The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley *
Since 1998 there have been more than 20 Central Government policy initiatives designed to modernise and improve performance in English Local Government. Together these initiatives form the Local Government Modernisation Agenda (LGMA).
The desired outcomes from the LGMA are:
- service improvement
- improved community leadership
- increased stakeholder engagement
- increased public confidence in Local Government.
Uniquely within central government the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has an ongoing ten year research program to evaluate the long term effects of the LGMA.
I am the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives’ representative on the National Steering Group for the LGMA. The research is largely carried out by academic institutions and my role is to provide a reality check on both the methodologies used and the interpretation of results.
It is also to contribute to the dissemination of the lessons to be learnt from the research.
In June, I chaired a seminar to reveal the findings from the overall evaluation of the LGMA so far. Key questions were:
- how are Councils implementing LGMA policies?
- what are the impacts of the LGMA policies on service delivery and local governance?
- what lessons can be learnt by Central Government and Local Government practitioners on how to improve performance?
The answers so far to these questions provide food for thought. The LGMA policies are being implemented – no surprise given the power Central Government has over Local Government and its resource allocation process. Interestingly this improvement focus was initially on service quality and user satisfaction but has more recently moved to cost effectiveness.
The profile of community leadership has certainly been raised. Councils, however, are not now seen as the only community leaders. Local Strategic Partnerships are increasingly establishing their profiles and roles locally.
The engagement of stakeholders with Councils was already significant before the LGMA. The LGMA, however, has led to an accelerated pace and depth of attempts to engage. Significant consultation takes place with stakeholder groups. Councils now make more effort to account for their actions and decisions. There is still, however, little sign that local communities have become more motivated to hold Councils to account.
Public satisfaction with Councils overall has declined although satisfaction with services has increased. The research appears to indicate that the LGMA has resulted in improved service performance, and consequently increased public satisfaction with services, but not improved public satisfaction with Local Government. Key lessons for Councils appear to be that innovation in service provision needs to be put in the context of increasing public satisfaction with Local Government.
Partnership working needs to address cross cutting issues and not just service specific issues. Much more attention needs to be paid to improving relations with communities by devolving decision making to the local level, communicating directly with the public, being seen to listen and hear when consulting, prioritising service improvement based upon customer preferences and ensuring good customer experiences when dealing with the Council.
The LGMA is having a significant impact on Councils. A key to its future impact is the further development of the Central/Local Government partnership and the individual actions of Councils in engaging with their communities.
* Malcolm Morley is Chief Executive of Harlow District Council and can be contacted via the Editor, email info@lgfocus.com.au The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of his employer.
