Transformation
Under pressure
The tragedy of local government is that over a decade of pressure, the urgent has crowded out the important and the big picture has been obscured by the struggle to survive. Dr Jonathan Carr-West asks: how do we move from ‘better’ to ‘different’?
Council to change finance approach after review
Warrington BC has ‘consistently overspent’ against parts of its budget and needs to change its approach to deliver services ‘from a more sustainable financial footing’.
Portsmouth chief to take on CCG leadership
Proposals have been made for Portsmouth City Council’s chief to take on leadership of his Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
How agile is your council?
Local authorities are struggling to implement flexible change programmes, a new survey by The MJ and PA Consulting has found. Michael Burton reports
Former Sandwell chief gets Publica role
Council-owned company Publica Group has announced the appointment of former Sandwell MBC chief executive, Jan Britton, as managing director.
Final reflections
The MJ columnist Allen Graham has stood down as chief executive of Rushcliffe BC. He says the sector is ‘at a unique cross-roads where the dilemmas and challenges facing us must be met with creativity, transformation and collaboration’.
Impact of Integrated Care Fund 'remains unclear'
The impact of the Integrated Care Fund in Wales remains ‘unclear’ despite a £385m Welsh Government investment, the Auditor General has warned today.
The Lexicon: Making it Happen
Bringing Bracknell’s Lexicon project to life was a complex undertaking, says Victor Nicholls – with the local authority’s entrepreneurial role and management of political strategy key to delivery.
Transformation ‘largely left to smoulder on the back burner’
Five years ago the Service Transformation Challenge Panel was launched with the aim of delivering better outcomes in local public services. But a new report notes little progress since the UK EU membership referendum.
We need to change how we deliver change
Mike Gibson of Ethical Consulting asks: Why waste valuable resources on consultancy when surely we should develop new and valuable skills which we can draw on when needed?
Big data, big opportunity
Dr Andrew Larner says it would be impossible for councils to ignore the increasing wave of big data - and embracing the change seems to be at the forefront of local authority evolution.
From customer experience to thriving community
A design approach is still important to maintain, but the design rules for a community-centric approach can be fundamentally different to those of a customer-centric approach, says Dr Andrew Larner of iESE.
Integration offers chance to invest in prevention
A new approach to investing in prevention can be achieved through the integration of health and care systems, according to a report.
Call for greater focus on culture change in integration drive
Huge cultural and behavioural differences between health and care need more consideration, consultancy Impower has urged.
Councils in fresh NHS warning
The Local Government Association (LGA) has issued a fresh warning that the NHS must not forget councils as it embarks on its Long Term Plan.
Social care precept 'avoided catastrophe'
The introduction of the social care precept ‘avoided catastrophe’ but the sector still faces a funding gap of at least £15bn, a senior figure told The MJ’s Future Forum today.
Avoiding fiscal risks - and 'daddy dragon' moments
Tracie Evans says her 'daddy dragon' of the week is not Brexit but the question of what is the optimum number of contractors needed to deliver a very complex organisational transformation.
Medway’s mega renaissance
Chief executive of Medway Council Neil Davies wants to brand the whole of Medway as a single high-profile waterfront university city. Dan Peters reports
Councillors meet to set up shadow Northants council
Councillors on the new Joint Committee for West Northamptonshire will meet for the first time this evening to discuss setting up one of the two new unitary authorities replacing the county council.
Scrapping permitted development will lead to better quality housing schemes
Senior researcher at the Fabian Society Jason Brock argues that a broken planning system is harming the future of our town centres and making Britain’s housing crisis worse.