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Corin Thomson and Annette Madden explain how their six-month job swap has helped them have a better understanding of local government. Corin Thomson says: As a descendant of convicts – sort of, I am Australian – the desire to travel great distances and see the world is in my blood. I love how it opens your mind, lets you experience new cultures, meet new people and importantly, makes you reflect on your own culture and where you come from. Having been at the LGA for some years, the desire to get out there and see the world – the world of councils – was strong. And while Sutton LBC isn't exactly across the seas – just 30 minutes from London's Victoria station – it is a world away from the village of Westminster I had become so used to. On my secondment, as executive head of business services, I encountered the stark reality of delivering real services to real people – everything from parking tickets to benefits, and all the transactions that go on behind the scenes to make a council work. I learned a new lesson each day, but here is my list of the top five: * councils do not need to be told to be more efficient Value for money is at the forefront of everyone's minds – not because of guidance or targets but because people are all-too-aware of the pressure on their budgets and want to improve services and develop new ideas. However, it takes time and a great deal of effort, and involves leading and motivating large groups of people to change behaviour or develop new skills. It is not easy. * the Government could help councils be more efficient No doubt government at all levels is thinking about how it can be more efficient in the current climate, from shared services to better procurement, but the little things can also make a difference. For example, Sutton has managed to almost completely phase out less-efficient cheque payments, except when paying a few government departments which refuse to allow BACS payments. * excessive guidance is unnecessary and irritating Sutton was one of the first councils to develop a package of support for residents and businesses in response to the credit crunch. This included a commitment to paying small businesses in 10 days. The council did it because members wanted to support local businesses which were struggling – not because it was told to. The Government has an annoying and, I think, destructive habit of providing guidance and prescription for so many things. For example, the CLG instruction that efficiency figures on council tax bills had to be rounded to the nearest pound meant authorities were forced to publish something which was meant to help improve communications with residents, but said £72 + £2 = £73. Similarly, there is a DfT prescription which prevents councils from stopping thoughtless parents from parking on yellow zigzag lines outside schools and endangering lives until scarce public money has been spent making the lines a few centimetres longer. * policy and delivery are two very different things Understanding the practicalities of implementing policy change is vital, yet too often, policy-makers have poor understanding of the issues councils face. For example, while the decision to reduce the council house rent increases for 2009 was one councils and the LGA had been calling for, the decision came so late it caused chaos for housing and benefits colleagues which I am sure few in government ever imagined. * targets encourage improvement but not innovation The British occupational psychologist and ‘management guru' John Seddon, the hater of targets, has said we have an ‘industry' around performance which we simply don't have for innovation. Like all good councils, Sutton has that industry well established – monthly reports on a range of targets, quarterly national indicator tracker reports, performance boards – if you are failing, and scrutiny by members. The process works well, helps encourage improvement and, I am sure, will receive a big tick in CAA. But I question whether it supports innovation, not least because of the time it takes. n Annette Madden says: I'm a great believer that, once you get to a certain managerial level, you should be able to work anywhere in local government. So, when the opportunity to work on secondment as a programme director for improvement and performance came up at the LGA, I was keen to try a new experience. Before I started my secondment, all I knew about the LGA was that it represented local government and was funded through subscriptions. The role was to represent councils' interests through the introduction of the new performance framework, covering local area agreements (LAAs), the National Improvement and Efficiency Strategy, National Performance Indicators, Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) and Beacons. I couldn't have been here at a busier time. A few weeks after I started, the Icelandic bank crisis hit. Immediately, staff started to collate data and worked long hours to provide support and advice to councils during this unprecedented time. The association has also been kept busy responding to the impact of the recession, the Baby P case and a record amount of snow. I don't have a policy background, so suddenly, being involved in policy at a national level has been a big learning experience for me. Typically, I have spent my days reviewing consultation documents, getting feedback from councils, and meeting with CLG and the Audit Commission to raise local government's concerns. A key role has also been to support the LGA's improvement board, which meets every two months and is chaired by Cllr David Parsons, leader of Leicestershire CC. I didn't appreciate how much work the LGA does on influencing emerging frameworks and guidance, and it has been fascinating seeing close-up how Whitehall works. The opportunity for me to meet and share ideas with members and officers from different councils has been invaluable, and I will take that back to Sutton with me. I have been particularly interested to work with the LGA and IDeA on a project to get local authorities and the LGA family to help improve those councils which are facing difficulties or need support, rather than waiting for central government to step in. The expertise and experience within local government should be developed and deployed as much as possible, whether at a political or officer level. On that basis, we have successfully persuaded CLG to defer taking steps to set up a ‘local services intervention panel', while we try to find our own solutions. I have found the whole experience really rewarding. The staff here are dedicated, but I think the LGA would benefit from more local government secondments – as could Whitehall. I really do now feel I have got to grips with the whole improvement agenda, and have proved to myself that I can take on new challenges in different areas. And what have I brought to the LGA? All my experience of local government as it is today in Sutton. Corin Thomson is programme director of performance and improvement at the LGA, and Annette Madden is executive head of business services at Sutton LBC

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WHITEHALL

A tale of two jobs

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