

Councils are also using new powers to seize and confiscate badges suspected of being used illegally, and some have set up specific enforcement teams to tackle Blue Badge fraud.

Cllr Peter Box, Chair of the LGA’s Economy and Transport Board, said: “It is shocking how low some people are stooping in order to con a few hours of free parking.

“The fight against Blue Badge fraud is being stepped up by councils and we would also urge outraged residents to keep tipping us off about people abusing the system as this remains an essential way for us to catch these criminals in the act.”

With our new MEPs going in to play for Britain, my recent meetings in Brussels have given me a whole new perspective on ‘defending our interests’.

Since last year, I’ve sat with ministers and other local representatives on the

National Growth Board determining how, when, and on what EU funding will be spent for the next seven years.

The LGA has been resolute in negotiating a firm position with the EU and our Government that it is local, rather than national decisions which will better direct these funds to drive local growth and jobs. We have successfully secured devolution of £5.3 billion of EU funding and a clear leadership role for local partners.

Our negotiations with central government have not been without challenge. Many councils were ambitious for even greater devolution. I stressed this point when I met the European Commission earlier this month. I was clear that there must be no dilution of the roles and responsibilities that we have secured for local partners when the UK Government and the EU open discussions to finalise the spending plans.

While I was lobbying to secure EU funds for English councils, colleagues from devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had easier negotiations.

They have direct access to the EU as they form part of the UK’s formal representation in Brussels. Scottish ministers have even taken the UK seat at Council of Ministers’ meetings.

The absence of a designated English voice on big decisions by the UK in Brussels can only lead to poor decision making. LGA members will continue to bat for English councils in Brussels, but in the longer term there must be a debate about the absence of an English seat at the table.

Sir Merrick Cockell is LGA Chairman

3FIRST NEWS

Councillors ‘more trusted than MPs’A majority of the public believe more decisions about crucial services like housing, social care, health and education need to be made closer to where they live.

An LGA-commissioned opinion poll, carried out prior to this week’s local elections, shows that people living in the North East and Wales are most eager to see greater devolution from central government to their local authority.

Support for moving more decisions out of Whitehall and closer to people’s homes ranges between 69 per cent in the South West and 64 per cent in the North East down to 52 per cent among Londoners.

Council leaders have consistently warned that excessive government interference in local services is hampering efforts to tackle key issues like unemployment and the national housing and school places shortage, while leading to a generation becoming disengaged with local politics.

This latest poll comes after a previous LGA survey found that three out of four people trust their local councillor more than their MP to make

decisions about their community, and that 77 per cent trust their council most compared to 13 per cent trusting central government.

Yet recent reports, including from the Council of Europe (first 563) and Lord Heseltine, have highlighted how centralised decisions and funding remain. Around 30 per cent of UK public expenditure is spent by local government, compared to almost 50 per cent in the United States and Sweden, and nearer 70 per cent In Canada and Denmark.

Cllr Peter Fleming, Chair of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “Despite 40 per cent cuts to council budgets since 2010, councils are trusted to take care of vulnerable children, provide social services and housing, and run essential frontline services in their areas.

“Local government is a highly trusted part of the public sector and central government should recognise this vote of confidence in councils by devolving more power to communities. Decisions about local areas should be made at a local level.”

Freedom to march

Army Reserves from 133 Field Company, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) paraded through Ashford town centre earlier this month, exercising their right to the Honorary Freedom of the Borough which was originally conferred in 2009. Cllr John Link , Deputy Mayor of Ashford Borough Council, said: “The contribution of the Army Reserves to our local community in Ashford, and to our armed forces in general, cannot be overstated, especially when we consider the overseas action that this particular unit has recently been involved with.”

News in brief Spending cuts ‘at tipping point’

Popular local services like leisure facilities, children’s centres and pothole repairs are likely to bear the brunt of funding cuts over the next two years, an LGA survey suggests. Following £10 billion of cuts in the past three years, many councils are running out of options for efficiency savings and some will not have enough money to meet all their statutory responsibilities. Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Vice-Chairman of the LGA, said: “With another £10 billion of savings to be found, we’re approaching a tipping point where options are fast running out. We need to find a better way to ensure public money gets to the frontline where it is most needed and doesn’t get lost in the maze of Whitehall.” See www.local.gov.uk/media-releases

Economic growth commissionA new commission is calling for evidence on transforming non-metropolitan England – which accounts for roughly half of the country’s economy and population. The non-political and independent commission will be chaired by Sir John Peace, Chairman of Standard Chartered PLC and Burberry. It will explore the unique characteristics of non-metropolitan economies, and what more can be done to free up their public services to promote growth and deliver better outcomes for residents. Sir John said: “From my own experience in business, I know just how entrepreneurial and vibrant non-metropolitan areas are. We want to fully harness and realise that potential.”

Standards for social workersLocal authorities, health and social care partners have revised and re-launched standards for what social workers should expect from their employers, including support for their everyday work and continuing professional development. Cllr Jim McMahon, Chair of the LGA’s Workforce Board, said: “Having an up-to-date set of standards is crucial, not just for making sure that employees are getting the right support and resource to do their job effectively, but also to ensure those who need care are also getting the improved outcomes they deserve. Social workers do a difficult job in what is an increasingly challenging environment, so anything we can do to help them gain and maintain the skills and knowledge they need… is positive.”

The money talks...The Local Government Association (LGA) has already helped many councils deliver impressive savings in 2013/14

£600mFind out how we can support your council to make productivity and efficiency savings in 2014/15: www.local.gov.uk/productivity

L14-203 Productivity Ad 2-v1.indd 1 20/05/2014 11:28

5

EconomyLocal growth spendingBarely £400 million of £3.9 billion allocated for promoting economic growth locally has actually reached business, according to a report from the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC). It says the Departments for Communities and Local Government and Business, Innovation and Skills now face a “significant challenge” in meeting their spending targets by the end of this financial year, and warns that progress in creating jobs is falling well short of their initial expectations. PAC Chair Margaret Hodge MP said the departments had not managed local growth initiatives as a coordinated programme with a common strategy, objectives or plan, adding: “They need to learn lessons from the current programme and adopt a more

coordinated and strategic approach when introducing the new growth deals next year.”

ChildrenFostering misconceptionsLess than a third of the UK adult population (28 per cent) think they would be likely to be accepted as foster carers were they to apply within the next two years, according to a poll published by the charity Fostering Network. Single people, those with no children, under-25s and over-55s were even less optimistic about the likelihood of being accepted to foster. However, almost one quarter (24 per cent) said they would consider fostering either now or in the future. Robert Tapsfield, Chief Executive of the Fostering Network, said: “While it’s fantastic news that people feel so positively about fostering, we are worried that

some may rule themselves out without knowing the facts on what it takes to be a good foster carer.” Councils around the country have been promoting fostering as part of Foster Care Fortnight, which ends tomorrow (25 May).

ScrutinyAwards shortlistThe Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) has announced the 14 local authorities shortlisted for its Good Scrutiny Awards (see www.cfps.org.uk), which celebrate the impact and added value of public scrutiny and accountability in public services. Jessica Crowe, CfPS Executive Director, said: “Both CfPS and the judges were struck by the way scrutiny committees are actively engaging with the communities they serve and trying to tackle the major challenges which many areas

face. Managing often with very limited resources, the excellent work that non-executives are doing brings huge benefits to local authorities and continues to serve an important democratic function.” The winners, including one overall winner from across all the entries and one scrutineers’ choice winner chosen on the day by delegates, will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held at CfPS’s annual conference on 10 June in London.

SchoolsGovernor recruitmentA new campaign to recruit and develop high calibre governors for schools and colleges has been launched by the Inspiring Governors Alliance (www.inspiringgovernors.org). It is supported by a range of organisations with an interest in school governance, including NCOGS, which represents governor support officers in councils, and the LGA. Almost two-fifths of councillors are school governors (see p8). Other aims include celebrating the valuable role played by school governors and increasing the number of employers supporting staff to volunteer as governors. Meanwhile, the Department for Education has issued an update to the Governors’ Handbook and also new statutory guidance on the constitution of governing bodies, which requires all maintained school governing bodies to reconstitute by September 2015, see www.gov.uk/dfe

Health/social careElection trackerThe King’s Fund is tracking key, election-related developments in health and social care on its website, in the run-up to next year’s general election. The tracker can be viewed at http://election.kingsfund.org.uk, and the charity will also be tweeting updates from @thekingsfund

Transport

School run near-missesOver two-fifths of parents say their child has had a near-miss traffic accident going to or from school, according to a poll commissioned by the transport charity Sustrans, with road safety (44 per cent) a bigger concern than ‘stranger danger’ (28 per cent). The LGA, which has been campaigning against government plans to ban the use of CCTV cars in detecting traffic offences, said keeping children safe on the school run was of “paramount importance” to councils. Cllr Peter Box, Chairman of the LGA’s Economy and Transport Board, said: “Banning CCTV cars will do nothing to solve the real problem of safety outside our schools that this alarming survey clearly highlights, and will only leave school children further at risk.” Official figures show the number of tickets issued for parking on zig-zag lines outside schools has almost doubled in two years.

firstpolicy

FIRST POLICY

6 FIRST COMMENT

Cllr Ruth Rosenau (Lab, Stoke)“At the Chelsea Flower Show, @SoTCityCouncil has won a silver gilt award in the Show Garden award category...” www.twitter.com/CllrRuthRosenau

Cllr Matt Sanders  (Lib Dem, Camden)“Camden Council’s emergency management team tell me they’re now on the scene at Camden market fire, to liaise with emergency services.”www.twitter.com/CllrMattSanders 

Welsh LGA “An @LGANews poll shows #localgov Councillors are far more trusted than MPs to make vital decisions on local services bit.ly/1iMRHSz.”www.twitter.com/WelshLGA

Cllr Ian Parry (Con, Staffordshire) “Unemployment rate in Staffordshire 1.7% is now lower than the south east. North-south divide is breached as Staffordshire econ grows faster.”www.twitter.com/ianparrycc

Clare Pelham (Chief Executive, Leonard Cheshire Disability)“@CllrJimMcMahon @LeonardCheshire Looking fwd to supporting great work by @LGANews highlighting Blue Badge fraud @BBCBreakfast.”www.twitter.com/ClarePelham

sound bites

Regarding Cllr James Abbott’s letter (first 565) on climate change, scepticism has nothing to do with political parties.

How strange he should use the phrase ‘the cause’ to characterise the attitude of sceptics, when this is the way the ‘alarmists’ refer to the need to keep up the pressure for massive changes in our way of life, in the face of less and less evidence of dangerous changes in our climate. For example, there has been no increase in global temperature for over 17 years.

He considers last winter’s heavy rainfall as evidence of change. By careful selection of statistics, he seeks to say the rainfall was exceptional. In fact, while the worst floods were all in England, it was

NOT a record year for rainfall in England or, for that matter, in the United Kingdom: 1929/30 was substantially worse and global warming (sorry: climate change) had not been thought of then...

Similarly, the recent Fifth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicated that the climate’s sensitivity to CO2 increase was much less than previously believed, and hence there was much less urgency required to mitigate, or adapt to, any detrimental effects. But that does not fit the doom-laden Green agenda, so better not to mention it...

Cllr Dr Ken Pollock (Con) Worcestershire County Council

STAR LETTER

Climate ‘sceptics’

letters

Do you have a blog or a Twitter account we should be following? Let us know. Email first@local.gov.uk

7FIRST COMMENT

OPINION

City transport

Alexandra Jones is Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, see www.centreforcities.org

Reorganisation issuesCllr Tom Mason’s plea for unitaries (first 565) is large on emotion but short on facts.

His arguments on less duplication and, he could also have said, on a more straightforward service, are real. However, where is there a serious cost analysis from such as the LGA?

Those who make automatic assumptions on cost should be careful what they wish for. When every two councils were put together in the 1970s, every new manager had his salary doubled on the basis that officers were now responsible for twice the previous numbers. The unions took the Government to the cleaners in that every officer who did not get a job was guaranteed his salary and pension, both indexed, right up to retirement age.

Further, when Margaret Thatcher started the vogue for unitaries, it was a wind which slowly died out as it travelled from north to south, because she realised that there were no votes in it.

When Tony Blair caused us all to look at matters again, the result in Surrey was one of the county council dragging its heels against some enthusiasm from the boroughs. But the deciding factor was a thorough financial analysis which showed that the cost of change would be £50 million – and that there was no way this money would be returned by the new unitary system.

Cllr Ernest Mallett MBE (Residents’ Association and Ind) Surrey County Council

I never thought I would read a Welsh nationalist councillor telling the English how to structure our system of local government (first 566). I would not have the temerity to tell Wales how to organise its local government.

Yes, in England we do have several models of local government sitting side by side but to imply this is a higgledy-piggledy mistake is arrogant and grossly misleading.

In Worcestershire, the three-tier system works well, for the benefit of the residents in the county. Partnerships between districts, closer working with town and parishes, partnerships with the county council, relationships with the private sector, and working with the local enterprise partnerships all aim to create efficient, democratically delivered public services without the upheavals and costs of structural change.

As chairman of the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel, which consists of 10 local authorities, this mixture of structures does not inhibit our performance in holding the police commissioner to account and nor does it prevent the commissioner from performing his job.

The differences in demographics, economies, landscapes, environments and the wishes of residents should be the drivers to determine the most appropriate local government structures, not advice from across the border.

It is good to know that structural change for England is not on the Government’s agenda.

Cllr Paul Middlebrough (Con) Wychavon District Council

Safe speedCllr Frank Andrews misunderstands the reason for 20 mph (first 562).

The 20 mph speed limit is to improve the physical safety of pedestrians and cyclists. In addition, with appropriate phasing of traffic lights, traffic flow should be smoother, so reducing the time engines are idling in stationary vehicles; and making impossible the fast acceleration and heavy braking that also pollutes.

Electric cars will be more affordable and efficient in future, as will petrol and diesel engines. We are moving in the right direction. We just need to speed up the roll-out of 20 mph.

Cllr Brenda Gray (Lib Dem) Cumbria County Council

Few people would disagree that a reliable city transport system is good for cities. It keeps people moving, it gets them to their jobs, gives them access to services and connects business to its customers. It supports the local economy and it supports people’s everyday lives.

Any city councillor knows that the system within their city is unique, and the complex connections within and between cities, reflecting the needs of local people, is unique too.

Larger cities with vast networks, like Manchester, will need to think differently to a smaller city like Southend. That’s why the Centre for Cities’ latest report, ‘Delivering change: making transport work for cities’, argues that each city needs more power and control over its transport systems through a ‘tailored devolution’ model.

We suggest that all cities should, first, regulate their buses. Private companies do not always meet local, social and environmental needs, whether providing regular links between some estates to local jobs or reducing pollution with green buses. Cities and citizens need a stronger say over buses.

Second, yearly funding decisions and politics add uncertainty to transport projects and hold them back. Cities need minimum five-year funding settlements from government.

Third, charge users for the transport projects that benefit them. Currently cities rely too much on Whitehall money, meaning others pay for local gain. New ways of charging for transport projects would put the cost on those that benefit the most.

Larger cities, with more complex transport systems, have additional coordination and funding problems which require additional solutions.

All of the UK’s larger cities should have an integrated transport authority which can join up all the different types of transport – road, rail, tram and bus – into one system that covers the wider city region.

Cities that already have a combined authority – currently Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield – should be given Transport for London-style powers. This would mean they can link transport, the economy, skills, jobs and housing strategies for their area, helping ensure transport meets the needs of people and business.

A good transport system means that people can better go about their daily lives, but cities need the power to make that happen.

letters

What do you think? You can comment on these letters online at www.local.gov.uk/first-letters or submit your own letter for publication by emailing first@local.gov.uk. Letters may be edited and published online

8 FIRST FEATURE

WorkCouncillors are busy peopleIn 2013, they spent an average of 25.1 hours a week on council and group/party business, up from between 22 and 22.7 hours in 2004-2010. Most of that time was spent in council meetings and committees (eight hours a week). Councillors engaged with constituents for around six hours and worked with community groups for 4.5 hours a week. Political business accounted for just 4.3 hours.

The average length of service has also increased, by a year since 2004, to 9.5 years, with Liberal Democrats, Independent/Residents’ Association and London councillors typically notching up over 10 years.

Just over half (53 per cent) of councillors held at least one position in their local authority – for example, as a committee chairman or group leader – and councillors were also heavily plugged in to other local and public organisations such as parish or town councils.

Around a third (35.9 per cent) were members of local partnership groups or boards, most commonly a health and wellbeing board (9.3 per cent). Almost two-fifths (37.2 per cent) were school governors – rising to more than half of those from non-white backgrounds, in metropolitan districts, the North East, the North West and London.

Access to resources such as a council email address, or a council PC, laptop or tablet remained high (90.3 and 86.6 per cent respectively), and more than half of councillors found the latter the most useful.

Use of online and social media tools increased significantly, although older councillors were less likely to use them and find them useful. Overall, nearly two-thirds of councillors had their own webpage, nearly 36 per cent were on Facebook (up from 11.3 per cent in 2010), 45 per cent were on Twitter (11.3 per cent), and 41.1 per cent (7.5 per cent) had a blog.

But training is declining, with the proportion of councillors receiving one or more training opportunities down to 85 per cent, from a peak of 93.7 per cent in 2008.

While much remains constant about the personal background of councillors and their views, new technology and social media are beginning to have a real impact on how they carry out their roles.

The typical English councillor in 2013 was white, male and aged 60, and became a councillor to ‘serve the community’ – so far, so typical of previous census results dating back to 1997.

But the 2013 cohort put in even more hours – and their use of tools such as Facebook and Twitter has increased significantly since 2010, although not so much among older councillors.

And with the latest local elections just behind us, it’s interesting to note that just 1.8 per cent of councillors had changed political party since they were last elected.

Councillors in England are increasingly using social media to connect with residents, according to the latest census

Local and loyal

9FIRST FEATURE

ViewsCouncillors remain strongly focused on their local residents and areasIn 2013, 90 per cent became councillors in order to ‘serve the community’, 58.7 per cent did so ‘to change things’ and 54.4 per cent were motivated by their ‘political beliefs’.

Overall 69.8 per cent of councillors believed the most important thing they do is listening to the views of local people. A similar proportion (64.8 per cent) believed that representing local residents’ views to the council was the most important thing that they do as a councillor.

In 2013, most councillors (81.5 per cent) anticipated that they would be able to continue their role at least to some extent without their current benefits package, although of these 18.9 per cent would only be able to do so to a small extent, while 14.8 per cent would not at all.

Overall, 41.4 per cent of councillors thought they had more influence to change their local area than they expected prior to being elected, while 35.7 per cent had about as much influence as they expected.

Four-fifths of councillors (82.4 per cent) would recommend the role to others if asked, and two-thirds said they intended to stand for re-election – compared to around half in 2004.

BackgroundsCouncillors’ gender profile, ethnic origin, disability status and caring responsibilities have changed very little between 2001 and 2013 In 2013, 67.3 per cent of councillors were male, 96 per cent were white, and the average age was 60.2. The proportion of under-45s has changed little since 2004, at 12 per cent. But the proportion aged 70 or over increased from 13.8 per cent to 22.2 per cent.

Men dominate among UKIP and Independent/Residents’ Associations councillors, while the highest proportion of women councillors were to be found in the North East (40.7 per cent) and among the 50-54 age group. More than a third of female councillors (35.1 per cent) had caring responsibilities for children or other relatives, compared to 24.6 per cent of men.

A greater proportion of councillors in London boroughs were from ethnic minority backgrounds (15. 7 per cent), while councillors in the North East and South West were most likely to be white (100 and 99.2 per cent respectively).

The proportions of retired councillors have increased slightly year-on-year from 36.8 per cent in 2001 to 46.6 per cent in 2013. At the same time, the proportion of councillors in full-time employment has decreased steadily from 27.2 per cent in 2001 to 19.2 per cent this year.

Conservative councillors were more likely to be in managerial or executive roles, and Labour and Liberal Democrats were more likely to work as a lecturer, teacher or researcher.

Census of Local Authority Councillors 2013, see www.local.gov.uk/publications. Of the 18,111 councillors in office last September and October, 6,902 (38.1 per cent) responded to this survey, from across 349 of the 351 local authorities in England (excluding the Corporation of London and the Isles of Scilly). Responses have been grossed to a 100 per cent response and all figures quoted above are based on the grossed figures

10 FIRST FEATURE

Councillors across the country will be weary after weeks of pounding the streets delivering leaflets for themselves or colleagues who faced elections on Thursday.

But for newly elected representatives, a new term will be invigorating – offering the chance to make a tangible difference to their local area.

The opportunity to make a local difference is one the 20 local authorities and police and crime commissioners working with us at the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) have decided to grasp.

Early intervention ensures that every child grows up with the skills and support to help them achieve their future potential. It is about getting the right help to the right children and young people, at the right time. This means better lives for them, their families and their future offspring, but it also represents an intelligent approach to spending.

Take just one early intervention programme among many, the well-evidenced Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) giving teenage mothers intensive ante-natal and post-natal support from well qualified nurses. The result? A more confident mother and a baby that receives what it needs to thrive.

BenefitsFNP costs around £7,500 per participant but delivers

estimated benefits of £14,700, with reduced crime and cases of child abuse and neglect – making social and economic sense.

Getting in early with children and young people at risk, with effective approaches, requires less money than the far greater costs and more damaging consequences of waiting for problems to become entrenched into adulthood.

Just look at Blackburn with Darwen, for evidence. It asks adults about early traumatic experiences and the findings are startling.

Adults registering four or more ‘adverse childhood experiences’ were the individuals now suffering from liver disease and obesity, were heavy drinkers, often drug users, and were eight times more likely to have been in prison. In other words, they represented the greatest strain on the NHS and criminal justice system.

Partners in health and crime can now see the individuals whose early experiences mean they are at the highest risk of becoming the greatest burden on future resources – an invaluable tool.

If we have an opportunity to identify individuals at risk early and prevent such long-term and costly consequences, we should grab it.

When times are tough and budgets tight, prevention can slip down the agenda. Services that help children in tough circumstances at an early stage to develop into healthy and successful adults may not grab headlines – and thinking ahead is difficult when you’re fighting fire – but they are the smart choice for scarce public money.

InvestmentA different approach requires investment, but also new ways

of working – linking up health, education and policing, each with gains to be made. It means national and local systems have to incentivise teams working together around a family.

And we need politicians to make what is a compelling case: early intervention allows us to act in a less intrusive, more cost-effective way. As a representative from the Independent Commission on Youth Crime put it: “The alternative to early intervention is a grim waste of human potential and in that context, it’s a bargain.”

In a world of reduced budgets, stubborn deprivation and higher demands on public services, the status quo of dealing with the costs of social problems is unsustainable. Now more than ever, when we are being forced to think differently about how we use public money, early intervention must be a political priority.

Preventing problems

Early intervention to help children in tough circumstances develop into healthy and successful adults is the smart choice for scarce public money, writes Carey Oppenheim

Carey Oppenheim is Chief Executive Officer of the Early Intervention Foundation

11FIRST FEATURE

The Early Intervention Foundation’s Pioneering Places are each working on a ‘demonstration project’ – something new or innovative they are doing locally to develop the evidence base and arguments for early intervention 

BlackpoolStep Up – Building the Evidence Base for Early Intervention Responses for Children Living With Domestic AbuseBlackpool has turned to early intervention to consider how it might reduce the risk of violence escalating in the home and protect children.

The main aim is to build and evaluate a system of identifying children living with domestic abuse earlier, to assess their need and ensure an appropriate and timely response.

Joint working with the police will allow the council to target and identify these families and extra funding will be provided for workers, based at two children’s centres, to work alongside them. 

The aims are clear: Blackpool wants to see children and families feeling safer, children becoming increasingly resilient and getting the help they need earlier, a better response to perpetrators and a clear evaluation of the programme, as well as ways to measure costs and benefits over the longer term.

And how will the council and its partners know if they have been successful? Key indicators will help demonstrate the impact of their project – an increase in the number of children and families reporting feeling safer, a reduction in the number of domestic violence incidences reported to the police, and fewer referrals to social care for cases involving domestic abuse.

PooleStarting Out, Together it’s Child’s PlayThis early intervention project in Poole is focused on improving the home learning environment for children to ensure they are better prepared for school.

Through resources and promotion, the borough council is aiming to improve children’s readiness for school – including their communication and language skills, and their personal, social, emotional and physical development.

Poole hopes that by identifying child development delays and/or health issues earlier, it can respond more effectively to the needs of local families. This is supported by strong links between services, including with health and children’s social care.

Early signs suggest parents have an increased understanding of how they can support their children at home and are engaging in a range of constructive play activities designed to further their child’s development. For more excluded families, Poole is using local children’s centres to increase their engagement.

Good measurement and evaluation of these projects is critical and Poole is now tracking child development across the foundation stage, giving it robust data to work with and assess the impact of this approach.

EssexFamily Innovation Fund (FIF)The Essex demonstration project reflects the county council’s commitment to working with the voluntary and community sector to deliver better outcomes earlier for children, young people and families. 

The FIF is an outcomes-based grants programme that in its first year delivered against four primary outcomes. A range of interventions were funded including those that would support the improvement of behaviour among children and young people; parents/carers having increased parenting capacity and skills to function effectively; and other interventions that aim to reduce violence and aggression within families.

Essex is in the process of evaluating whether the FIF has reduced demand on specialist services and in turn reduced the eventual cost to the public purse.

Early intervention demonstration projects

For further information about the EIF and its projects, visit www.eif.org.uk, tweet us @theEIFoundation or email info@eif.org.uk

12 FIRST FEATURE

When the 18-month-old LGA launched Local Government First in October 1999, Tony Blair was Prime Minister and David Cameron had yet to be elected as an MP.

Nearly 15 years later, while much has changed politically, surveys suggest that first is still the way that most of the LGA’s membership finds out about its work.

Consequently, we survey first’s readership every few years to ensure that the magazine continues to meet your needs, and 951 of you kindly responded to our most recent survey, carried out last month.

Reassuringly, of those responding, 75 per cent said they ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ read first.

Respondents also told us that they find first ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ useful in keeping them informed about • what the LGA does (83 per cent) • key LGA events and publications (71 per

cent)• local government news and policy

(84 per cent) • your role as a councillor (60 per cent).

As in the previous two surveys, respondents this year told us they want to read more articles relevant to the councillor role (52 per cent); on council good practice (48 per cent); on national issues affecting local government (40 per cent); and on legislation and regulation (30 per cent).

Respondents want to read fewer stories about partner organisations (35 per cent), comment pieces from LGA political groups (34 per cent), and – perhaps surprisingly – letters (25 per cent).

We will be reviewing first’s content accordingly, and considering whether we can provide additional content – perhaps funded by more advertising in the magazine.

This would also help us close the gap

between rising production costs and fixed and declining local government budgets – which is why we asked several questions about advertising in the survey.

The responses suggested a general willingness to accept additional advertising on inside pages, but not on the front page; and sponsorship and flyers may also prove acceptable ways of raising revenue to cover costs and improve the magazine’s content.

Finally, while more than half of respondents said they preferred to receive first as a printed magazine in the post and only 23 per cent were aware of firstonline, in the medium term we will be considering whether we can improve the online version of first or provide alternative e-versions of the magazine that might meet your needs in the future.

This is because the Councillors’ Census 2013 (see p8-9) shows that more of you are using social media to connect with residents and carry out your roles. In 2013, two-thirds of you had your own webpage, nearly 36 per cent had access to Facebook (up from 11.3 per cent in 2010), 45 per cent were on Twitter (also 11.3 per cent in 2010) and 41.1 per cent had a blog (7.5 per cent).

However, for the foreseeable future, the magazine will remain the LGA’s flagship publication and a primary channel for getting information to you about the work the association does on behalf of your local authority.

So please do keep sending us your letters and ideas for articles in first that you would find helpful, or examples of good practice from your own council, to first@local.gov.uk

first is your magazine and plans are afoot to make changes in response to a recent readership survey, writes Karen Thornton

Local government first

Karen Thornton is Editor of first

13

With most councils reducing the size of their workforce, it’s more important than ever that we have the right people in the right roles with the right skills.

But how much do we understand about what those skills and roles should be in the future?

At the University of Birmingham, we are researching the 21st century public servant and our emerging findings (based on a literature review and interviews with around 40 local and national stakeholders) may provide some ideas.

ExpectationsAs councillors, you will know better

than any of us that the behaviours and expectations of citizens are changing, as they become more assertive and more interested in working with our public service professionals. This means that staff working with residents need to be enablers not managers, enabling people to ‘do it for themselves’; they won’t be in charge.

Officers will need to engage more closely with citizens and make better use of a wider range of data to understand their local populations – including tapping into the in-depth knowledge that you as councillors have about your wards.

One of the clearest messages is that ethics and values are changing as the boundaries of public service shift. With large commercial organisations delivering public services, the notion of a public sector ethos is being eclipsed by an increased focus on commercialism.

Many that we interviewed believed that a strong public service ethos has to underpin public services, irrespective of who is delivering them.

What do you want from your future council officers, asks Catherine Mangan

However, not everyone sees increased commercialisation as a negative.

“What you’ve got to get away from in the 21st century is that you’re public or private sector; you’re running a business – you’ve got to have the flexibility,” said one respondent.

All those we interviewed agreed that we need commercial skills at all levels throughout the workforce – and some suggested that bringing private sector managers into councils could be a way of ensuring councils can hold their own in contract negotiations.

AusterityMany interviewees recognised that

long-term austerity is both inhibiting and accelerating change. Councils are struggling to balance short-term cost-cutting and redundancies with setting a strategic vision for change.

We heard a lot about the prevailing narrative of doom, with a focus on survival and no vision for the future. Councillors have a key role to play in creating a different narrative so that the workforce can have a vision for the future and seize the opportunities for change.

Workforce planning

This may be a tough message for council leaders and chief executives to hear, but the traditional concept of the ‘hero’ leader is not the answer. Rather than emphasising the charisma and control of an individual, new approaches focus on leadership as dispersed – with staff throughout the organisation empowered to lead across organisational boundaries.

PlaceAnd finally, the role of place in public service

needs to be recognised. Public service workers often have a strong loyalty to the neighbourhoods, towns and cities in which they work, as well as an organisational loyalty.

If people are making big decisions about how people live, work and spend their leisure time in an area, shouldn’t they also live there? The recognition of the importance of place reflects the central role that the councillor plays and suggests the need for an even closer working relationship between councillors and council officers in the future.

The finalised research will be available in the summer. To find out more, read our blog at http://21stcenturypublicservant.wordpress.com/

or contact c.mangan@bham.ac.uk

Catherine Mangan is a Senior Fellow at Birmingham University’s Institute of Local Government Studies

FIRST PERSON

14 FIRST POLITICAL

PARTNERS

Asset renovation

PARLIAMENT

Parliamentary review

Parliament was ‘prorogued’ on 14 May, providing an ideal opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved since the Queen last called Parliament to session in May 2013.

Throughout the last year, the LGA’s public affairs team worked closely with our network of LGA vice-presidents and other parliamentarians interested in local government to promote the important work of councils. We also pushed for the positive changes needed to secure the future of local public services.

Thanks to the support of our friendly MPs and peers, the LGA was referenced on 1,143 occasions in the Commons and on 408 in the Lords.

This profile helped secure a number of important changes to legislation. In the Children and Families Act, the Government tried to pass a new clause which would have provided the Secretary of State with the power to remove all local authorities from adoption recruitment and assessment.

The LGA lobbied against this, and our efforts were successful when the Government curtailed the power, accepting an amendment to the clause which requires an active debate and vote in both Houses before its use.

Another success was securing an amendment, to the Local Audit and Accountability Act, which gives councils the flexibility to procure their audit nationally should they wish to do so. Independent modelling shows that central procurement and appointment would save the public purse more than £200 million over a five-year period when compared against local appointment.

It has also been an important year for health and social care. Parliament passed the

Care Act 2014 which will enable the consolidation of existing adult social care law and the modernisation and simplification of what is currently a complex legal system.

The LGA broadly supported the Act, but worked in partnership with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Care Support Alliance to highlight the concern that inadequate funding would jeopardise its good intentions. Our parliamentary campaigning, which achieved cross-party support, secured a firm commitment from central government that the new system will be adequately funded. 

Aside from legislation, we also worked to influence the formulation of policy by submitting evidence to select committees and briefing for debates. In 2013/14, the LGA submitted written evidence to more than 30 select committee inquiries, and briefed for a variety of debates on funding for local government, housing, children’s policy and parking, among others.

This allowed us to positively influence the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the New Homes Bonus and proposals for a review of licensing.

With less than one year to go until the general election, next year’s parliamentary session is already shaping up to be crucial for our work ensuring that local government gets a fair deal, both next year and beyond.

See www.local.gov.uk/parliament

In these tough financial times, why build new schools, council offices and other public buildings when you can renovate existing ones at a lower cost?Scape, a national company based in Nottingham and owned by six local authorities, aims to bring economy and efficiency to the whole building process – including for new buildings and refurbishment projects – and it achieves this through the development of standard designs and strategic procurement arrangements. 

It has developed a new initiative, called Renovate, to tackle the ever greater need for well designed, visually appealing and functional buildings delivered to very tight budgets.

Rather than brand new buildings, Renovate injects new life into tired and old building stock (pictured). This approach is much more cost-effective than new schemes and can be delivered across the public sector, including to schools, colleges, universities, housing, NHS, care homes, emergency services, civic buildings, leisure facilities, libraries and more.

Renovate boosts the value and income of property, creates buildings which are inspiring and visually appealing inside and out, and transforms property so it is affordable to run and operate.

Through Renovate, problems such as unusable and unlettable buildings, maintenance issues, high running costs, unpleasant working environments and health and safety challenges are all tackled. Unfit buildings can be transformed either for their current purpose or a new use.

Prolonged austerity measures are continuing to hurt public sector bodies as their resources continue to diminish. Core services take precedence and for many this means that new projects have to wait or are completely unworkable for the foreseeable future.

Renovate provides a solution to this problem by transforming ‘system build’ properties. It is ideal for the thousands of properties of this type in the UK that have not weathered well and are expensive to maintain and run. 

Mark Robinson is Group Chief Executive at Scape, see www.scapebuild.co.uk

15FIRST POLITICAL

More than 30 years ago, we published the findings of a survey of councillors in an article, ‘Disillusion, age and frustration: why councillors are calling it a day’.

The title said it all. Three decades on, has much changed in the world of local government?

We sent an invitation to participate in an online survey to 4,000 councillors whose term of office was scheduled to finish this week on 22 May. Were they going to seek re-election or stand down?

Eight in ten intended to fight on – incidentally, the same proportion reported in our 2013 survey.

What of the 20 per cent who had decided to call it a day? In many respects, these people mirror those who are carrying on except for being a little older – the average for those standing again is 55.7 years but 59.4 years for retirees.

Both groups are similar, too, in the number of four-year terms served – although it is comforting to see that those at the end of their first term are less likely to be thinking of leaving.

What factors influence the decision to leave? Over half said it was simply ‘time to stand down’. Three in ten cite pressures of family life and two in ten give work commitments.

But there is not much overt sign of disillusionment or frustration; only 17 per cent were prepared to reference the current situation in local government as a motive for leaving.

However, when we controlled for the councillor’s party, it appears that Liberal Democrats were twice as likely to be stepping down as their counterparts on the Conservative and Labour benches.

Perhaps the decision to retire has been brought forward given the party’s recent electoral difficulties.

Councillors who indicated they were going to seek re-election were asked to estimate the probability of them being successful on a scale from zero (certain defeat) to 10 (certain election).

The most confident were Labour councillors, who averaged eight on the scale, closely followed by Conservatives on 7.8.

Despite their current predicament, Liberal Democrat defendants were certainly not throwing in the towel, estimating their own chances of success at 7.2.

Pressures of time really do feature prominently in councillors’ perceptions, however. Respondents were asked to ignore their own situation and instead to nominate the factors that lead to the high turnover among local representatives generally.

Three-quarters highlighted family commitments while two-thirds thought the job too time-consuming, and more than half talked about the problems in getting time off work.

On the other hand, only a third mentioned councillors’ remuneration and a fifth the lack of administrative support.

BY-ELECTIONS ANALYSIS

Stand down or again?LAST WORD

Better together

Local by-elections

Cllr Elaine Atkinson (Con) is Leader of the Borough of Poole

As Leader of the beautiful and historic Borough of Poole (the third lowest funded unitary in England) and past portfolio holder for health and social care, I am more than familiar with the challenges we face in terms of meeting our financial commitments for health and social care. In 2011, the number of over-85s living in Poole exceeded the all-England predictions for 2021. So innovation in health and social care provision has long been at the top of our agenda.

Since councils took on the role of scrutinising health, our relationships with the local health economy have gone from strength to strength. Since 2003, our local strategic partnership has had the director for public health on the board, and informal joint commissioning plans were agreed with the primary care trust.

We also partnered in pilots such as the Partnership for Older People Programme (POPP). This early work built trust and confidence across the sectors, services were improved and savings made.

When the Government’s transformation fund invited bids for innovation and joint working, we made a successful joint bid with our neighbours in Bournemouth and Dorset for further integration of health and social care and we called it ‘Better Together’.

Joint working and partnerships are at the top of Government’s agenda and the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership has appointed me as champion for the caring sectors across Dorset. I have forged excellent relationships with the public and voluntary care sectors, further and higher education sectors and others. Bournemouth University has developed post-qualifying courses in leadership across health and social care and is represented on the Better Together board. Our local college has launched a Care Innovation Centre and our hospitals are keen to work with them.

Everyone is already working better together. Potential savings are not easily quantified. But achieving best value from every pound in the public purse and better and improved services for the customer, reducing avoidable admissions to hospital, providing re-ablement at home from committed local teams, reducing demand for long-term care packages and, indeed, residential care – will be true transformation.

Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher are Directors of Plymouth University’s Elections Centre

For more details, see this story at www.local.gov.uk/first-news

Fenland Roman Bank Con hold Con: 763 = 48% (-9%)Lab: 193 = 12% (-15%)Lib Dem: 24 = 2% (-15%)UKIP: 537 = 34% (34%)Ind1: 70 = 4% (4%)30% turnout

Event listings

As part of its wider productivity programme, the LGA launched an Adult Social Care Efficiency (ASCE) programme in January 2012. The programme incorporates 44 projects led by individual and groups of authorities, including one regional and one sub-regional project.

The programme’s objective is to help councils take forward their efficiency and transformation agendas in adult social care. The programme has been working with participating authorities to support them to refine and develop the comprehensive efficiency and change approaches required to deliver the savings authorities need to make to meet the challenges of reduced funding, demographic pressures and personalisation.

The projects within the programme have covered a range of themes, including whole systems efficiency approaches, domiciliary care, learning disability services, working with health, preventative services and early intervention, re-ablement and recovery,

telecare, and market management and commissioning.

Efficiency savings are being made through, for example, supporting carers and recognising signs when they are under pressure; reviewing and managing admissions to residential care and improving reablement; making more efficient and effective use of social work time; reducing the number of buildings from which councils deliver services; and improving procurement.

The LGA is bringing the ASCE programme participants and others working in adult social care together for a final event to showcase the pragmatic and aspirational approaches developed through the three-year programme. Topics under discussion will include promoting independence, workforce optimisation, use of assistive technology, joint commissioning and health and social care integration.

The event takes place on 17 July, in London. See www.local.gov.uk/events

EVENT FEATURE

Improving adult social care: finding efficiencies

EVENT NEWS

Inspecting child protectionOfsted’s single inspection framework for local authority child protection services and services for children who are looked after came into force last November.

Councils that have been inspected under the new framework will have the opportunity to share and debate some of their experiences, issues and concerns at an LGA event in London on 23 September.

Ofsted will also be giving its feedback on progress so far, and delegates will have the opportunity to raise any concerns they may have with the inspectorate.

Confirmed speakers include Mark Rogers, Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council, and Debbie Jones, Ofsted’s Regional Director London and National Director Social Care.

Making transparency work 6 June, London9 June, Birmingham10 June, YorkThese roadshows, now in their second year, are intended to inform, demonstrate, share and learn what transparency and open data means and how local authorities, communities and local businesses can benefit and add value to data by sharing and using it.

Innovations in income generation for local authorities19 June, BristolThis regional workshop, held in partnership with the LGA, The Whitehall and Industry Group, and South West Councils, will provide an opportunity to hear more about innovative examples of council income generation

LGA/RSN annual rural conference 2014: sustainability out of austerity 9 September, ChesterThe Annual Rural Conference is the key event for rural policy and decision-makers in local government. This well-established event provides a unique opportunity for elected members, officers and others involved in rural affairs to network and discuss how rural issues can be addressed by local authorities.

For further listings visit www.local.gov.uk/events

www.local.gov.uk/events