Local authorities consult on radical restructurings as cuts bite
Two local authorities have unveiled radical plans this month to restructure the way they deliver services as councils continue to adapt to the local government finance settlement.
Selby District Council said it was looking to develop “an entirely new model for how services are delivered”. This will see the council effectively split into three distinct parts, namely:
- the ‘Core’ of the council
- a ‘Service Delivery Vehicle’, which will deliver customer services
- a ‘Third Sector Organisation’, which will provide support for community and voluntary groups.
Bury Council is meanwhile looking to transform itself into an ‘enabling council’, dramatically scaling back its direct provision of services.
Selby DC said that a 28% reduction in grant funding over the next four years would require a saving of £1.5m in the forthcoming financial year and £3m by 2014.
Dependent on the outcome of its formal consultation stage, the new model should be in place by August 2011.
The council believes that the ‘Service Delivery Vehicle’ will deliver savings through greater generic working by staff across the organisation. “Rather than people working in distinct departments, for example environmental health or housing, staff will be split only between ‘community services’ and ‘business support’,” it said. “This means that resources can be focused on the issues that matter most to the local community.”
Selby said a new team of community officers would be established to deal with a range of community issue “including, for example, fly tipping, local housing issues, business rates and some planning issues.”
This team will be supported by specialist help in areas that staff require specialist knowledge or qualifications. This will be provided in areas such as environmental health inspections, and determining planning or revenues and benefits applications.
The council is also proposing changes to the way in which salaries are organised. “This involves a move away from the current grading system to new ‘fixed point salaries’ for particular roles,” it said. “This will support the overall principle of greater generic working and help to ensure equal pay for equal work within the organisation.”
Cllr Mark Crane, Selby’s Leader, said: “This is a huge change for the whole organisation, but really shows that we're leading the way when it comes to new ways of thinking to deal with reductions in funding. We'd have to make cut backs whether we changed the way we worked or not, but developing this new model gives us a unique opportunity to minimise the impact of budget cuts on front line services.
"This is about making sure we use your money as effectively as possible to deliver the services you need, by being creative about the way in which we work. Whilst such large-scale change is obviously unsettling for many staff, this is a real opportunity to create a brand new way of delivering local services, which will be sustainable in the long-term despite the ongoing reductions in funding."
Bury Council meanwhile needs to make even more significant savings over the next four years. The authority needs to save £32.4m by 2014, with £14.4m coming in the next financial year.
In its Transforming Bury draft strategy document, the council has identified ‘Seven Principles for Transformation’:
- Putting the residents’ needs first
- Personal and community responsibility
- Support for people in severe need/the vulnerable
- Focus on outcomes
- Prevention and early intervention
- Universal services
- A commissioning organisation
Bury has set out two phases to its service “transformation assessment process”. Phase 1 includes examining the services the council provides with regards to communications, marketing and consultation, safeguarding, parks and open spaces, financial assessment and means testing, and learning disabilities. Phase 2 will review services such as highways, libraries, leisure, finance and HR among others.
The strategy document said the council would start with the assumption – “that can be tested” – that the council will not directly deliver services. Each review will consider a range of options for providing the service in future. “These include stopping the service, working with partners, self-management by community or voluntary groups, volunteering and commissioning to secure best value.”
Cllr Bob Bibby, Leader of Bury Council, insisted that improved efficiencies would be gained if the transformation strategy were to be adopted. He told the Manchester Evening News: "If we can make sure the standard of those services is as good, if not better, than we currently have, using less resources, I see no reason why we shouldn’t go forward with that.
"The council’s role would be to make sure that that quality of service is continued. If I live next door to you and you can provide the same service as me but at a better quality and with less resources (sic), why would you want me to provide it?
"If you look back to Margaret Thatcher, it was always envisaged that councils would become enablers."
Ed Archer
