Ep 49. Changing Aspirations with Devolution

The state of council finances is one of the most pressing issues across the public sector right now.

As councils face bankruptcy, cut funding and reduced services, and the demands for those services from communities pile on the pressure, the government is set to announce its budget for the next financial year.

In the 52nd episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast Cllr Pete Marland joins host Dan Benn to discuss the challenges that councils face.  Pete is Chair of the LGA’s Economy and Resources Board and Leader of Milton Keynes Council  

Touching on the increase in demand for social care services, Pete said:

“More or less for every ten pounds they (councils) collect, they now spend eight pounds on children’s social care and adult social care. Obviously what that means is that there’s only two pounds left for everything else that councils do.”

Pete and Dan also explored the point of local government if councils aren’t given power to make local decisions, with Pete saying:

“Ultimately, I think there becomes a fundamental question about what the point of local government is if you end up just delivering statutory services set from the middle and not having any local flavour to it.

“What’s the point in local elections if all a local leader has to do every morning is get up and deliver statutory children’s care and not concentrate on what’s right for Manchester, or Lincolnshire, or wherever it may be.”

To hear from a leading voice within local government, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.

It is the role of local government leaders to make the decisions that will best deliver for the communities that they represent. That much is obvious.

How can they do this, however, if they are not accurately representative of those very communities?

Great strides have been made in ensuring that everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, or social class is represented in some way within local government. Chief Executive of Westminster City Council Stuart Love joins host Dan Benn to talk about why this work is important, the different work that is being done in Westminster, and how his background influences his stance on equality and diversity.

Touching on his leadership model, Stuart said:

“I do wear my heart on my sleeve as a leader, and that’s not for everybody. I get that. I don’t think that there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to this.

“The most important thing for me, though, is this has got to be led by the people at the top of the organisation… The whole thing around EDI (equality, diversity, and inclusion) is not something that can be farmed out to somewhere else.”

Stuart also discussed how success in diversity and inclusion can be measured within the public sector:

“The public sector is not very good at talking about why this is such an important thing. But if you look at the changes in our organisation, that fact that our organisation is now much more representative of our communities… the organisation has increased by 10% in terms of our global majority staff over the last six years.

“That means we’ve gone from being around 32% to now 42% of our organisation and, because of that, we have much greater resident satisfaction and residents feel more engaged.”

To make sure you get Stuart’s expert insight on such a key issue for leaders around the country, listen to Episode 51 of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.

In the 50th episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, Leader of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Cllr Anne Handley talks about the upcoming devolution deal for the region and what it can bring to East Yorkshire.

Councillor Handley delved into the potential that East Yorkshire holds, ongoing transport issues and, touching on just how important the deal is for the region, said:

“It’s really important. We are the last part of Yorkshire to actually have any kind of deal…

“…We need the funding like everybody else, and why shouldn’t we have it?”

Whilst discussing some of the challenges that the deal poses, including the consultation around it, Cllr Handley added:

“We need to let as many people know as we possibly can, and do some myth-busting, explain what the positives of this will be and get the local residents on board so that they’re talking about it and know about it. There’s a job to be done to start with because you say the word combined authority and it’s such a misnomer.

“I really wish it wasn’t in purely and simply because we’re not combining.”

To hear more about the devolution deal for East Yorkshire, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.

On the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, Councillor Amanda Hopgood joins host Dan Benn to discuss the devolution deal that has been secured for the North East of England.

As the Leader of Durham County Council, Amanda is brilliantly placed to talk about all of the main facets of such an important deal, especially with £4.2 billion of investment coming into the region. Speaking on this investment, Amanda said:

“[It’s] absolutely immense for a region like ours that sadly, on many of the indexes and scales, is top of all the wrong ones. Where we can make huge inroads is around adult education, housing, jobs, and health, all of which will hopefully change aspirations and the future of our residents in a positive way.

“That, for me, is the most important thing that we’re doing here. Bringing that power and money to local decision-makers who know what the residents in the North East need. We know what skills we need, as opposed to someone in Whitehall or Westminster telling us.”

Speaking about some of the potential challenges of the devolution deal, Amanda went on to say:

“Most people are sceptical of another tier of possible bureaucracy in local government, so the biggest challenge we have is to make sure that, when the mayor - whoever they may be - is elected next year, we hit the ground running and have some things that can be delivered quickly so people see the benefit.”

To find out more about the exciting possibilities of this devolution deal, as well as some of the real challenges that councils in the North East face, listen to the latest Public Sector Executive Podcast.

As central government aims for the UK to be net zero by 2050, councils around the country make plans for how to reduce emissions. This episode’s guest, Oldham’s Councillor Abdul Jabbar outlines the importance of coming together to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint, the benefits of achieving net zero, and how Oldham Council are working to do just that.

Touching on the role that the public sector can play in sustainability, Cllr Jabbar said:

“I think it’s really important that the public sector gives true leadership in this space. I think something like one third of the carbon emissions in the country come from the public sector, so obviously we’re a big polluter in terms of the emissions.”

Councillor Jabbar also spoke about challenges being faced by organisations:

“I think the biggest one has been finance. Clearly the local government sector in particular has had its grants cut from central government by a huge amount and that’s had a very big impact in terms of our plans to take forward projects in relation to climate change, so that’s a major issue.”

To hear what Cllr Jabbar has to say about the mission to achieve net zero carbon emissions, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.

The Leader of Liverpool City Council Liam Robinson spoke to PSE’s Dan Benn about the importance of transport links being decided locally, the homelessness crisis that is only worsening across the country, the financial pressure that many councils find themselves under and lots more.

Speaking about the cancellation of HS2, Liam said: “I think we’ve found the process predominantly over the course of the last six to seven years very, very frustrating with the way that the North of England, particularly big cities like Liverpool, haven’t been equal partners in the conversation, the planning and the delivery of that. The way that Rishi Sunak decided to, sort of, obliterate the plans we found was completely and utterly unacceptable.”

In 2020, most of the world stopped. People were forced to stay at home and many people were furloughed.

This episode's guest, however, was thrown into the forefront of the government's response to to the Covid-19 pandemic, leading the tracing system and working alongside local and central government bodies.

Host Dan Benn is joined by Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council, to discuss loyalty, the pressures of Covid-19, and the importance of transport to a city like Leeds.

In this episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, host Dan Benn is joined by Martin Cresswell (Chair of the Lampton Group) and Shantanu Rajawat (Leader of London Borough of Hounslow Council) as they discuss the importance of innovation in the public sector.

Shantanu, Martin and Dan also touch on the topic of Local Authority Trading Companies, their effectiveness, and how they support innovation and development.

On episode 44 of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, host Dan Benn was joined by former Lord Mayor of Manchester, Carl Austin-Behan OBE. Carl spoke about everything ranging from his time in the RAF, being Manchester’s first openly gay Lord Mayor, and the important work he does now, with the LGBT Foundation.

Speaking on his time in the Royal Air Force, Carl said “they just sat me down and said ‘ do you have homosexual tendencies?’ In that split second I had to make my decision, whether I was going to be true to myself and this was the moment where I could be, or I could lie.

“I think If I’d said no, the Air Force would have been like ‘thank you very much, we just had to ask’ but they asked again, and I burst into tears.”

Carl also touched on the improvements that have been made in workplaces, since that time, saying that “Because of the way that a lot of organisations have moved on, I think they also realise that they’ve got to treat the LGBTQ community in their workforce, with respect. Also, we’ve now got things like LGBT History Month, which we never used to have, and everyone knows about.

“It does frustrate me sometimes because, if you’re a business or organisation that are bringing people in to do a talk – which is great, but it doesn’t have to just be during LGBT History Month or Pride Month. For me, permanent visibility is permanent acceptance.”

On episode 43 of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, Lucy Trueman, Managing Director of Trueman Change, joined host Dan Benn to discuss all things relating to organisational culture.

Lucy touched on everything from how to identify the culture within your organisation and how to be aware of the messages you are sending to other employees, to the shifting culture of the modern workplace. Touching on how to work on changing a culture's organisation, Lucy said:

"Step one is definitely to get awareness of it and that awareness needs to come from staff, from customers, and from other people. It doesn't just come from the leadership team."

To hear more from an expert in organisational change, make sure that you listen to the Public Sector Executive Podcast.