Local government may have faced a decade and a half of austerity, but the themes of the current cash squeeze were, even in 2010, not new. A series of initiatives to cut costs were kicked off in the early 2000s, including cross- cutting innovation and efficiency projects by the then chief executive of Lewisham LBC, Barry Quirk, and former education department permanent secretary, Lord Bichard.
It was the latter, Lord Bichard, whose attention was caught by Total Place as part of his Operational Efficiency Programme, aiming to make efficiency savings across the public sector. The aim was to get improved outcomes at a lower cost through greater collaboration.
Two projects by the Leadership Centre for Local Government led the way: Counting Cumbria mapped every penny of public sector spend across a single county; and Cumbria Calling – which The MJ attended – pulled together leaders from across the public, private and voluntary sectors in a bid to streamline work in the area.
Led by Helen Bailey – now the chief executive of Sutton LBC, but previously Islington chief – in the Treasury and former South Tyneside MBC chief executive Irene Lucas in the Department for Communities and Local Government at a national level, it crossed the silos of Whitehall as well as services on the ground.
Total Place was, in essence, an effort to put people, places and budgets above organisational boundaries, to innovate across borders and spend taxpayers' money in the most efficient way possible – investing to save, even if the savings landed in a different organisation.
The resulting 13 pilot projects ran throughout 2009 and 2010, tackling generational problems and preventative services and a series of MJ supplements charted the journey.
The change of Government in 2010 saw a shift in direction for public services, away from efficiency drives and experimentation and towards the new era of austerity.
The impact of Total Place still reverberates around the sector, integrated care partnerships and much of the devolved powers of Combined Authorities – and shadow local government minister Jim McMahon has already declared an interest in reviving the policy.
As pressure piles on public sector budgets, and the behemoth of the National Health Service risks overshadowing all else, will joining up services and budgets in a bid to build service efficiencies be a way out for the next Government? There may not be another option.
You can read more about the Total Place project – including The MJ's supplements here|: leadershipcentre.org.uk/ourwork/total-place
