Working from home will remain in place for some time for the majority of our office based staff and to ensure that we all keep in touch with what’s going on has meant fortnightly virtual staff briefings on the key issues affecting our community now and in the future.
The demand for our business as usual services continues unabated, and in many areas surpasses our previous resource allocations.
Our recent transformation programme has been all encompassing. People, place and technology have all changed beyond recognition.
To deal with this unprecedented demand has meant using our new agile ways of working to a much greater degree with some major success. However there are some areas where this will require additional short to medium term resources to help cope with existing and future demand.
Recruitment has continued throughout the period of lockdown, with many of our new staff yet to meet colleagues in person. This emergency has presented many challenges that the organisation and our people have dealt with superbly well, but the stresses and strains are showing in some areas.
South Lakeland has a diverse business base but is renowned for covering most of the ‘honeypot’ areas of the Lake District such as Windermere/Bowness, Ambleside, Grasmere, Coniston and so on.
The use of furlough has been widespread, and the area is one of the highest in percentage terms in the UK, affordable housing has always been at a premium, and just that combination alone will present significant issues going forward that must be planned for now. Putting in place those additional resources has become a priority.
The council has a good track record of financial resilience and this has been enhanced by the savings programme associated with our Transformation and Change programme, and this has meant that through the innovative use of funds, we have been able to put in place plans to cope with future demand, despite a significant downturn in income and funding. However, that will not last forever, and the need for a spending review that reflects not only our business as usual but a place that may face a radical economic change for the foreseeable future must be an urgent demand.
All of these challenges sit within an environment that must also tackle the global issue of climate change, locally increased hardship and a downturn in general health and well being of our communities, not to mention devolution and potential re-organisation of the 2 tier local government system.
Confidence building, hope and support, combined with visionary and purposeful local leadership are required as we move forward to build a better world now and for future generations. District councils will be doing their utmost to help deliver that future.
Lawrence Conway is chief executive of South Lakeland DC
