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As councils prepare for one of the toughest budget periods ever, Kim Ryley tells Michael Burton why he believes unitary county government is well placed to manage savings and the Total Place agenda In the era of Total Place, the issue to consider in the light of last year's local government reorganisation is whether unitary counties can provide a model for governance in two-tier areas. Certainly, ex-metropolitan borough chief executive, Kim Ryley, is an enthusiast. He moved from Hull to head the new unitary county Shropshire, one of the single-tier counties created last year, the others being Wiltshire, Cornwall, Durham and Northumberland. "Local government has to serve two masters, local people and the Government. The latter has been the dominant one recently, but the balance will reverse, and people will become the primary audience." Kim Ryley And while he accepts it is unlikely there will be another reorganisation, he believes the unitary county concept is a new and interesting one. He says: ‘The unitary county is a new breed we should test and exploit. It has the potential to run a place much more effectively because we're single tier. ‘It would be unhelpful to have another reorganisation but, if unitary counties can give a different take, we can produce new models.' Kim believes unitary counties are also coalescing into their own group. While they are members of the County Councils Network, it is clear their agendas are different. ‘We have the choice to join the CCN and we've chosen to do so,' he explains. ‘But the two-tier counties recognise we're different. Unitary counties have the advantage over two-tier counties of being one organisation, of having a different take. ‘Unitary counties are coming together as a natural group. Shropshire, for example, is hosting a one-day event next month for leaders and chief executives. We want to explore the concept of a new brand and share experiences.' Kim comes from both a metropolitan and two-tier background, but likes the challenge of running a unitary covering a large geographical area such as Shropshire, which is made up of 16 market towns, each with its own town or parish council. ‘We're forming new relationships with the parishes through joint committees and local partnerships, and we want to get them involved as local community leaders.' He maintains Shropshire is on course for savings following reorganisation last year, but that ‘the real prize is not about money but rather doing business differently.' He emphasises the council is a new organisation, that many of its new councillors are ex-district and are ‘close to the ground', and that the mantra now is ‘moving from transition to transformation,' a process which has started this year. Kim reckons the reorganisation process took about 18 months in total, a distraction during which ‘the world changed', and ‘we have to go back and retrieve that agenda.' He assumes cuts of 20% altogether over the next five-year period, including grant reductions and loss of income of as much as £100m. Much of this year's budget has been preparing the ground for next year, although while £7m is being taken out of the 2010/11 budget, £3m has also been added in. ‘We're carrying out a stock take of services, looking at what is essential, what could be charged for, and where there is already a commercial alternative. For example, do we need to do pest control? ‘We're also procuring more effectively. We retendered for broadband recently, saving some £100,000 a year, and are looking at e-auctions around transport. ‘Salami-slicing is counter-productive. The issue is about being clear about what's most valuable.' He continues: ‘Local government has to serve two masters, local people and the Government. The latter has been the dominant one recently, but the balance will reverse, and people will become the primary audience.' He also believes the next Government must look at savings across the entire public sector. ‘No services should be immune and we should ring-fence nothing. ‘There are huge inefficiencies in the NHS and schools. I'd be prepared to take a cut, but in return, we must have maximum freedom to do what we want,' he says. In this, local government can be the solution, not the problem. ‘Savings can be made if we have a stronger framework around Total Place and more leverage to get our partners involved. ‘Whitehall has to rethink its role. The danger is, we don't get the chance to show how we can help. I want the Government to see us as part of the solution. He adds: ‘Most of the delivery of savings will be through local services. The problem is, we have a fragmented system of local service delivery and huge duplication with contradictory performance regimes. I'd like to see more multi-agency teams working out of the same office, and much more joint working on delivery Kim concludes: ‘We don't need new structural solutions. We must incentivise the public sector to come together at local level such as, for example, being able to keep a percentage of total savings. Give us a savings target and let us keep a proportion of it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime generational challenge for local government to demonstrate what it can really do. And if we can develop a new model, it can last for 20 years. That's our prize.' The interview was conducted before the date of the general election was called.

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WHITEHALL

Are unitary counties the new blueprint?

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