Local Government Chronicle
14 June 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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Australia takes brave lead on adult care
I read some striking headlines in April about reform at last for a beleaguered social care system. They confirmed plans for substantial investment in aged care, home care is to be means tested from July 2014, and home care and residential care fees will be capped for a person’s lifetime. Sadly it was during my recent visit to Australia. The recent Queen’s Speech augurs less well for England. -
Avoid mission creep
The Audit Commission has done some important work since it was created in 1983. However, as the commission comes to an end, the National Audit Office is beginning to consider the areas where they will have some additional responsibilities. -
Be afraid, be very afraid
Want to know what the future looks like? A rule of thumb is look to the past. In December the new head of Ofsted Sir Michael Wilshaw said out loud what Whitehall has been thinking for a while. -
Brave new skills for brave new leaders…
The LGC Future Leaders Network, in association with BT, aims to support local government’s up and coming talent. Each of our seven regional groups has now met. Here Future Leader Steve Maxey shares his reflections from the Midlands meeting. -
Care reforms pushed into July
A white paper on care reform was expected to be published after MPs returned from the Whitsun recess, but a department spokesman said this was now unlikely. -
Connect to grow
I have spent a great deal of time with business communities, council chief executives, cabinets, leaders and lead councillors across the UK to set out the case for setting up superfast broadband networks. In the past two years it has become a top priority. I haven’t met anybody who has said that it is not a priority. -
DCLG on the side of the angels
Director, Greater London Group, London School of Economics -
Devolution to strengthen democracy
What is the role of local democracy? It’s a question I was called on to answer the day after the May elections when just 32% of constituents turned out to vote and nine out of ten local areas rejected directly elected mayors. -
Employers call for high-level talks to avoid new battle over pay
As unions warn of a brewing battle over pay, employers have called for high-level political talks to end the deadlock and avert a fourth year of pay freeze. -
Fears over new NHS commissioning bodies
The establishment of NHS commissioning support organisations could lead to the “disintegration” of local health commissioning arrangements, council chief executives and GPs have warned. -
Finding common ground on terms and conditions
Pension negotiations were characterised by a collaborative approach. Terms and conditions will prove a battleground. -
FoI progress setting the pace of change
One of the big fears around Freedom of Information is that it leads to records being kept differently or not being made at all. The worry is that the threat of an FOI request means that politicians and officials do a lot more ‘off the record’ decision-making and find all sorts of creative ways to avoid an audit trail. -
Give councils powers to close academies, urge advisers
Local government advisers to the Department for Education have called for a greater role for councils in monitoring academies and even powers to close them down. -
'I don't think what is required is another national watchdog'
Since communities secretary Eric Pickles announced the abolition of his bête noir, the Audit Commission, the landscape of audit and regulation has been something of a movable feast. -
Inside Out - Leadership at DCLG
The recent organisational health survey of government departments must have made difficult reading for Sir Bob and his senior team. It had some of the poorest results in the civil service. -
LGA: target child health inequality
The government’s priorities for children and young people’s health services are too clinically focused and fail to reflect councils’ new role in public health, the LGA has said. -
LGC View - Audit and regulation
In her first interview, the National Audit Office’s local government lead has sought to dismiss fears that the NAO could step into the Audit Commission’s sizeable shoes. With good reason: quite apart from anything else, the NAO couldn’t afford to. -
'Make infrastructure projects happen'
With the debate raging on how best to solve the financial crisis, restore the euro zone and generally get out of the current mess, there is a conversation about investment. Whether investment in our infrastructure is going to be (part of) the solution and a question about what the role of local government might be. -
Mediawatch: The power of public understanding...
For the past two years the business of managing council reputations in the light of spending cuts has been a consistent challenge for local government. -
Pension reforms to help funds at next valuation
Employers should see a drop in pension contribution rates of around 2% points in next year’s fund valuations as part of the recently announced reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme. -
Plan B: working beyond the affordable
The enormity of change for local government is multi-dimensional, and perhaps time is needed to absorb it properly – at least that’s how it feels to me. -
Reshaping services to meet local needs
Over the past eighteen months, I have been continually impressed by the enthusiasm that local authorities have shown towards leading transformation of services and positive results for individuals in local communities. -
Technology bringing frontline benefits
A recent Parliamentary Select Committee report on Social Care warns that the complexity of having different organisations covering health, care and housing is inefficient and leads to poorer outcomes for older people.
