Why we are welcome in the corridors of Whitehall

Dame Margaret Eaton was the first person Eric Pickles met when he took up his new post as CLG secretary. She believes ministers' doors and minds are genuinely open to local government. Since 6 May, my telephone has barely stopped ringing. My diary has been filled with discussions with ministers in the new coalition government wanting to know about local government and how it delivers for the people we all serve. "Town halls have been delivering major savings for years, and want to ensure that councils and the rest of the public sector can learn from the best performers." I was the first person Eric Pickles saw when he started his new job as secretary of state for communities and local government. I walked into his department with none of the usual security or formalities. It was a recognition of the importance of the Local Government Group, but more significantly, a recognition of the central role that councils play in providing hundreds of frontline services for millions of people, every day. With my colleagues at the Local Government Group, I have had face-to-face talks with Mr Pickles; the chief secretary to the Treasury – Danny Alexander; Andrew Lansley – the health secretary; and many others. We have found ministerial doors open, people are approachable, keen to talk, and keen to listen. And we want to make sure that when they have listened, they take on board our messages and take the right decisions. There is a real sense of enthusiasm within the Government, and we have been well received. But, we are all aware that there are going to be very difficult times ahead, major savings and major changes. There's a big job for us to do to persuade ministers that we need wholesale reform of the way the public sector operates to deliver savings, but minimise the effects on frontline services for people, many of them among the most vulnerable in society. Councils look after defenceless elderly people, protect children from harm, keep the roads in a decent state, and empty the bins. Those are all things which are vital to keeping every family, village, town and city running every single day, and we need to keep them running – and running well. Our proposals for reform, cutting out the middlemen, the myriad funding streams, accountability mechanisms, regulatory frameworks, targets and inspection mechanisms, all the things that come between the taxpayer and the frontline, have been very well received. The coalition government has begun to deliver many things local government has long wanted, such as the abolition of CAA, the promise to introduce a power of general competence, a commitment to a review of local government finance, and a pledge to introducing legislation on decentralisation. We need to maintain the momentum to deliver the very best deal for local government and help give power to the people who know their areas best. Councils are doing all they can to be ever more efficient. I chaired a productivity seminar with Mr Pickles last month. Town halls have been delivering major savings for years, and want to ensure that councils and the rest of the public sector can learn from the best performers. We want to bring together senior figures from local government, ministers, senior civil servants, business and the voluntary sector to take a hard look at how best we can do more for less in these difficult financial times. But these are tough times and we need to make sure councils retain the ability to provide the services their residents need. We were all surprised at the cuts taken by local government from the initial announcement of £6.2bn in savings. We know further, deeper cuts are on the way, and that councils will face tough and painful decisions. We have to meet the challenge of persuading more ministers of the value of the work councils do, and the importance of pressing ahead with the reform we are advocating. I hear the word localism all the time. But the challenge is to persuade people to implement the sort of localism we are arguing for. There are signs that our voice has been heard. When education secretary, Michael Gove, published his proposals for free schools, we argued that councils needed a role in education to make sure admissions, school places, special needs, and exclusions all worked so no pupils would fall between the cracks. I was able to speak to him that day and make our case. He later wrote to authorities reassuring us that councils would retain a key strategic role in education. That is the sort of influence we need to maintain with the Government, to make the case that local government works and can deliver for the people it serves. Dame Margaret Eaton is chairman of the LGA

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WHITEHALL

Why we are welcome in the corridors of Whitehall

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