14 May 07 - Does local government have the skills to deliver?
It is not a coincidence that the full title of the recent high profile review was the "Lyons Inquiry into Local Government - Place-shaping: a shared ambition for the future of local government".
In my opinion, not enough has been made of this new an exciting consensus that local government's core function is to shape the places it serves. But a lingering doubt remains. As a former local authority Chief Executive for over 10 years, I'm left wondering if local government has the people with the knowledge and skills to become a really effective place-shaper?
14 May 07 - Does local government have the skills to deliver?
It is not a coincidence that the full title of the recent high profile review was the "Lyons Inquiry into Local Government - Place-shaping: a shared ambition for the future of local government".
In my opinion, not enough has been made of this new an exciting consensus that local government's core function is to shape the places it serves. But a lingering doubt remains. As a former local authority Chief Executive for over 10 years, I'm left wondering if local government has the people with the knowledge and skills to become a really effective place-shaper?
The results of the past are there for all to see. In the words of Sir John Egan, whose review recommended establishing the Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) there are "too many housing estates simply dumped into spaces with no amenities and no thought for their future governance. Too many ugly retail parks serving no other purpose than shopping by car". Many SOLACE members need only look at the high street in their town or city to see our collective failure as a nation.
As the Chief Executive of the Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) - the government's national centre for developing the skills and knowledge needed to make better places - we believe we need to redouble our efforts to equip officers and members with the right skills, knowledge and behaviours to deliver great places. Also we need to support communities to become more engaged in creating great places.
Taking planning as an example, the scale of this challenge is immense. Recent analysis commissioned by ASC indicates that local government are struggling to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of planners. This appears particularly acute at senior and experienced levels, with 80% of London boroughs reporting staff retention problems in 2005. To ensure more people enter planning, surveying and engineering and other sustainable communities professions vital to local government, ASC is working with partners to develop a national careers campaign to be launched in June.
Turning to skills, one of one of the biggest challenges is ensuring that the different occupations in local government - including planning, surveying and housing - work together effectively, combining expertise, knowledge and experience to transform communities into places where people want to live and work. Research indicates a need to focus on generic skills including visioning and strategy development, communication skills, project and process management, and perhaps most important leadership. In addition to working more effectively with each other, professionals need to learn how to work with communities to ensure the long term sustainability of places.
The development of a National Improvement Strategy for Local Government, articulated in the recent local government white paper Strong and Prosperous Communities is one mechanism to tackle this issue. ASC is working with both the Department for Communities and Local Government and the local government family to ensure that place-shaping skills get sufficient priority within Regional Improvement Strategies.
But this can only be half the battle. The real prize, and therefore the real challenge, is for individual Chief Executives to lead a radical overhaul of skills and knowledge within their individual authorities. Another possibility is for groups of councils at sub-regional level to come together to share resources, expertise and learning. The development of a National Improvement Strategy must go hand in hand with significant change in knowledge and skills delivery within local government.
