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The whole idea of all public services working together to deliver better results for residents sounds like a panacea, but a new pilot scheme is aiming to formalise the concept of ‘total place' to radically improve peoples lives. The national programme is currently being rolled out across 13 pilot areas bringing together the work of central government, councils and a wide range of other agencies. The principles of the idea sound simple – better services at a lower cost – but in practice drawing together and coordinating the work of so many different organisations is a major undertaking. Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland in the North East of England is one area that has already started pulling together plans that could significantly improve some of the more deprived wards and aim to save more than £100m. Total place looks at a whole area approach to public services with the aim of creating a more customer focused system that utilises resources more effectively. In the North East the three areas will work together as one to collectively focus on safer, stronger and healthier neighbourhoods concentrating on the three most deprived areas across the geographic area. These will be used as a test bed for understanding what needs to be done to make significant improvements on the ground – looking at what resources and services are being delivered in these areas, and what improvements can be made. Once established the work will help reduce health inequalities and the significant differences in life expectancy between local areas. It is also designed to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour by making targeted, key interventions. To sit alongside this the partnership team will work hard to provide help for young people and offer support to improve poor lifestyle choices. Health inequalities are also a key issue for Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland, particularly in relation to deprived neighbourhoods where there is a signifi cant gap in performance. Although local authorities and health services are regarded highly and are strong performers, the gap in health inequality remains. Lifestyle choices among young people are a particular issue for all three areas and there is a specific issue}regarding teenage pregnancy. This is a complex issue, affected by young people's knowledge about sex and relationships, access to advice and support and is influenced by aspirations, educational attainment, parental, cultural and peer infl uences and emotional wellbeing. The Teenage Conception target is a key Healthcare Commission target and as such it is included in the PCT performance management arrangements. No single agency or group can deliver this challenging Government agenda. Our objective through the total place project is to ensure and optimise a consistent and collaborative approach to the service planning, commissioning and delivery of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. The total place system is made up of two elements: a counting process to map current resources and identify where money could be spent more efficiently and a culture process that looks at collaboration and how agencies could work better together. This deep dive analysis of spending and culture will help identify barriers to delivery and ultimately work out how to get better services at a lower cost. In a more detailed sense the group will look at how it can eliminate duplication across the target area, where services need to be more joined up and how economies of scale could be used to make savings." In this pilot area there will be a huge number of organisations involved including Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Councils, local housing companies, the PCT, Northumbria Police, the Tyne and Wear Fire Service, DWP and others from the third sector. There is, of course, the risk that the scope of this project could be too broad. The focus on neighbourhoods and the commitment to young people aims to reduce that risk by concentrating on people – their health, lifestyle choices and quality of life in the most deprived areas. By October 2009 the group will be expected to produce a report to Government to inform the pre-Budget report that identifi es early fi ndings and details of service transformation. By March 2010 and the time of the Budget the group will produce a report identifying a future model for service delivery, the steps needed to achieve it, the efficiencies it will deliver and most importantly the benefi ts for local people. Roger Kelly, chief executive at Gateshead MBC said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity to challenge the way we do things and think creatively about public services in the 21st century".' Irene Lucas, chief executive of South Tyneside MBC said: ‘In the challenging times ahead there are only three things we should be focusing on better outcomes for communities, duplicating cost of services in localities or making things simpler for our staff. Total place gives us the opportunity to do that innovatively.' Dave Smith, chief executive at Sunderland City Council said: ‘This will help us identify significant efficiency savings to reinvest and target in better services. The way our pilot is designed will help deliver improved services and better outcomes for young people across the area.' Lindsay Kirkley is Director of Policy and Improvement at Gateshead MBC

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ECONOMIC GROWTH

Pilot partnership with a focus on deprivation

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