Title

The 13 Total Place pilots have decided their themes and completed their high-lvel counts, John Atkinson reports on progress to date. During the last eight hectic weeks, the 13 pilots have established and refined their programmes and themes. In July, some pilots had progressed slightly further than others, with some – particularly those with multiple local authorities involved – still addressing the governance of their project. Now, all pilots are clear and strongly focused on what they want to achieve, which public bodies are involved and how they relate to each other. Moreover, all have now completed their high level count and can now properly scrutinise how those finances can be streamlined in their chosen themes. But let us not forget that Total Place is not simply about the money, it is every bit as much about the essential, fundamental changes to the way councils and partner agencies work with residents and Whitehall to enable those savings. The second networking event for the 13 pilots held earlier this month made for very encouraging dialogue between the pilots and Whitehall. Hosted by Leicester City and Leicestershire CC, the well-attended event brought together pilot project leads, elected members, the NHS, the police, fire service, and JobcentrePlus with representatives from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Treasury (HMT), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) andCommunities and Local Government (CLG). The sheer number of Government representatives – a third of the delegates – was a very encouraging indication of Whitehall's engagement in Total Place, as were the frank discussions had about the tensions between what the pilots are trying to achieve, and Government policy. Many came away from the event feeling very positive about the potential of Total Place to make a real difference. As Roger Britton, project leader for Worcestershire, put it: ‘What did it for me was the interaction between people representing local places and colleagues from Whitehall. It felt refreshingly honest and positive without the "it's all their fault" finger-pointing which has often characterised the relationship in the past.' The event also served as a timely reminder that Total Place has cross-party political support. Cllr David Parsons, Conservative leader of Leicestershire CC, and Cllr Ross Wilmott, Labour leader of Leicester City Council, jointly welcomed delegates to the event, and stressed the importance of Total Place for whoever wins the next general election. Within the LGA there is clear endorsement across all the political groups, and the outcomes of this work will be valuable to whoever forms the next government. Working closely and openly with Whitehall will become increasingly important as the pilots now begin their more detailed thematic work. Early counting work with Cumbria, Westminster and Birmingham showed us that if we are to be successful we have to make the central/local relationship much more effective than it has been in the past. This project is called Total Place, not Partial Place, and it needs all parties on board. The high level officials group, chaired by Sir Michael Bichard, and with representatives from the Home Office, CLG, DCSF, DWP, HMT, MoJ, the NHS and police, has heard from two pilots looking at the same theme of children and young people. Croydon LBC chief executive Jon Rouse and Joyce Redfearn, chief executive of Wigan Council and spokesperson for the Manchester City Region and Warrington pilot, both spoke of how they think a greater focus on the early years of children's lives will improve outcomes and prevent or reduce the difficulties families are facing later on. Early intervention is an area of great interest to the DCSF, and as a result of the Bichard Group meetings, representatives from Croydon and the Manchester/Warrington pilots will sit down with DCSF next month to explore how to develop that line of inquiry so that the issues can be better addressed and residents will feel the benefit. As Total Place goes forward, this pattern can be repeated with all the pilots' chosen themes – for instance, those looking at substance misuse might sit down with the Home Office, Department of Health and MoJ. Of course, it never pays to be overly optimistic – as central and local government begin to work together more closely, it is inevitable that tensions, as well as strengths, will be highlighted. The value of Total Place is the opportunity it offers to work constructively on these tensions and use them to produce better outcomes, rather than revert to the "finger-pointing" blame game Roger Britton refers to. Looking ahead, the pilots have now all submitted their initial findings for an interim report to inform the pre-Budget report to be published in the autumn. They reported on why they chose their theme/s, and the key issues and main barriers they are currently facing. They did not report back with figures and percentages; a common media request is for the pilots' projected efficiency savings, but this is not what Total Place is about. It is worth remembering the original aim of the programme: fundamental and significant changes to how things are done. Yes, the secondary and undeniably important goal is to do things more cost-effectively – but we cannot achieve one without the other. John Atkinson

Title

WHITEHALL

Full steam ahead for the 13 pilots

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING