27 June 2012

Councils warned to be more radical in reform of public services


Laura Sharman

The efficiencies being made by local government are ‘evolutionary rather than revolutionary’ and will not be enough to make the savings required in the next Comprehensive Spending Review, warned Simon Parker director of the New Local Government Network.

Speaking at Fit for the Future? Beyond Sharing, what next for councils Parker said that while local authorities were making savings through efficiencies and improvements, he had yet to see a real re-design of services.

He argued that ‘if you’re not thinking about it now, it’s too late’ and urged councils to start planning for post-2015. He said there was a need for more radical types of service reform such as turning libraries into free-standing social enterprises.

‘We’re in for a very challenging and difficult but it is exciting,’ he said.

Speaking at the same event, held at the 2012 LGA conference, Peter Flemming chair of the improvement board at the LGA, said that local authorities should talk to their communities to find out what services they require, rather than what has always been provided in the past.

Flemming warned that the Government was ‘scared’ of a service postcode lottery but councils should accept that they will be providing different services depending on what they have been asked for.





Your comments

Mr Hambly your misguided attempts to fool people by defending inefficient & overcharging Councils is quite endearing. Can you do the same for 8 Track, Betamax & B & W Television?

J Smith, Added: Thursday, 28 June 2012 03:13 PM

Mr Smith you have a pathological dislike of the public sector based on well the idea that they have decent terms & conditions, pensions absolutely outragous that well educated professionals who have given a lifetime of service should be paid anything other than peanuts. Save your scorn for the likes of Bob Diamond and the parasite class of bankers that have destroyed Uk plc not public sector workers.

David Hambly, Added: Thursday, 28 June 2012 01:34 PM

Has Mr Parker been asleep since the election put a coalition in place and a local government massacre in train? People have been saying very loudly what they want; libraries, youth clubs, more schools not just school places. They also want the potholes fixed and the yobs and louts confronted. I'm now waiting for Mr Parker's toolkit of revolutionary ideas to achieve this. So tiresome to hear the same message being trotted out with nothing offered on how to achieve it.

Roger, Lincolnshire, Added: Wednesday, 27 June 2012 02:53 PM

Fat chance .. Since public services became supply side led, innovation died. The better ones are outsourcing, decapitating, shared services, commissioning, etc The Labour ones still rely on expensive, inefficient, low productivity, overtimed, unionised, direct labour. The taxpayer deserves much better

J Smith, Added: Wednesday, 27 June 2012 02:30 PM



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