As chairman of the District Chief Executives Network (DCEN), David Buckle has been a standard bearer for second tier authorities since he joined the first wave of district chiefs to lead two councils.

In a career spanning eight different councils, initially in planning departments before moving on to policy then senior delivery roles – as well as a seven year interval as a management consultant advising a variety of local authorities across the north of England – David has experienced the whole gamut of local government life.

But why has the joint chief executive of Oxfordshire districts Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire taken onthe added role of delivering the business plan of the District Councils Network (DCN)?

‘Staff have already nicknamed me ‘Three Jobs Buckle,' he comments laconically.

But with a mature and trusted joint-management arrangement in place, that has shaved £4-5m annually from running costs, through lower contract costs and service re-engineering, Mr Buckle feels confident of rising to the challenge of his new role and advance the district agenda nationally.

‘I am approaching this job exactly like I do as chief executive of two councils,' he says.

Around 30 to 40 districts are already well connected to the work of the DCN, and his role is to maintain this level of engagement and make sure the 160 other members are happy – establishing a genuine two-way process of dialogue.

‘One of the things I want to do is get the message out and ensure we are communicating with our two hundred members in the most appropriate way.
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But Mr Buckle has no intention of joining the twitterati. The MJ meets with Mr Buckle, who has arrived fresh from a fact-finding mission with senior finance DCLG officials.

His visit to Eland House was to discuss the impact of siphoning £400m New Homes Bonus (NHB) cash into the single local growth fund for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) from 2015/16.

He said he stressed to the DCLG just why NHB is such a significant funding stream for district councils, much more so than for unitaries or county councils.

‘The original concept that we would be rewarded for the number of houses built will apply but it's just we won't be able to keep all of the money,' he ruefully observes.

But he is determined to get an email out sharing the main points of his morning's meeting.  ‘We need to ensure we are addressing the issues and communicating them,' he adds.

It comes, perhaps, as no surprise, that Lord Heseltine, long-standing foe of second-tier authorities, is the ultimate author of the £2bn single pot for local growth.

Addressing the Local Government Association's annual conference, the coalition growth guru told delegates there is no role for district councils in promoting local growth.

‘It is an area where districts have been frustrated in getting the Government to understand we do play a significant role,' Mr Buckle admits.   ‘In my tenure I want to continue to work on this'.

He explains districts hold all the levers as far as planning is concerned, which is
crucial for economic growth.

‘One of the challenges we've got is making sure that we are getting our voice heard in the LEPs because in some parts of the country it is getting a little drowned out at the moment,'  Mr Buckle says.

This is partly a matter of scale. LEPs of modest size with a small number of districts within the area might find it easier to get their voice heard than an individual district in vast combines such as the South East LEP covering Kent and Essex.

The question of how districts will themselves benefit from community budgeting or the economic uplift is questionable, he suggests.

‘Business rates localisation has proved such a damp squib that I don't think it is changing any behaviour at all.

‘The more complicated something gets, the less of an incentive it becomes in my experience,' he adds.

He says the seven years spent as a management consultant was beneficial in two respects.  Firstly, as he plied his trade across most of the North of England, Buckle saw how a lot of different councils worked – providing a mixture of good and bad lessons to draw on when he himself became chief executive.

Secondly, the monthly focus on the bottom line, in having to show in profit to his team was useful.  ‘It doesn't do any local government chief any harm to have any experience working in the private sector.'

He says his mantra as chief executive is the best possible services, the lowest possible costs.

Such commercial acumen could become ever more vital as the overall sustainability of local government finances is under such scrutiny.  Although the financial health of districts is as varied as they are, the DCN is on hand to support any district that is running into difficulties.

Mr Buckle is pleased that Taunton BC and West Somerset DC are now pushing
ahead with joint management structures after the latter's well-reported plight.

What remains vital is to take appropriate action without needless delay.

And with that, Mr Buckle makes to leave for his third appointment of the day, with spending watchdog the National Audit Office.