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Total Place, with its inclusion in the Budget and the announcement of a Phase two to take the work forward, seems now to have the traction and momentum many anticipated when it first came our way. In Kent, we will continue with our three Total Place themes around shared assets, shared ‘front offices', and a holistic approach to renewal and regeneration. We are also studying the Total Place national report to see whether there are any areas which the other pilots have developed that we could usefully import. "There, therefore, seems to be a tension between arguing for a Total Place approach, and also a reduction in inspection and regulation – an increase in the latter may well end up being the price we have to pay for the former." I am very excited by what Total Place could offer, if its potential is fully realised. Could we possibly envisage a future where the political leadership of a place – at the level of a population of around, say, 600,000 – is handed a budget for spend on all aspects of public service in that place, with the aim of realising a number of agreed outcomes, possibly with some performance reward grant attached? That political leadership then commissions service delivery through a series of local arm's length management agencies, which include service-users in their governance arrangements. For me, this model would really work in transforming public services, increasing citizen engagement and delivering both value for money and improved outcomes. But I do have two caveats worth mentioning. First, in order for this to happen, the Government will want compensation for giving up direct control of delivery. The Government's role will become strategic, setting the conditions and negotiating the target outcomes, although it will retain a ‘last resort' interventionist option in the event of service failure. But it would not give up that control without having a strong set of monitoring arrangements to provide continuous feedback and comfort to ministers. There, therefore, seems to be a tension between arguing for a Total Place approach, and also a reduction in inspection and regulation – an increase in the latter may well end up being the price we have to pay for the former. The second caveat is that we, as a sector, would need to ensure that this money for outcomes does not evolve into the equivalent of a contractual arrangement – we are not contractors for central government, but the danger I foresee will be that, over time, ministers and civil servants will be tempted under these arrangements to see us in that light – and that would certainly be the end of local government as we know it. Abdool Kara is chief executive at Swale Borough Council.

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