In 2010 the Government announced its intention to pilot
Community Budgets as a method of integrating public services. It wasted time
and effort by trying to re-invent a similar programme it had inherited.
Basically, Community Budgeting recognises that, if you
are going to provide the best services, there must be freedom to redesign
services locally. This follows through the policy of best value – focused on
continual improvement to provide services that are efficient, effective, equitable
and responsive. However, to achieve that, all the players have to be committed,
flexible and willing to give up power and resources to get the best
outcomes.
This doesn’t happen easily. There are cultural barriers
to overcome at all levels of government and their agencies - as well as service
users and voluntary organisations –and new systems to put in place. The
challenge of doing this in the current economic and financial climate
conditions cannot be underestimated.
The all-party Communities and Local Government Committee,
which I chair, has been reviewing the government’s pilots. These were four
'Whole Place' Community Budgets and ten 'Neighbourhood' Community Budget areas.
We also looked at the progress of the Troubled Families Programme, the
priorities of which—turning around "troubled families" by integrating
public services and tailoring them to families—came out of the Community Budget
programme.
We found that the pilots are already demonstrating the
clear potential to facilitate cheaper, more integrated and more effective
public services. However, achieving that potential requires strong local
leadership and a commitment from central government to facilitate local
flexibility. It also requires a framework for agreements on sharing the benefits
of investment.
Getting the biggest benefits will also require
risk-taking – including the risk of failing occasionally. There isn’t a
successful company in the world which, even after doing all the essential
research and analysis, doesn’t occasionally get a product wrong and have to
withdraw it and go back to the drawing-board. Public services are no different,
but politicians, the public and the media have to be a bit more grown-up about
this. There aren’t any successful organisations which rely on a blame culture.
You can read more about the Committee’s findings at:
