Smaller councils may struggle with the challengeNina Lovelace, acting editorLocal government's 'reputation' and how to improve it is an often-debated issue. But discussions normally centre on unthreatening subjects such as how well a council gets on with its local paper, or if it has successfully shifted to fortnightly waste collections. But the issue of public satisfaction with councils can be seen in a new light when experts claim good council communication and engagement with local people could be all that stands between calm and simmering tensions.The Commission on Integration & Cohesion is expected to reveal next week 'strong correlations' between people's satisfaction with their council and their views on cohesion.Certainly tensions arising from perceptions about how social housing and other services are allocated are well documented as significant contributors to cohesion problems, especially in areas of high deprivation.But where cohesion was once an issue primarily for northern towns and cities, the reality is it is becoming as much of a challenge for previously tranquil rural pastures due to the fast-changing nature of diversity.It is a concern then that, according to recent surveys, councils already appear to be losing the public satisfaction war. If this is happening because of issues like waste collection, how on earth will particularly smaller councils fare when it comes to communicating more complex issues like how they are treating different communities fairly? The problem often lies not with communications teams, but rather the fact that council communications in general largely still remain unsophisticated and unstrategic.Certainly, councils will need support from the centre to deliver on the commission's recommendations, and bodies such as the Improvement & Development Agency will play a key role in providing practical help.But as the commission makes clear, cohesion is a local issue, so it will be local leadership and engagement with residents to find common values that will bring a real step-change.
