A series of articles considered aspects of the programme of local government reform and renewal in England.
Source: Local Government Studies, Volume 30 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Dec
A think-tank pamphlet called for local councillors to play a bigger role in the fight against anti-social behaviour.
Source: Louise Casey, Families in Focus, and Emily Robinson, New Localism in Action: Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Pamphlet (pdf) | NLGN press release
Date: 2004-Nov
A report advocated 'community service agreements' as a new way of delivering public services. The agreements would set out the resources local communities could mobilize, and the actions they could take, in return for commitments from outside agencies to new resources and service improvements.
Source: Matthew Pike, Can Do Solutions: Community service agreements - A new approach to public service delivery, Scarman Trust (020 689 6366)
Links: Regeneration & Renewal report
Date: 2004-Oct
Researchers explored how local authorities in Wales approached, managed and co-ordinated equalities issues at a corporate level.
Source: Mike Sullivan, Paul Williams and Neil Wooding, Managing Equality in Welsh Local Government, Welsh Local Government Association (029 2046 8600)
Links: Summary (pdf) | WLGA press release
Date: 2004-Sep
An article explored the ways in which concepts of 'consumerism' and 'citizenship' informed the approaches adopted by Scottish local authorities to public participation.
Source: Kevin Orr and Mark McAteer, 'The modernisation of local decision making: public participation and Scottish local government', Local Government Studies, Volume 30 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Sep
A report said that, although devolution of control had been recognised as a key principle of healthcare reform, there remained a number of important unresolved issues which threatened to compromise the efficacy of local government as a key lever in the delivery of quality healthcare.
Source: Kevin Skinner (ed.), Community Leadership and Public Health: The role of local authorities, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jun
A report advocated 'local public service boards' as a way of improving public services and ensuring that organisations within the same area worked together. The boards would build on the work of local strategic partnerships and draw up longer-term community strategies and agree more localised, focused targets with central government.
Source: Local Public Service Boards: An Innovation Forum 'prospectus', Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Report (pdf) | LGA press release
Date: 2004-Jun
An audit report said that the large array of central government initiatives, and the complex funding and partnerships underpinning them, severely hampered their success at a local level.
Source: People, Places and Prosperity: Delivering government programmes at the local level, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary | Audit Commission press release
Date: 2004-Jun
A report gave the preliminary baseline findings from the first stage of longitudinal case study research in nine local strategic partnerships. The report described the processes and activities, issues and constraints, successes and challenges for the partnerships.
Source: Sarah Collins et al., Evaluation of LSPs: Case study interim report - A baseline of practice, full report, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-May
A collection of essays provided a comprehensive guide to how local government could work with central government, and the business and voluntary sectors, to deliver improved services through better procurement practices.
Source: Eleanor Southwood (ed.), Procurement and Partnership: Making it work, doing it right, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: NLGN press release
Date: 2004-Apr
A survey report said that many local government workers were stuck in dead-end jobs with little or no chance of training or promotion. Horizontal segregation could be extreme: 93 per cent of school cooks/supervisors and 97 per cent of home care workers in the sample were female, while 84 per cent of school caretakers and 89 per cent of refuse collectors are male. Women predominated in a majority of lower-paid occupations and, despite accounting for three quarters of the workforce, were under-represented in the higher-paid occupations: 65 per cent of chief officers/senior managers in the sample were male.
Source: Carole Thornley, Perceptions at Work: Women and men in local government, Unison (0845 355 0845)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
A think-tank report said that enhanced choice offered a clear way of improving both the receipt and delivery of local public services. It was based on a study of how local authorities were introducing wider choice in the provision of their services (in for example, community care and housing).
Source: Adam Lent and Natalie Arend, Making Choices: How can choice improve local public services?, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Summary | NLGN press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
A report said that all local authorities should consider strategic partnering as an option for delivering services. The report was the result of two years of research work by an official taskforce into the feasibility and scope of partnerships between local authorities and private and voluntary sector organisations.
Source: Strategic Partnering Taskforce, Final Report, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report | ODPM press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
A report reviewed relevant literature on extending choice in public services, including relevant government policy on the subject. It looked in greater depth at the experience of extending choice in four areas: parental choice in schools; patient choice in the National Health Service; choice-based lettings in both local authority and housing association housing; and an example of choice in an aspect of social care.
Source: Michael Hughes (ed.), Enabling Choice: Research on choice in public services, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Mar
An audit report expressed concerns about the way local councils in Scotland managed their financial relationships with arm's-length organisations. Councils provided around 200 million to approximately 12,000 external organisations: yet survey findings suggested that some councils might not be complying with best practice principles.
Source: Following the Public Pound, Audit Scotland for Accounts Commission and Auditor General (0131 477 1234)
Links: Report (pdf) | Audit Scotland press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
A report said that local partnerships designed to 'join up' the local delivery of public services could grind to a halt without changes to government policy. Since 1997 the government's approach had been to centralise the process of partnership working, replacing local freedoms and flexibilities with specific initiatives aimed at tackling social, economic and environmental problems. This had created more bureaucracy and confusion among the public about who was providing local services and how to access them.
Source: Austen Cutten, Rationalising Partnerships and Plans, Local Government Information Unit (020 7554 2800)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb