Passage 4 On Government Administration
政府管理新理论

[00:00]This criticism is misplaced. We're making it easier for local authorities
[00:08]Peter Hetherington argues that in challenging times councils
[00:13]need to be innovative about funding services and more entrepreneurial.
[00:20]He is right, but he fails to recognise that government
[00:24]and local authorities are already ahead of him.
[00:28]He says: "Local government is seen as easy meat by all governments."
[00:35]This is not the case under Labour.
[00:38]This year's settlement increase
[00:40]is likely to be the 13th successive above inflation rise.
[00:47]He asserts that "the Local Government Association had calculated
[00:52]that councils will have to cut 11bn over the next four financial years.
[01:00]Yes, times will be tighter for local government;
[01:04]but last month's pre-budget report set out challenging
[01:08]but realistic savings that local councils can deliver,
[01:13]provided they have a single-minded focus on frontline services.
[01:18]By talking about education as a winner and local councils as losers,
[01:25]Hetherington makes the common mistake of believing
[01:29]that only services provided directly by the local council are local services.
[01:35]Not only do local councils have clear legal duties to provide education,
[01:43]but by ignoring the police, the NHS, and services secured from the charities,
[01:50]social or private sectors,
[01:52]he ignores a great deal more spent delivering services in local communities.
[01:59]Since last April, with government support,
[02:02]over 80 areas have signed up to Total Place,
[02:07]which looks at all the public money spent in an area.
[02:12]Hetherington says that
[02:14]"Birmingham has begun planning for a 'worst case scenario'
[02:18]by taking steps to redesign services."
[02:22]I suspect this might be as part of Total Place.
[02:27]Birmingham has mapped all public spending and it amounts to 7.5bn.
[02:35]We know that Total Place will only work
[02:39]if Whitehall changes the way it works with local government.
[02:44]Last month's Smarter Government paper set out our commitment
[02:49]to make those changes.
[02:51]Hetherington complains that councils are "denied financial independence".
[02:57]But we're reducing ringfencing and exploring more powers
[03:02]for local councils to generate their own income to suit local needs,
[03:08]like the business rate supplement and more.
[03:12]But only a quarter of councils are taking advantage of the powers
[03:17]they currently have.
[03:20]Leaders and officers need to think more creatively
[03:24]and better exploit the opportunities.
[03:27]These moves will make it easier for well-led local authorities,
[03:32]whether they directly provide the services or not.
[03:36]To back them up we need to extend their powers
[03:40]to scrutinise all local spending, and to ensure
[03:45]that entitlements to good standards of service in education,
[03:49]health and policing are delivered.
[03:52]Further, a revolution in information made available about the cost,
[03:58]organisation and quality of services
[04:02]will ensure that citizens can hold their councils accountable.
[04:07]This means there is no conflict, as Hetherington suggests,
[04:11]between these "demands" and the "priorities of government".
[04:17]The Conservatives have said they'll scrap targets and inspections,
[04:23]meaning people will be denied access to vital information.
[04:27]As Hetherington points out, there needn't be an
[04:32]"erosion of council influence and of local democracy".
[04:37]But there will be if the Conservatives gain power
[04:41]and slash budgets as they've promised to do.