Local Government Chronicle
21 June 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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‘Shared vision' on reforms drafted
The LGA and the NHS Commissioning Board Authority are working on a partnership agreement on cooperation over health reforms. -
A more ‘intelligent’ era
Some local authorities are moving at breakneck speed to commission more and deliver less. Others are being more pragmatic and cautious. But the direction of travel is clear - the issue is whether or not councils have the systems, skills and working culture in place to deal with change and meet the challenges that are coming their way. -
A question of influence
Health and wellbeing boards could be seen as either the glue in the new system, or as the lubricant that makes all the component parts work together smoothly. -
Celebration brings economic benefits
It would be easy for local authorities to sit back and let the Olympic Torch Relay Route and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations happen with minimal involvement. We would make sure roads are closed, the streets are clean and our emergency plans are in place and these celebrations would go ahead and if they were a damp squib, or worse, then it’s someone else’s issue – not ours. -
Centralising instincts in devolved states
Director, Greater London Group, London School of Economics -
Children in care homes 'let down'
Children’s minister Tim Loughton has accused some councils of “letting down” looked-after children and “failing to act as a proper parent”. -
Councils are not vending machines
The traditional British style of politics has been to leave decision making to the politicians and the professions/bureaucrats with a periodic election thrown in. Indifference has become a deep-rooted part of our political culture, and judging by the recent local elections it is still flourishing. -
Councils get formal health advisory role
Chief executives and senior directors will sit on NHS panels advising on whether commissioning groups (CCGs) should be authorised. -
Effective partnerships cannot be mandated
Will health and wellbeing boards be system leaders or talking shops? That was the question the King’s Fund posed when we interviewed 50 lead officers last autumn. Judging by the latest LGC survey, the jury is still out, with the results echoing many of the issues and themes we identified in our own report. -
Funding public health - and the value of public servants
The mayors’ debate may have been swept away by the electorate, but the changing political dynamics are clear -
Getting care right at the end of life
The majority of people in this country die on a hospital ward, often against their wishes. -
Give residents the full recycling story
What happens to my recycling? Enquiring minds want to know. -
Guidance seen as deterrent to in-house tendering to be scrapped
Ministers have agreed to scrap official guidance that appeared to rule out in-house teams from bidding to run council services. -
Hopes of council tax discount flexibility ended
Ministers have slammed the door on hopes of greater local discretion over council tax benefit discounts as the lobbying over the reforms steps up a notch. -
Inside Out - Cashless transactions
I was intrigued by the deal between Hammersmith & Fulham LBC and the Post Office where residents can carry out various council transactions at their local post office. What about councils delivering letters? -
LGC Investment Supplement - June 2012
Read LGC’s regular supplement on investment -
LGC View - 21 June 2012: health and wellbeing boards
Late last month, Michael Bloomberg the mayor of New York City, announced plans to ban the sale of sugary drinks in large sizes. In delis, fast-food franchises and sports arenas, energy drinks or sweetened iced teas will have to be served in cups or bottles of 16 fluid ounces or less. -
Local forces to target childcare offer
The deadline for the introduction of an offer of free childcare for two year olds from the most deprived families might seem a while off, September 2013, but there is a lot to do. -
Mediawatch: Picking on nine year olds can only backfire
To me, the news story of the week is not the drip drip drip ramifications of austerity which will echo louder and louder over the next few years. It is not this week’s increases in homelessness and council tax arrears, nor the latest Treasury bombshell that they might need a billion quid back from local government this year to build up a national contingency pot. It is not even the accusations that ministers have played fast and loose with statistics of various kinds (and I love statistics). -
North at risk in needs-based funds plan
New proposals for distributing public health funding according to need would see councils in London, north-east and north-west England lose money while those in south-east and south-west England would gain. -
Northern Ireland reorganisation challenged
Northern Ireland councils have warned that the £6m transition cost of the province’s local government reorganisation cannot be met from their efficiency savings. -
Reaping the rewards of new ways of working
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 Sarah McBride shares her reflections from the Wales and south-west meeting. -
South-east offers Pickles a tax freeze
South-east councils are to ask if they can retain 75% of business rate growth in their area in return for freezing or reducing council tax levels. -
System leaders or talking shops?
Health and wellbeing boards may be considered the ‘glue’ in the system but LGC’s Health and Wellbeing Board Survey shows that questions remain about their lack of formal powers. -
True reform will require some unpopular battles to be fought
Most respondents to this survey want a wide range of council departments including licensing, planning transport, economic development, leisure and housing to be more involved with the work of health and wellbeing boards. They want all council departments to be under a duty to cooperate with them, and they want HWBs to be powerful. -
Wake-up call on contingency planning
A few weeks ago Danny Alexander took advantage of a speaking opportunity at the Institute of Fiscal Studies to set out the Government’s thinking on “improving spending control”. In many ways the content of the speech, and the new Treasury framework launched alongside, was uncontentious. -
Welfare reform running conflict risk
Welfare reform has two legs, universal credit and reformed council tax benefit (CTB); one delivered nationally, one locally. Both are meant to work in harmony, rewarding work and empowering people to make their own choices.
