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In a time when public services face unprecedented financial pressure and rising demand, local government is being asked to do more with less, often while transforming how it works.Across the sector, the search continues for models that deliver both better outcomes for people and better value for the public purse.In Wigan, the answer has not come from a single programme or structural reform, but from a sustained commitment to a different way of working: relational, strength-based public services that put people, place and partnerships at their heart.This approach has recently received external validation through the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) ‘Outstanding' rating for adult social care – an achievement that reflects not just quality of provision, but the depth of cultural change underpinning it.At its core is a simple but powerful proposition: when public service is organised around relationships – when people are seen as active participants in their own lives and communities rather than passive recipients of services – better lives follow and resources are used more wisely.Progress with Unity, Wigan's whole-place movement for more preventative and relational public services, has added an important layer of depth to the wider reform agenda by showing that changing the system and building more trusting relationships alone are not enough unless they are grounded in culture, communities and mutual respect.This emphasis on culture speaks to a wider truth across local government: that sustainable change cannot be mandated from the centre. It must be lived – through behaviours, leadership, practice and everyday decisions about how power is used, how people are treated and how the system responds to the complexity of real lives.In Wigan, this has meant backing staff to take a strengths-based approach, even when it challenges traditional ways of working. It has meant supporting teams to test and learn, and reshaping systems to enable – not constrain – relational practice: green tape, not red tape.Adult social care at the forefrontNowhere is this more evident than in adult social care in Wigan, where the benefits of relational working are most tangible.The recent ‘Outstanding' rating by the CQC for Wigan's adult social care and health service highlighted how deeply embedded relational working had become.The rating reflected years of commitment to working differently by focusing on relationships between teams and residents, across organisations and within communities.When people have felt they are heard, respected and involved in decisions about their lives, they achieve more – often needing less formal support over time and this has driven better outcomes.This is particularly important in a system under pressure. Adult social care budgets remain stretched nationally, and demand continues to grow. Yet Wigan's experience suggests that relational practice is not an added cost – it is a more effective use of existing resources and essential to a shift to more preventative investments.For example, Wigan has 9% fewer people in long-term care than a place like this would expect based on national comparison data.This is clear evidence that relational services deliver better lives at lower costs. It is not about cutting services, but about working in a way that prevents escalation, builds independence and supports people to live well.A defining feature of Wigan's approach is its grounding in place. Relational working does not happen in isolation; it depends on strong partnerships and a shared commitment across the local system and is rooted in the lived experience, identity and strengths of communities.This includes working with the NHS, voluntary and community organisations and wider public services. It also means recognising the vital role of communities themselves as active partners, not passive recipients of services.Place and partnershipRespect is central to this model – for residents, staff and for partner organisations. Decisions are made collaboratively, knowledge is shared and outcomes are owned collectively.This involves hard work, building relationships based on mutual respect and trust, both within the organisation and across the place. The aim is for all partners to feel like they are working as one system, focused on what matters most to people.Permission, adaptability and ambitionAnother key ingredient has been a willingness to embrace change. In a rapidly evolving policy and financial environment, the ability to adapt is essential.Wigan's leadership has consistently emphasised the importance of giving people the permission to innovate – to try new approaches, do the right thing, learn from experience and respond to local need.That means trusting judgement, redistributing power closer to communities and frontline teams, and recognising that good decisions are often rooted in relationships, not rules alone.It also means setting high expectations, while giving staff the space and support to succeed. It is about trust, accountability and a shared sense of purpose.This combination of high ambition with practical support has created an environment in which staff feel empowered and valued. It has also enabled continuous improvement, rather than one-off transformation.As local government continues to navigate financial and operational challenges, Wigan's experience offers an important lesson – that better outcomes and financial sustainability are not competing objectives.A model for the sectorBy focusing on relationships, strengths and place, services can become both more effective and more efficient. The evidence is not only in inspection outcomes, but in the lived experience of residents and practitioners.There is no suggestion that this approach can be easily replicated elsewhere without adaptation. Every place is different. But the underlying principles – trust, respect, collaboration and a focus on strengths – are widely applicable. And increasingly, they are being applied.Across the country, many places are working in relational ways – often quietly and against the grain of systems that still reward activity over impact and process over people.From neighbourhood teams to integrated partnerships, there is a growing movement of practitioners and leaders who are reshaping public services around relationships, trust and shared purpose.What has been missing is a stronger collective voice.If relational practice is to move from the margins to the mainstream, it needs to be more visible, more connected, and more influential – shaping not just how services are delivered locally, but how public services are designed, funded and governed nationally.That is why we are launching a national Community of Practice for Relational Public Services in partnership with New Local.This is a critical moment for the sector at a time when we are seeing a growing body of evidence that shows when public services are built around relationships, trust and community strengths, they achieve better outcomes for people and make better use of resources.The Community of Practice will bring those places together to connect, to learn from one another and to build a stronger collective voice that can shape the future of public services nationally.This will be a space to bring together those working in this way across local government, health, the voluntary sector and beyond to share learning and practical tools, to support one another and build a stronger, more confident narrative about what works.But more than that, it will be a platform to amplify the case for relational public services: to connect practice to policy, to challenge approaches that fragment relationships rather than strengthen them, and to influence how systems are shaped at a national level.While the case is increasingly clear on the ground, it is not reflected in how services are funded, regulated or held to account.Ultimately, the opportunity now is to move from isolated examples to a coherent national movement, one that demonstrates collectively that a relational approach is not a ‘nice to have', but a practical and necessary foundation for the future of public services.When you put people at the centre, work relationally, and back your workforce, you don't just improve services, you change lives. And in doing so, you build a system that is both sustainable and genuinely people-first.Alison McKenzie-Folan OBE is chief executive of Wigan MBC and Anna Randle is chief executive of New Local

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PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM

Ditch the red tape for relational working

By Alison McKenzie-Folan, Anna Randle | 20 July 2026

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