The long goodbye of PM Tony Blair may be causing paralysis in parts of Whitehall, but the local government reform programme forges ahead, undeterred. Robert Hill looks at some of the key changes and the timetable for their implementation
Tony Blair might be in the dog days of his premiership, and other parts of the Whitehall machine may be waiting for the change of prime minister, but the DCLG is crashing ahead with its local government reform programme. 
The White Paper implementation plan, published towards the end of January, is full of next steps, milestones and new announcements.
Perhaps, of most significance, is the new requirement for primary care trusts and local authorities to work together to produce a strategic assessment of the health and social care needs of the local area. 
The outcome will form part of a council's overarching community strategy and is to be delivered either by funding from the LAA or, importantly, ‘other mainstream sources'.
Already a number of PCTs and councils have made joint appointments of directors of public health, children's services, adult care and human resources.  Some are even talking about merging PCT and local authority functions completely.
Increased powers over bus services are also in the offing for local authorities and passenger transport authorities and executives. We are promised a draft road transport Bill in the spring. Another interesting policy shift sees the shared services agenda moving off in a new direction. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill is being amended to enable any group of two or more authorities to voluntarily transfer waste disposal, collection or street cleaning functions to a joint waste authority. Some 20 years ago the waste collection agenda was all about giving local residents a timely and tidy service and driving down the costs of collection.  But outsourcing and competition means there is not much more efficiency to be squeezed out via conventional means.  And anyway the agenda has now changed to focus on reducing waste and boosting recycling. The Government believes partnership working could bring savings of up to £150m. It also argues that it will improve services by creating authorities with the economy of scale to invest in new, more sustainable waste facilities. April 2008 will be an important month for councils, as a whole string of changes stemming from the White Paper come into effect.
However, the new leadership models of a directly-elected mayor, a directly-elected executive or an indirectly elected leader with a four-year term, will come into effect in phases linked to the electoral cycle. From early 2008, councils will be able to adopt the mayoral model following consultation and without the need for a referendum. The new Councillors' Commission, announced by minister Ruth Kelly last week, will also carry out a review of the barriers and incentives to serving on councils.
Councils should welcome the fact that the Government is not, so far, backsliding on its commitment to slash the number of targets and performance indicators. 
The number of PIs will be cut to 200. National improvements targets – drawn from the areas covered by the 200 PIs – will be restricted to 35, plus the 18 statutory education/early years targets. The new CAA will be fully implemented from April 2009.
One of the innovative things about the way the DCLG is approaching change this time around is involving local government much more in the detail of what it is planning. Meanwhile, Michael Frater, chief executive of Nottingham City Council, is chairing the Lifting Burdens task force. Barry Quirk, chief executive of Lewisham, is leading a review of the community management and ownership of assets. And Darra Singh, chief executive of Ealing LBC, is chairing the Commission for Integration and Cohesion.
Now we learn that the LGA hosted a meeting on the draft code of conduct for members before it was published. And a sounding board to support the whole implementation process is being set up. There is even a forum for commenting on the implementation proposals. 
So, if you are not clear about anything in the Government's proposals or you don't like what it is planning, then log on to http://forum.communities.gov.uk/lgwp to make your point. n
Robert Hill is a former adviser to Tony Blair and Charles Clarke, and now works as an independent consultant on public policy issues