Current issues in local government
Paul Masterman
Local government is a lively place to be. A lot of things are changing for the better and there are lots of new ideas for delivering services to people in different ways.
If you want to work in the sector, it is important you understand what is going on.
What follows is a quick guide to some of the important issues.
This is probably the hottest topic of them all.
The Government's Best Value regime came in on April 2000. Over the next five years, all services will be subject to Best Value reviews, which will be scrutinised by the Audit Commission
All councils will be measured against what is called 'the 4 C's test:
Challenge: Why is the service carried out at all?
Consult: What do customers think about the service and the level of performance?
Compare: How does performance compare with the best of the public and private sector?
Compete: Can the service be delivered more effectively by alternative providers?
Best Value should ensure that the right services are delivered to the right people - and that they are always improving.
E-government is the new buzzword in local government and the public sector generally.
By 2002 the Government wants 25% of all "government services" to be available electronically. By 2005 it wants this to rise to 100%.
"Electronically" does not just mean the Internet, although this is clearly a key technology. Most public bodies are now putting together plans for things like call centres and the payment of rent/council tax on line etc.
Research shows that the public sector is keen to embrace the e-revolution but is worried about the cost and timetable. Over 50% of councils have given someone the job of looking after e-government.
Many public sector bodies now have a website (see index on http://www.open.gov.uk/index.htm) and some are using them to show information about careers.
Every one accepts there is a recruitment crisis in the public sector. Most organisations are carrying scores of vacancies in specialist areas such social services, teaching and nursing. There are also difficulties attracting professionals, such as IT specialist, to work in the sector.
As the number of young people entering the jobs markets falls and the population generally ages, councils in particular are losing far too many older people and failing to attract younger people to take their place.
This means there are plenty of opportunities for someone looking for a job in the sector - and across a range of job areas and salary levels.
For years, councils have been run by committees. Now the Government wants to change this, to make councils more modern. The Government is urging councils to follow one of three possible approaches:
- A directly elected mayor with a cabinet
- A cabinet with a leader
- A directly elected mayor and council manager
All three approaches will mean that more of the day to day running will be in the hands of elected members.
As part of its drive to improve local council services, the Government has selected a number of high performing councils as Beacon Councils.
These councils are judged to be outstanding in specific areas such as education, social services, planning and community safety. Other councils will by told to spread good practice by visiting Beacons or working with these chosen councils.
Look out for the Beacon logo on council; job postings - it is one indication that a council is a good place to work.
More and more the Government is targeting its demands, support and cash at specific services. The best example is education, which the Government is keen to develop for its own policy reasons.
School league tables, testing, failing schools, school services run by private companies are some of the major issues on which the Government is putting pressure on schools.
The Government has also been increasing the amount of money going to Social Services, particularly through the Quality Protects initiative in the children services area.
All this has led to more recruitment.
All councils are now moving to the harmonisation of terms and conditions between staff and manual grades of workers. Treating every employee the same within one framework for pay and benefits is seen to be fair, but it also simplifies administration and management
It is having a big short-term impact with every job under evaluation within national agreed job evaluation guidelines. It also has longer-term financial and administrative implications on hours and rates of pay.
Budgets run from April to March. They are usually set during the Jan-March period,.
Councils are now involving the public in decisions on budget options (particularly when these options are all relatively bad)
One term you will hear discussed during this period is SSA. This stands for Standard Spending Assessment, and as it sounds is an assessment by the government of what each council needs to spend on delivering its core services
The amount of money the Council gets from the Government is based on this SSA - and the less a council gets in support grant from the Government, the more it has to raise council tax or cut services.
The Government wants to work with local government and other local organisations to deliver support to local people in a way they need and understand. An unemployed person may need help from a range of agencies for example, but would prefer one point of contact.
Local councils, government agencies and voluntary bodies are starting to work together on the ground to deliver joined up government.
Equal opportunities and equalities has always been important to local government, but Best Value has brought it back to the top of the agenda. Race issues also continue to be a priority following the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
Best Value will encourage councils to establish race and equality priorities as part of corporate objectives, to set local performance indicators and targets for the achievement of those objectives and to ensure that race and equality issues are integrated into performance review and service planning.
Local government needs to retain experienced people, if nothing else because fewer young people are coming into local government.
The Audit Commission is worried that local councils are spending too much money on early retirements. The Government wants to encourage employers to see the over 50s as an important source of knowledge and experience.
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