The Prime Minister and the Health and the Communities Secretaries have set out their vision of public services of the future. The Local Government Association has set out a vision which involves a radical re-think of how services are delivered with decision making moved from Whitehall to local areas. The Whitehall and Town hall visions are markedly different.

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The path to improved public services at lower costs is now clear, but unlocking the benefits will demand fundamental change in governance and a devolution of power. The vision of the Local Government Association is to replace the multiple funding streams, each with its own policies and bureaucracies, with an area budget. It is claimed that this move to place based budgeting could save £100b over 5 years by opening the gate to greater efficiency.

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The Local Government Association’s vision for public services argues for Area Boards to be accountable for healthcare and policing. The boards of primary care trusts would be abolished and the chair of the police authority would be a member of the Area Board. This change in accountability would lead to better decision making that took into account inter dependencies and was not constrained by ring fence budgets.

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