The initial challenge with the topic chosen for this round table, hosted by The MJ and Norse Group, was that it could be interpreted as meaning a single ‘tackle' would be sufficient to cure the sector's issues.
But not even a bone-crunching challenge synonymous with legendary football sides such as the Leeds United team of the 1970s would have sufficient ferocity to see off the plethora of challenges currently facing local government.
The array of headaches swirling around the upper echelons of councils resemble a poked hornets' nest – special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), housing, local government reorganisation (LGR), cohesion, political instability and, of course, financial uncertainty.
So, the conversation started inevitably with a financial theme, with one participant highlighting the sector's current eagerness to find external revenue streams.
Another pitched in on internal change. ‘We need to ramp up transformation programmes but we need an extra 25% out of them,' they noted, adding that departments were beginning to struggle as the need to find ‘synergies' collectively proved challenging, whereas previous efficiencies could be uncovered from internal departmental work.
There was general recognition that the Government's recent funding settlement was a step in the right direction, not least the unexpected willingness of ministers to address SEND deficits, but any possible suggestion within Whitehall that the sector was out of the financial woods is likely to be welcomed like a bucket of cold sick.
‘The quantum is not enough over three years,' said one round-tabler. ‘I've had seminars on the financial outlook six times now and I don't come away any less depressed,' added another.
They also pointed to difficult conversations taking place with politicians who, with elections pending, are eager to keep council tax rises to a minimum despite authorities' balance sheets not offering such a luxury.
And the level of upheaval created by the likes of LGR is compounding the pressure. ‘We are reforming the state at the same time as keeping the show on the road,' said one voice. ‘And [the Government] aren't doing a great job of it.'
This brought the conversation to the lack of co-ordination within central government as health and police reform appear to be taking place on distant parallel tracks to LGR.
‘They are talking about aligning health reform with mayors,' pointed out one participant. ‘But they've missed the opportunity. It's gone.'
Another argued the sector had lost out with the sacking of Jim McMahon as local government minister. ‘He had a strong sense of place, of driving change that was tangible. I'm not sure that is there now.'
And, while the benefits of LGR were recognised by all present, there were discernible concerns about the diversion it was causing, as well as the impact on staffing.
One participant highlighted their authority losing staff to neighbouring councils which were avoiding reorganisation and were therefore providing greater job security. ‘We are having to scale up, despite resourcing pressures, with temporary capacity to get us through.'
There was also concern that the Government's rush to rebalance geographical funding was exacerbating the local impact of reorganisation for communities.
While fully recognising and accepting the need to rebalance, one participant said: ‘It's the speed of it that's impacting. If they just let us get through LGR we could break even in a few years and residents would not notice.'
And, while there were plaudits for the Government's decision to address existing SEND deficits and avoid ‘a tsunami of section 114s' there was also scepticism that ministers would be prepared to take the tough financial decisions still needed. ‘Is there really the political will to change SEND?' questioned one participant. ‘Politically, it's going to take some courage.'
It all comes while communities are facing the pressures swirling around the world from divisive politics that are straining community cohesion. The splintering of political consensus is being felt by many as local elections loom and centrist parties are expected to lose further ground to parties of both the left and right.
There were concerns around the table about councils' ability to lead communities as authorities are branded part of the establishment with the rise of populist instincts.
‘The crucible of social media in world politics is playing out in communities every day,' said one officer. ‘Why should people believe us? That is the real challenge. ‘Civility in public life is a real worry, but we need to ensure staff recognise the privilege of public service.'
Despite the challenges, there was consensus that the sector should continue to see its glass as half full rather than heading to empty.
And, for all the concerns and uncertainties surrounding it, artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be viewed as primarily an opportunity.
There were examples of progress with the technology from around the table, including transformative work within customer services that was seeing the vast majority of interactions with residents being successfully resolved without the need for staff involvement.
But there also remained an insistence that the technology would not lead to a reduction in headcount, but rather offer the chance to ‘plug' capacity gaps in certain areas.
Concerns over the risk of AI providing duff outputs was batted aside by one participant, who said: ‘It's no different from having to check after a colleague has done something for you. ‘Ultimately, it's going to change lives.'
While there was a recognition that big tech companies could demand increased charges after getting the sector ‘over a barrel', participants felt new products entering the market would dilute this risk.
Plus, one attendee told the gathering they were already in conversation with central government over mass procurement opportunities that could strengthen the hand of councils with mega suppliers.
And, with the number of challenges remaining plentiful, much still relies on the centre's willingness to genuinely walk the reform walk where its participation is needed and provide the space for creativity and local knowledge to take the lead as reorganisation and devolution progress
COMMENT
By Geoff Tucker, group business development director, Norse Group
There is no doubt life is tough for local government at the moment: financial struggles have persisted for many years, pressure from our communities continues to increase, services such as special needs and disabilities (SEND) and housing have brought particular challenges.
Added to this we have to negotiate devolution and local government reorganisation.
It was interesting to hear from round table participants about the positive aspects – AI is already making a difference, with many local authorities adopting it, particularly for customer services. And it is clear that local authorities see devolution and LGR as an opportunity to transform services.
The merging of councils to form large unitaries will bring economies of scale, increasing productivity and generating significant savings.
A clear willingness to innovate and consider different delivery models for frontline services should also open up opportunities to develop external revenue streams and allow local authorities to become more commercially minded.
This round table, with senior officers from several local authorities, was a great opportunity to hear different viewpoints, share experiences and find out how local government plans to tackle the challenges it faces. Thanks to The MJ for organising an excellent event.
Attendees at The MJ / Norse Group round table
Michael Burton (chair): editorial director, The MJ
Arthur Charvonia: chief executive, Mid Suffolk DC
Scott Crudgington: deputy chief executive, Hertfordshire CC
Geoff Tucker: group business development director, Norse Group
Robin Tuddenham: chief executive, Calderdale MBC
Sarah Williams: chief customer experience officer, Westminster City Council
Paul Marinko (reporting): deputy editor, The MJ
Kasia Brzeska-Reffell: head of local government sales, The MJ
Sonia Garcia: event co-ordinator, The MJ
