Total Place to be rolled out nationwide

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Local public services are set to undergo radical reform following the announcement by the government that Total Place will now be happening all over the country. The approach will deliver more personalised services and make more effective use of taxpayers money, ministers said, backed by measures in the Budget for building new homes, promoting regeneration and backing the construction industry.

The government reckoned the Budget included a commitment that all councils in England would benefit from the removal of at least 10 per cent of the current national indicator set, less ring-fencing of funds (including an extra £1.3bn on non schools funding), more streamlined funding (from 110 to 94, a 15 per cent reduction by 2012/13) and fewer burdens. At the same time, local public services are free to come up with much more radical changes to improve services in their area, increase efficiency and create new targets for local people.

The key will be performance – high performing councils with a strong track record of making savings will be encouraged to negotiate with central government for more far-reaching freedoms under a "single offer" that would "redesign" their relationship with Whitehall. This could include the remove of all local authority ring-fencing, a smaller number of targets, simpler funding for children and young people's services, a "lighter touch" by central government and less frequent inspections.

The government also said it was trying to make its work with agencies more "coherent and strategic", with better leadership from regional ministers supporting the Total Place approach, pushing devolution of power and making sure that regional offices for regional development agencies, the Homes and Communities Agency and government services were "better placed" to work in local areas.

Communities Secretary John Denham said: "Total Place sets out a radical transformation to the way public services will be delivered in future. The new approach takes us way beyond a tinkering at the edges of the way individual local authorities operate, it amounts to a significant and collective shift in the way that public services work from health and social care to policing and children's services.

"It is about bringing together all local spend in the area to fit around the needs of customers, cutting out waste and duplication while protecting frontline services. This has not been done before."

Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury reckoned that Total Place would "recast" the relationship between local and central government and that by giving local government greater freedom to respond to local needs it was possible to deliver better services at lower costs. He added: "The message to local authorities is clear: if you perform well, you'll get more freedoms."

However, the chairman of the Local Government Association Improvement Board, David Parsons, said that while the adoption of Total Place was an important first step in changing the relationship between Whitehall and town halls, it would need to be followed up with bolder action.

"Councils will be pleased by the Government's decision to distribute money through a single pot to the best performing areas and allow places to retain money from the savings they make," he said. "Giving councils and other local service providers more freedom to get on with their jobs is the only way to improve services and save money.

"The removal of some ring-fencing around how local councils can spend their money is good news for councils, as are cuts to the burden of inspection, but there is a need to go much further in slashing Whitehall red tape. Local areas must have the freedom to design services that better meet the needs of people who live there. Only a radical re-design of how local services are delivered will ensure the savings and benefits of Total Place are fully realised."

• Housing minister John Healey has revealed plans to give councils the freedom to fund and run their council homes, dismantling the current system of funding council housing through the housing revenue account (HRA) subsidy.

The deal will release at least 10 per cent more money to every council for maintaining and managing their homes, he said, and will generate the capacity to build over 10,000 new council homes a year. Above all, it will mean 4m people will get better homes and better housing services from their council.

Under the new self-financing system councils will keep all the rent they collect from their homes and all the receipts from any sales of houses or land. Not a penny will go to Whitehall or subsidise other councils. In return, councils will accept a share of an extra £3.65bn debt.

Healey said: "This is a once and for all settlement between central and local government. It will bring council house funding up to date – replacing a system which was introduced before the Second World War. Councils will get the freedom to fund and run their council homes, without central government subsidy. This is a change which councils have been calling for and which has cross party support. This is an opportunity for radical change which will allow councils to do much more to provide better services and better meet the needs of local people."