The venue, overlooking the twinkling Thames by night, may have been magnificent, but the guests at the dinner hosted by Serco at London's Savoy hotel were far too preoccupied to appreciate the view.

They were there to discuss, in the presence of guest speaker, Audit Commission chair, Michael O'Higgins, over a working dinner, how to foster a culture of innovation throughout town and county halls.

The guests were chief executives from mainly counties and unitaries. Mr O'Higgins began the debate with a summary of his views, in particular, his complaint that good practice is not passed on between authorities.

‘One of my frustrations is why it takes so long for good practice to get spread,' he said. ‘Good things are developed, but then, don't get spread about. It means months or years when good services aren't passed on. We'll be hearing more of this issue in the next few months, as it's a frustration shared by central government.'

Mr O'Higgins challenged councils to be less risk-averse, ‘to challenge the status quo', and to allow people at the frontline to ‘be encouraged to offer ideas' since ‘most innovative ideas come from users'. He said staff were the prime engine for innovation, citing the transformation of Lambeth LBC's revenues and benefits service from special measures to three stars in just 18 months.

He asked: ‘Do your staff have enough space for good ideas? Do you have a mechanism for encouraging them?' And he concluded, a touch optimistically, with: ‘I want a culture which allows people to make mistakes. Risk means you may get something wrong and leaders need to back their staff who take risks.'
He argued that the major driver for innovation was the external drive for efficiency. ‘It's perfectly possible to improve customer satisfaction and make savings at the same time.'

He also expressed support for the increasing trend towards the sharing of top management teams, such as Herefordshire Council and the PCT, or Essex CC and Brentwood DC, adding: ‘We're comfortable with the joint sharing of posts, and if a council runs into difficulties with the district auditor, then tell us.'
During the ensuing discussion the guests made the following points:

The guests were also concerned that the new Comprehensive Area Assessments meant their councils being held accountable for the failings of partnering agencies.

Mr O'Higgins responded: ‘You'll be held accountable collectively,' by which he meant, all partners would have to share the blame or praise, rather than just the council.

His comments caused a slight intake of breath around the table, although this might have been due to the artistry of the desert, which had just arrived.

On the subject of measuring, he said: ‘We don't want Friday afternoon data. You can capture this data in the normal run of the week.'

One chief executive said CPA had been ‘a great success', but the Government appeared not to notice this, and was still in control mode, adding, ‘the failures in local government are now so few we can name them'.

Mr O'Higgins said while the hope was that intervention powers would never need to be used ‘they have to be there, as we need legislation for things which go wrong', and he indicated there were no plans to drop them.

The evening ended amicably over coffee, and the guests slipped away into the autumn air of a West End night.