cover image: Heart of the matter

20.500.12592/51m76te

Heart of the matter

6 Sep 2024

Prevention, placemaking and devolution Understanding the importance of a holistic, prevention-first approach to public service provision is of paramount importance in the context of the promised multi- year settlement for local authorities3 and the review of the local government funding system. [...] Like the new funding settlement, the Bill has the opportunity to both immediately correct current imbalances and lay the groundwork for longer-term transformation, through the detail of the requirement for statutory local growth plans and the mechanisms of the new devolution framework. [...] The introduction of a multi-year financial settlement for local authorities and the commitment of the English Devolution Bill, as outlined in the King’s Speech, to shift the onus for devolution deals away from councils having to hit government requirements and towards government having to justify when devolution is not appropriate represent a chance to move closer towards the vision of Total Place. [...] When budgets collapse, preventative services in healthcare are often the first to be set aside in favour of papering over the immediate cracks in the looming wall of statutory responsibilities, despite the fact that, down the road, the loss of these services will only compound greater pressures on the finances, resources, and staff of both local government and the NHS. [...] The keys to successful ongoing delivery rely upon building strong paths of communication between partners: in setting out from the inception of the project contractual expectations for the ongoing management and ownership of relevant assets; the monitoring and evaluation of shared targets by means of data sharing and aligning goals; and the utilisation of innovative practice from the private secto.
Pages
64
Published in
United Kingdom

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