The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley*
In England, two major national public sector organisational structural initiatives have been launched. The first is a reorganisation of the Police and the second is the reorganisation of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) which are key commissioners of health care for the National Health Service (NHS).
Currently there are 43 Police Constabularies based upon county boundaries to reflect the need for localness. The increased seriousness, volume and complexity of crime and the need to deliver improved organisational economy, efficiency and effectiveness has led to questions about the organisational critical mass of constabularies.
A review of whether constabularies are fit for purpose and represent value for money, particularly in relation to management structures and overhead costs, has now been launched. It is likely that mergers will lead to the number of constabularies being significantly reduced and that they will cover large geographic areas. It has already been proposed that Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Constabularies merge.
In 1999, approximately 480 Primary Care Groups (now PCTs) were established in England to take financial responsibility for planning and funding health services for the communities they serve. Based upon populations ranging from 100,000 to 220,000 to reflect local health economies they were designed to:
- improve the health of the local population
- improve local primary and community services
- commission hospital services for local patients.
A savings target from management and administration costs has been set for the reconfiguration of PCTs which in some areas represents a saving of approximately 20 per cent. This level of saving can only be achieved through a major change. The challenge is to ensure that the localness objective is not compromised by the financial target.
In both of the above reorganisations there will be a challenge to maintain localness.
Currently local communities, represented through local representatives on the Boards of these organisations and through Councils, seek local prioritisation of resource investment. This has to be balanced with economic drivers and national priorities. Local focus and representation has been designed to ensure that national requirements and local needs are balanced.
This latter argument is often used by Councils. The key to the credibility of this argument, however, is community engagement. Without community engagement do Councils have legitimacy? Improving value for money by rationalising back office services, partnership working and so forth is available to Councils now.
Improving community engagement, however, is not as easy to achieve as illustrated by surveys of satisfaction with Councils. If Councils do not have high community engagement then arguments about localness to protect current Local Government structures are weakened.
Councils must pursue both economic improvements and community engagement if they are to pursue a balanced argument about economic drivers and localness. Both take time to achieve and to deliver benefits for local communities. Councils need to achieve local and national recognition for both.
There is an old saying that things go in threes. Is Local Government reorganisation the third reorganisation to be launched by Government? If it is, Council’s that have not already addressed improving community engagement may be too late!
*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.
