There is a moment in almost every great plan when someone asks the question nobody wants to hear. It usually comes after the presentation. The ambition has been agreed, the timeline looks encouraging, and everyone has nodded along to the proposed outcomes. Then someone asks: ‘Who's going to do it?'
It's a question many local government leaders recognise. As colleagues gather this week in Liverpool for the National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC), there will be no shortage of important conversations. Adult social care, children's services, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), education, inspection, funding and workforce pressures will all be on the agenda.
These services affect people's lives, and the case for improving them is clear. But as we talk about what needs to change, I hope we also talk about who will lead, and what they need to make it happen.
The art of plate-spinning
One session in the programme is called SEND Reform: Managing the Present, Shaping the Future. That title captures the challenge perfectly, because the present has a habit of demanding attention.
A director of children's services (DCS) cannot pause safeguarding while a new operating model is designed. A director of adult social services (DASS) cannot put care assessments on hold while a transformation programme finds its feet. Nor can a school ask a family to wait patiently for support until the system has finished reforming itself.
The day job continues and so does the demand. Often, the people expected to shape the future are the same people keeping the plates spinning today. This is not a criticism of reform, it is simply the reality of delivering it.
What happens after the plan?
Anyone involved in developing a reform plan knows how much work goes into it. There are partnerships to build, evidence to gather, difficult decisions to make and voices to hear. But approval is just the starting pistol, not the finish line.
Take SEND. A local area might agree more children should receive support in mainstream settings. The questions that follow are tough. Are specialists available? Do schools have the support they need? How will families access it? And who is accountable when the answer sits across education, health and social care?
In children's services, the ambition to provide earlier help depends on partners working differently together. In adult social care, supporting people to live independently requires services, housing, providers and communities to connect around individual needs. The details vary, but each needs leaders with the time, skills and authority to turn a good idea into something that works – along with practitioners, families and service users to shape that work.
The people behind the director
When a service faces a significant challenge, attention often turns to the DASS or DCS. These roles carry enormous responsibility, and strong leadership at the top matters. But directors cannot be in every meeting, lead every workstream or solve every problem themselves.
Behind them are assistant directors, heads of service, commissioners, finance colleagues, programme managers and frontline leaders. They translate decisions into action, work with partners and help teams through change, all while managing considerable workloads of their own.
A lack of commitment is rarely the problem. More often, too many priorities compete for the same small group of experienced people. When we ask colleagues to take on another programme, we must be honest about what can realistically be achieved and what might need to come off their desks.
That is why reform is a test of the whole senior team, not just the name at the top. Is there enough depth below the director to lead change and run services at the same time? Is one assistant director carrying too much? If a key leader moves on halfway through a programme, who is ready to step up? These are uncomfortable questions, but they are far easier to answer before a programme starts than midway through.
Making space for change
The answer will differ by council. Some will have the capacity within existing teams. Others may need to create dedicated programme roles, develop colleagues into bigger responsibilities, or bring in experienced interim leaders, either to lead the change or to hold a service steady while permanent leaders focus on it.
Whatever the approach, we must be clear about what success looks like and how the work will be sustained. Interim support can give a programme momentum, but lasting improvement depends on the people who continue leading services long after the programme ends. That means making the right permanent appointments, planning for succession, sharing knowledge and giving talented people the chance to grow into senior roles.
A question for Liverpool
The NCASC programme rightly looks at what services should become and how experiences can improve. Alongside those discussions, I'd like us to ask a practical question: who is going to lead this, what else are they responsible for and what support will they need?
It may not be the most glamorous question at the conference, but it could make a real difference long after everyone goes home. For children, adults and families, the success of reform will ultimately be judged by what changes in their lives.
Ryan Miller is associate partner, executive interim, adult social care and children's services, at Penna
