OurKingdom is running a short series of posts looking at various aspects of local government - you can read the series in full here.
Amelia Cookson (London, Local Government Information Unit): Though it goes against every grain of my being, I think that it might be true: things really are getting better. Well, maybe not with the economy. And the climate might be a write-off. But for the first time in a long time, local government is on the up.
Let's make a distinction, first off, between the word on the street, and the received wisdom of those who speak the language of politics and government. It takes time for changes in government to sink through into public consciousness. You can still hear people talk about the DHSS - now already on a second name change. Any sea change in local government may need a decade to translate into public perception.
But in the world of government, there is already something close to agreement that local government is "the best performing part of government." Oft cited, little understood, the Audit Commission's inspection system is used for the league table of council performance. And though the Treasury issued an edict demanding that the inspection system become harder, councils have continued to rise to the top of ratings. The system is deeply flawed, but it is a test nonetheless, and a test that councils are excelling at. The National Audit Office's new system of inspecting Whitehall departments was much kinder, and several Departments still got a pasting.
At the same time, talk of devolution, though easily scorned, really has brought changes. They may be small, but they are creating momentum. George Jones may despair of local partnerships, but they are drifting towards accountability. It is now uncontroversial to talk of the council as first among equals and the accountable body in the local area - entirely right in a democratic system. Local Area Agreements may still be impenetrable to the public, but they are becoming increasingly penetrable for politicians. And if we believe in democracy then this is a perfectly legitimate way of improving transparency. Partners now consider political priorities as key building blocks to local strategies. Politicians take a lead in partnerships, and scrutiny powers have been given over other public bodies with some history of being cavalier about accounting for their movements.
And for both partnerships and performance management, there has been a quiet revolution in top down bureaucracy. Slowly but surely, the patchwork quilt of targets and plans, grants and guidance, is becoming clearer, simpler and much, much smaller - opening the door to local innovation.
There is still a hurdle, a major one, but one which will be overcome: Sir Michael Lyons called it the "sense of powerfulness in local government." Local government has been a victim, whether it deserved it or not is not for today. But it need not feel itself a victim any longer. If performance can improve, the public will respect it again, one day. If central government can release the reins a little, it will release them a lot, one day. Local government just needs to see that horizon and raise its chin a bit. Look up, there's a better day coming.
Amelia Cookson (not verified) said:
Fri, 2008-05-09 08:13I'm not suggesting the situation is ideal, or that there aren't serious problems to be addressed, our centralised system being one of them.
And I'm not saying people who don't work in government can't understand it, but you will be arguing long and hard to convince me that most people do. Not because they are thick, but because they have other interests, and because our system is monumentally complex. I don't understand banking, but why should I? That's someone else's job.
But I will not be swayed on this basic point: sometimes things do get better. Painfully slowly, and agonisingly tortuously, but the path is up. And if anyone is serious about improving what we have, they will be far more successful if they can see the opportunities (no matter how small) and build on them. Local government has been held back by negativity. If it sits around waiting for an overnight revolution, nothing will ever change. And if it keeps critisizing instead of doing it will reinforce the cycle that keeps it subservient to whitehall and westminster.