In the last two years, local government has faced excruciating challenges borne out of a global pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living crisis. The latest pressures come after years of historical funding cuts and draining resources, leaving many running on half empty tanks. Internally, organisations have had to manage the repercussions of COVID-19, combined with deep-rooted issues, that have hamstrung both resource and income. Unsurprisingly, levels of debt have risen, and efforts to make inroads into those arrears have stuttered as authorities grapple with recruitment, increased workload and finding innovative ways to engage with the cash-struck communities in which they serve.
While the pandemic has taken on a different look in recent months, as we acclimatise to ‘living with’ COVID-19, the scars remain and the recovery in local government continues. That period of recovery is now set against a backdrop of an anticipated recession and incipient cost-of-living crisis that is placing significant pressures, not just on how authorities function, but also on the ability of individuals to pay recurring bills, such as council tax and rent.
The newly formed Government has quickly responded. Liz Truss’ first act as Prime Minister was to announce a £150 billion package that will freeze typical household energy bills at £2,500 a year for two years – the Energy Price Guarantee is in addition to the support measures announced by the former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in May, which will see households receive £400 from this month [1 October], as part of the Energy Bills Support Scheme. However, the Government is facing sharp criticism that its recent wave of tax cuts will benefit the highest earners, as opposed to those on low income, and the intended relief will take time to trickle down to those families in greatest need. The task facing local government is as difficult now as it was at the start of the pandemic; its position has been well and truly cemented at the forefront in delivering emergency support measures on behalf of the Government.
Strong economic headwinds and a health pandemic aside, local government is in a constant state of flux, particularly in the area of social housing. In the last few months alone, major announcements have been made by political powers-that-be that are intended to shake up an important part of the local government service provision and bring with it reforms that are intended to place the needs of tenants front and centre.
On the one hand, you have the introduction of the new Social Housing Regulation Bill, which is setting the tone for how the sector will be regulated moving forward. In essence, the Bill has been designed to drive up standards and bolster the regulator’s power to act.
The proposed changes are decisive – social landlords, whether private or local authority-led – could face unlimited fines for failing tenants. This is not intended to be a gentle approach, but reform that ensures more people live in decent, well looked-after homes. This is not about compliance for compliance sake, this is about making a tangible difference in response to systemic issues identified following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Coupled with this, is last month’s announcement by the Regulator of Social Housing in response to its consultation on tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs). The result: from 1 April 2023 all registered providers of social housing will need to collect and publish a range of comparable information on areas such as repairs, safety checks and complaints, as part of the new Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard. It's a significant step and one that was explicitly set out in ‘The Charter for Social Housing Residents: Social Housing White Paper’, published in November 2020.
Change is certainly afoot and the debate around how local government responds to these measures, as well as its ongoing response to the current economic climate, is playing a leading role in conversations at prominent events, such as the IRRV Conference 2022 last week. It’s hardly surprising that one of the opening sessions at the conference was entitled ‘Financing Local Government - Today and Tomorrow’. There was a consistent theme throughout – ‘Improving Debt Recovery Performance’; ‘Recovering From The Pandemic’; and ‘Forecasting The Fight Against Fuel Poverty’.
Regardless of the extent of legislative reforms facing the sector, you cannot escape the fundamental issues bearing down on local government. In the latest in our series of webinars, we discussed ‘A State of Emergency - tackling the cost-of-living crisis in local government’. The panel discussion brought together sector experts to discuss how they are dealing with the unprecedented cost-of-living crisis first-hand, and share insights and fresh ways to engage with residents in an empathetic and caring way to reduce escalations, improve resident engagement and maintain operational efficiencies and business performance for council services.
To view the webinar, which features Ian Ferguson from the IRRV, Nick Rowe from London Borough of Ealing, Newcastle City Council’s Andy Jeffs, Louise Freeth, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, and Money & Pensions Service’s Kevin Shaw, visit https://app.livestorm.co/voicescape/revs-and-bens-placeholder?s=1fa13a6d-9f0c-4e53-8a39-b082c9864cd2&type=light
Sean Sutton is Head of Local Government at Voicescape – a software business that provides customer engagement solutions for local authorities and social landlords.
This article is sponsored by Voicescape.
