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Central Bedfordshire Council deputy leader, Richard Stay, outlines how his new unitary is facing the downturn – and why the public must do more as the council does less. We have a natural optimism in Central Bedfordshire. This may be the enthusiasm of our youth, the experience of creating a new council in less than 12 months, or possibly, something in the Chiltern water. We like to look on the bright side of things and we're thinking positively about the central government coalition, and new opportunities for local government. "But we know that efficiency measures alone will not be enough. We've started to have to defend some difficult decisions that will undoubtedly impact on the public in a real and tangible way..." I have spent much of my political life fighting the Liberal Democrats, so it's taken a while to get my head around the idea of the coalition. But I'm getting there. While there is little evidence of an entente cordiale in our council chamber just yet, the coalition agreement clarifies just how much common ground we share with the Liberal Democrats. There are differences of course, on minor things such as Europe, but on the issue of localism, we're a little more harmonious and, at times, even singing from the same hymn sheet. Liberal Democrats are historically more effective in local government. They have understood and utilised the power that comes from controlling councils. While, as Tories, our ideological motivation may be slightly different, we certainly share a basic respect for local government, and confidence that it can deliver, if given the freedom and opportunity to succeed. So what of the opportunities? Given the steady stream of Whitehall statements about the economy since May, it is right that this issue is top of our agenda. Becoming a unitary has enabled us to save around £10m a year. We were already delivering a further £12m this year, before news about our share of the national £6.2bn cuts reached us. We have also been realistic about the bigger picture, and anticipate significantly-greater financial challenges ahead. When we add to this scenario, the increased demand for key – and usually expensive – services and our shrinking income, it's easy to see how this could be the part where we all get depressed. But it's not in our nature. Our response is to be upfront and honest about the challenges and opportunities with all our key stakeholders. With staff, we've been running a high-profile campaign since January to prepare colleagues for the retrenchment ahead, stressing the need to safeguard resources, and share good practice on efficiency. And the messages are getting through. Staff are telling stories about how they are saving the council money in a variety of creative ways. With managers, we've implemented a restructure which has removed 20% of the senior management overhead. This has brought in to very sharp relief the need to think fundamentally differently about how we will manage resources in the future. Shroud-waving and empire-building will not feature in our budget processes. Commitment and competence in delivering more for less will be the qualities we seek from leaders at every level. Councillor colleagues have had to face some stark political realities too. We're having to redefine the role of the council with the public, which won't be comfortable, particularly in an election year. Delivering back-office savings is good news, and there are brownie points galore for demonstrating that we're cutting red tape, stopping duplication and working in partnership. But we know that efficiency measures alone will not be enough. We've started to have to defend some difficult decisions that will undoubtedly impact on the public in a real and tangible way. Our recent executive decision to stop subsidising denominational school transport was high profile and emotional. Facing a room full of distressed schoolchildren, their parents and other advocates wasn't easy – but not as difficult as some of the decisions we will need to make, I suspect. But it's not all bad news. As part of these conversations around shrinking resources, we're exploring different relationships and personal responsibility. And this is where political ideology does kick in. PM David Cameron's ‘Big society' embodies my belief that communities can and should do more for themselves. We need the council to do less and cost less. That's an economic necessity. I want councils to do less and enable others to do more. In my view, that is what healthy communities are all about. At my surgery last month, a man came in to complain that the road sign outside his house needed to be cleaned. My response to his indignation was to encourage him to locate a bucket and water. This conversation was less challenging than one we had with representatives of all the towns and parishes last week, which are eager to take on devolved services such as grass-cutting. The fact is, the ground rules have changed, and all our previous assumptions that devolution is about shifting responsibilities between tiers of government need to be swept away as we all have to enable individuals and communities to do more for themselves. Times are changing but that's not necessarily such a bad thing. Richard Stay is deputy leader at Central Bedfordshire Council

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WHITEHALL

Big society beckons

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