Forget funding says Sir Michael By Heather Jameson Local authorities should stop focusing on the balance of funding because it’s ‘not important’, Sir Michael Lyons told council finance bosses last week. Speaking at the CIPFA annual conference in Harrogate, he told delegates they should be thinking about gaining more flexibility and freedoms from the Government. That, he said, was more important than the balance of funding – and more important than any possible new powers. He added: ‘I’m still unsure about what new powers local government needs.’ But the former Birmingham City Council chief executive said central government needed to ‘improve incentives’ for local government. Sir Michael also dismissed news reports that he was planning to introduce waste targets. Instead, he said he had told a journalist he had not ruled anything out, including the charges. But journalist and political commentator, Sir Simon Jenkins, claimed the Lyons review was not likely to bring any major changes. Speaking at the same conference, he said Sir Michael ‘means well’ but did not have the resources or wield the power needed to bring through his reforms. He compared the review with one carried out by Redcliffe-Maud in the late-1960s. Mr Jenkins, who worked for the review before going into journalism, claimed: ‘Overruling Redcliffe-Maud is a major decision. Overruling Michael Lyons is something Tony Blair does before breakfast.’ l Sir Michael Lyons has called for new responsibilities for councils to work more closely with Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). He told the NHS Confederation conference that coterminosity between PCTs and local authorities was not just about ‘administrative tidiness’. ‘PCTs will be more effective in improving health outcomes – not just local health services – only by working in tandem with other local services,’ he said. hr.jameson@hgluk.com