While the news of the s114 notice at Northamptonshire brings sadness to the sector, surely no one can be surprised. Since 2010, the sector as a whole and finance professionals in particular have been warning of the precarious situation facing so many of us.
This has not been an issue of council size, functions, geography or political leadership. The pressures have been felt across the field and local government continues to put its best foot forward with incredible fortitude and resilience.
So why now? Well, a combination of significant cuts in funding, constraints on local tax raising powers, a succession of new unfunded burdens and increased pressure to be the perfect local partner for residents businesses, voluntary sector colleagues and most importantly NHS England. And now the need to challenge our own commercial activities. Throughout the period, there has also been restrictions on pay across the public sector, from the aspiring newcomer to hugely challenging service demands to the hardened professional manager of services, balancing excellence, innovation and in context of reducing resources.
The pressure has been relentless and through local authorities and our colleagues in the LGA, CIPFA, SOLACE and other professional associations, the writing has been written clearly on the wall - block capitals and in bold.
It is unfortunate that any one council had to be first to issue a S114 notice. I am sure that this could easily have been one of many of us from within the local authority community. Northamptonshire will certainly have lessons to learn; stones may be thrown and doubts cast. In any event, we will all have lessons to learn from their enormously difficult experience.
The most important for me of these many lessons. Section 151 colleagues in particular will wish to ensure that their feet are emplanted firmly under the very top table in their councils; medium term resource strategies must not only add up but must fully assess and take a valued view of risk; accountability for delivering high risk savings or efficiency programmes must be clear and unambiguous and plans complete and properly risk assessed.
Our sector experience states that visionary budgets may sometimes compromise the integrity of our financial planning. Regardless of the reasons for us being attracted by the convenience of transformation and efficiency plans, let's realise that these take time and often significant investment in time and resources from our teams, already under significant pressure.
I have no doubt that local government and the beautiful county of Northamptonshire will rise in whatever form from the ashes of their S114. Let us hope that others do not fall along that way and that the fair funding review and devolution offers us, through both quantum and distribution, the opportunity to ensure that the risk of issuing these notices is reduced looking forward.
Duncan Whitfield is president of the Association of Local Authority Treasurers Societies
