This week’s Budget has put the spotlight on a series of pioneering cross-boundary efficiency studies into the way public money meets local need.
The studies have raised questions over the way public money is currently channelled through a myriad of different agencies and Whitehall departments, and have fed into Sir Michael Bichard’s ‘total place’ efficiency drive.
In particular, they have criticised the duplication of funding streams and highlighted the need for more collaboration on the grounds of both efficiency and effectiveness.
The UK’s largest council, Birmingham City, through the local strategic partnership, Be Birmingham, is putting the finishing touches to one of the largest-ever studies into the effectiveness of public spending in the city. Across the city, health and welfare dominate spending, with £1.9bn by the PCTs, and £700m on welfare though the city council is the largest spender with £3.6bn.
Identifying the total spending pot in the city as £7.5bn for a population of one million, or £7,425 a head, the draft report concludes: ‘There is a considerable disconnect between the overall investment of £7.5bn in Birmingham and the level of funding identified in the 43 delivery plans designed to achieve the 19 outcomes… the question arises: If the expenditure cannot be related to the 19 outcomes, then what is it being spent on, and why?’
The Birmingham study by EKOS follows a similar analysis by the Leadership Centre in Cumbria last year, which found that of the £7bn public spend in the county, greater collaboration could lead to £70m savings.
The project, which cost £500,000, is set to roll out across nine local authority areas, with the support of Treasury funding, with Suffolk CC, Norfolk CC and Westminster City Council already working on mapping local spending.
Stephen Taylor, former head of the centre and now running his own consultancy focusing on the studies, said: ‘The question arising is, there’s a lot of money but we’re not clear where it goes, and we could mobilise it better. I feel strongly that we can cut costs, do a better job, and connect with local communities more.’
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