Public sector organisations are not strangers to budget cuts. The traditional approach was to stop doing things that had no legal mandate and match expenditure to the reduced budget available. The result was that day centres for older people closed and grants to community groups dried up overnight. To ask local people to pay the price of budget cuts again would be indefensible when the scope for improving the quality of services and securing increased productivity is so great.

Read more on BUDGET CUTS WITH A DIFFERENCE…

The thirteen Total Place pilot areas are working in depth on their chosen themes in order to make their final submission to Whitehall on February 5, 2010. Pilots continue to host workshops to share learning and experiences on themes that involve both central and local government, such as children and young people; crime; and drugs and alcohol. These have been well attended by colleagues from across the pilots and Whitehall departments.

Read more on LEADERSHIP CENTRE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT – TOTAL PLACE UPDATE…

Local people will be able to use data from Total Place and the Audit Commission’s Oneplace website to find out how local public bodies are performing. The extension of local authority scrutiny to all public services in an area will complete the triangle of accountability.

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By Richard Ellis and Steve Heappey

AS our final report nears completion, we are confident this Total Place pilot will deliver a slew of service improvements over the short and medium term.

Read more on TOTAL PLACE: A MODEL FOR FUTURE BUSINESS?…

By Tom Bracey

A whole menu of innovative options has been investigated, including ‘virtual wards’, which use the systems, staffing and daily routine of a hospital ward to provide care in people’s homes, multi-agency teams providing older people’s care and intensive programmes to give older people back skills they may have lost after a stroke or severe illness.

Read more on RE-SHAPING SERVICES FOR OLDER PEOPLE…

Local leaders will have greater freedom to lead and set local priorities, but the price to be paid is a tightening of the purse strings. Using simple arithmetic to calculate to size of budget cuts could pose a threat for many councils and other bodies. Capacity to deliver radical change is the unknown factor and setting tight deadlines could spell disaster.

Read more on VIEWPOINT: GREATER FREEDOM FOR LOCAL COUNCILS COMES AT A PRICE…