Give councils power to level up and improve local public services, Localis integration report urges

Wednesday 5 July, 2023Press release

Embargo date: from 00.01 a.m., Wednesday 5th July 2023

Give councils power to level up and improve local public services, Localis integration report urges

Government should give councils greater financial powers to marry the needs of day-to-day local services with levelling up style capital pots to ensure measured improvements in public service outcomes, a new report from Localis has argued.

In a report published today entitled ‘Level Measures – a modern agenda for public service integration’, Localis makes the case that England’s councils will need to innovate and collaborate if they are to address the capacity gap that threatens their ability to fulfil the government’s dozen levelling up missions.

According to Localis, which ran seven regional roundtables with council chiefs in the course of its research, there are seven principles for a modern public service integration agenda capable of delivering sustainable local public service reform:reliable, consistent and long-term funding; a holistic understanding of public services and their interconnected nature;trust between levels and tiers of government;deep internal insight into and understanding of performance data, shared across boundaries and between tiers;external audit which is based on outcomes, not outputs, considering the totality of local circumstances; an integrated, systems-based approach to provision which focuses on upstream prevention and user outcomes;partnership frameworks based on long-term strategic goals which maximise local value.To match the government ambition to level up every part of the country, the report authors recommend that devolution deals should include provisions to fund both the delivery of neighbourhood services and the capacity of councils to strategically coordinate provision across service lines to prioritise upstream prevention.

Other key recommendations include calls to:clarify the intended role and purpose of the Office for Local Government (Oflog) and broaden it from a reductive focus on data - to prevent an oversimplification of local governance, ensuring that its role aligns with the broader of objectives of public service delivery and the levelling up missions.Subregional centres should be established for the collation and analysis of public service data, to be used as a shared resource for councils across a wider geographic area and spearhead improvement in local place-based services.Civil service training for policy professionals should include a core element focusing on the form and function of local government.Localis chief executive, Jonathan Werran, said: “In Levelling Up, the clear linkage between performing the basics of neighbourhood services brilliantly, and creating the conditions for strong communities from which to build the foundation of a strong local economy and a prosperous and unified nation has been a helpful flarepath.

“In the course of our research, which involved seven regional roundtables with local authority chief executives and senior directors, we heard an open and palpable desire from our place leaders to continue to innovate to deliver responsive neighbourhood services as the foundation of prosperous places in all corners of the country.

“Allied to this is the pursuit of excellence in local government’s more adroit use of data analysis and its longstanding mature approach to partnership working across the private and voluntary sectors – as well as leveraging the early benefits of the Integrated Care Systems for population health.

“If public service reform is best served through place-based approaches, an effective neighbourhood public service integration platform offers the promise of more gain for less pain.”

Andy Foster, Strategic Partnerships Director, Capita, said: “The complex and challenging nature of delivering public services at a local level has never been under more pressure than it has today. Rising inflation, increasing cost of delivery and inexorable demographic pressures are creating budgetary and social challenges that will not be solved by local government alone.

“The role of the public sector worker, local authorities, and their private and not-for-profit sector partners, will need to change if regions are to be successful in levelling up and meaningfully supporting their communities.

“That is why this significant research programme has been so important for Capita to help develop and support. It represents a crucial component in understanding some of the most complex challenges affecting our communities and shines a light on how they are being solved.

“The relationship between public, third and private sectors has never been more important, and this report reinforces how the whole eco-system of public services needs to work closer than ever to lead and define what levelling up means locally.”

END
Press enquiries:

Jonathan Werran, chief executive, Localis
(Telephone) 0870 448 1530 / (Mobile) 07967 100328 / (Email) jonathan.werran@localis.org.uk

Notes to Editors:An advance copy of the report is available for downloadhttps://www.localis.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/056_LevelMeasures_AWK_REV1.pdfAbout LocalisLocalis is an independent think-tank dedicated to issues related to politics, public service reform and localism. We carry out innovative research, hold events and facilitate an ever-growing network of members to stimulate and challenge the current orthodoxy of the governance of the UK.

www.localis.org.uk

About Capita

Capita is a consulting, transformation, and digital services business. Every day our 52,000 colleagues help millions of people, by delivering innovative solutions to transform and simplify the connections between government and citizens, businesses and customers. We partner with our clients and provide the insight and cutting-edge technologies that give time back, allowing them to focus on what they do best, and making people’s lives easier and simpler. We operate across three divisions – Capita Public Service, Capita Experience and Capita Portfolio – in the UK, Europe, India and South Africa.

Further information can be found at: http://www.capita.com3. Key findings and recommendations
Key Findings
Seven principles for modern public service integrationCanvassing the views of senior corporate leadership within local government – as well as those of independent experts and central government officials – prevalent themes emerged, from which the underlying principles for a modern public service integration agenda can be discerned. These seven principles are detailed below:Reliable, consistent and long-term funding. Local leaders, elected and bureaucratic, require certainty in order to unlock the efficiencies which planning service provision over the long-term can provide.A holistic understanding of public services and their interconnected nature. Arbitrary divides between types of services and how they are funded do not allow for the kind of prevention-focused and outcome-oriented approach to neighbourhood public services which local authorities could provide in a less rigorously ring-fenced environment.Trust between levels and tiers of government. Knowledge of what local government does, and how, remains too limited in Whitehall, but trust must also be fostered between councils who share delivery responsibilities across tiers.Deep internal insight into and understanding of performance data, shared across boundaries and between tiers. While information on the outputs of public services is plentiful, there is neither a consensus nor a universal standard on the quality and purpose of data analysis – this prevents genuine insight and leads to potential innovations falling between the cracks of institutions with different capacities and divergent priorities. External audit that is based on outcomes, not outputs, considering the totality of local circumstances. Better audit is required for both the general public and central government to gain greater insight into the nature of council performance, but this must not come in the form of purely quantitative data which ranks local authorities. Audit must be purposive, focused on sharing best practice and identifying governance failures at the earliest possible juncture. An integrated, systems-based approach to provision which focuses on upstream prevention and user outcomes. Building on principle two, service provision of any given line must take into account the total aggregated impact of local public services on an individual user, with priorities set and resources allocated in a way which maximises upstream prevention and distributes strain across the system in the most efficient way possible. Partnership frameworks based on long-term strategic goals which maximise local value.
Working with the private and the third sectors should be done in a relational, strategic manner where the priorities for residents are clearly spelled out and delivered to by all partners.
Policy recommendationsThe policy recommendations drawn from this research are designed to move the English system of local public service delivery closer into line with the seven principles laid out above.Councils should have revenue support for their neighbourhood service provision combined with money currently allocated through capital pots into a single placemaking budget.
Although funding has lifted in recent years, additional revenue support for local government in delivering neighbourhood services is required to uplift capacity, after a decade of an increasing consolidation of council resources solely into the provision of social care. Rather than provide funds for levelling up through capital competitions, which are widely agreed to be inefficient and ineffective, funding for levelling up should be included in the placemaking budget.Placemaking budgets should be multi-year, with a five year budget being seen as the absolute minimum required to properly plan service delivery and levelling up. Councils should form placemaking boards with local partners and key stakeholders to provide input into strategy and delivery. These would ideally be formed at the county/unitary tier of governance and involve districts from across county areas as equal partners.The provision and delivery of these budgets should be piloted, with a long-term view towards establishing the kind of ‘whole place budgets’ which have been repeatedly proposed over decades of central-local relations in English government.Devolution deals should include provisions to fund both the delivery of neighbourhood services and the capacity of councils to strategically coordinate provision across service lines to prioritise upstream prevention. To date, devolution deals have been too focused on regeneration through capital injections and too proscriptive of governance models. Better public service outcomes, and the upstream prevention benefits which accompany them, are crucial to improving quality of life and pride in place. To properly deliver on the promise of levelling up, deals must be more flexible and include provisions focused on neighbourhood services and the councils who deliver them.Subregional centres should be established for the collation and analysis of public service data, to be used as a shared resource for councils across a wider geographic area. Councils of all sizes across the country struggle to recruit and retain data professionals of the level required to provide intelligent insight into public service output data. Subregional data hubs could help achieve the scale required to compete with the private sector in a labour market with high levels of demand, and act as a valuable resource for sector-led improvement.The intended role and purpose of the Office for Local Government should be clarified and broadened from a reductive focus on data. Central government must clearly articulate the goals of performance audit, particularly when policy goals such as value for money, delivering public value, or boosting economic development appear to be in conflict. The purpose and goals of OFLOG should be clarified and designed to prevent an oversimplification of local governance, ensuring that its role aligns with the broader of objectives of public service delivery and the levelling up missions. Civil service training for policy professionals should include a core element focusing on the form and function of local government. It is a widely shared sentiment that staff in central government departments do not fully understand the structure or the extent of local government functions, nor the capacity councils have to exercise these functions. This situation is exacerbated by the plethora of departmental initiatives with a local delivery element, which can and often do overlap with and contradict each other. A universal standard for understanding throughout Whitehall – not just DLUHC – is a prerequisite for improving place-based public services across the board.
Lessons for a healthy governance ecosystemAcross local government, as well as in the private and third sectors, examples exist of pioneering practice which puts residents first and maximises the power of neighbourhood services to deliver positive outcomes and raise pride in place. The lessons below are drawn from best practice examples encountered throughout the research, some of which are detailed within the main report.

Local government
Develop holistic placemaking policies: Develop strategies that balance economic growth, infrastructure provision, community resilience, and service provision.Enhance community engagement: Involve communities early in the design of public service reform and delivery to encourage co-production and co-design. Utilise a bottom-up approach, particularly in preventative care services, to ensure services are responsive and relevant to local needs.Promote cross-sector collaboration: Foster genuinely trusting relationships between different sectors and institutions. Encourage shared learning and practice across organisations to enhance integrated public service delivery.Implement integrated digital platforms: Invest in technology that facilitates cross-departmental communication, data sharing, and collaboration. This could include a centralised, accessible database that all local departments can access and contribute to, streamlining service delivery.Establish cross-functional teams: Create teams that comprise members from different departments or services to collaborate on specific projects or initiatives. This could enhance understanding and cooperation between departments, leading to more integrated service delivery.Central government departments
Strengthen support for local government finance: Consider the impact of national crises on local government finance and provide additional support within spending constraints where possible. Strive for long-term, strategic funding solutions over short-term, one-off capital pots.Define the purpose of financial and performance audit: Clearly articulate the policy goals of audit, particularly when policy goals such as value for money, delivering public value, or boosting economic development appear to be in conflict.Incentivise public service integration: Develop and implement policies that reward local authorities for successful integration of services. These incentives could be financial, recognition-based, or tied to increased autonomy in decision-making.Private sector firms with a public service ethos
Value social impact: Expand the evaluation criteria of partnerships beyond financial metrics to include considerations of local impact and social value.
Adopt a relational mindset: Move away from a purely contractual mindset to a more relational one. This can foster better collaboration and shared learning with public sector partners.Support innovation and technology: Invest in technologies that can enhance public service delivery, particularly those that facilitate integration and collaboration across different sectors.
Share knowledge and expertise: Offer consultancy, mentorship or experts to local authorities on how to turn their data into intelligent local insight or other key aspects of public service integration that public sector skills gaps are getting in the way of.
Promote a shared civic purpose: Align company objectives with the broader civic goals of public service provision to ensure a more integrated approach to improving outcomes

Distributed by https://pressat.co.uk/