Public services are a driver, not a burden

Oct 19 2009 by Kevin Rowan, The Journal

THERE was appropriate fanfare at the launch of the Institute for Local Governance at the continually impressive Sage in Gateshead last week.

The ILG is yet another potentially fantastic example of creativity and innovation in the North East.

The principle of this new partnership, it seems to me, is to seek to capture the expertise and intellect of the region’s five excellent universities, along with the experience, political leadership and public service aspiration and ethos of the region’s local authorities, fire and rescue and police authorities, through collaboration and joint working.

How can anyone not think this is a good idea? The tenor of the keynote speeches was very much placing this development in two key dynamics.

Firstly, that the region is ‘the place’ where this kind of partnership might work. John Mawson, director designate of the institute, used the phrase, ‘if it can’t work here, it can’t work’, emphasising the well-earned reputation the North East has for working well together, although I think his assessment that there are just 12 people in the region making all of the decisions may be a little bit off the mark (for the record, I think there are more, not less, than that).

The second key driver, it seemed, is the need for the public sector to increasingly either do more, or at least as much, with less resource.

The paradigm of the day seems to be the need to manage down expectations for public spending, especially, it appears, in regions like ours where we have an over-reliance on public sector employment.

Clearly, the ultimate goals for the ILG will be to seek improvements to public services. Some influencers will see this as an ‘efficiency agenda’, securing savings in costs without harming service provision.

No-one, including trade unions should be opposed to that ambition. Improving public service delivery is also an aspiration to be supported.

One key factor is how highly regarded and important people in this region (and nationally) value their public services.

A key challenge for the ILG must be to change the discourse around public services. The language must refrain from describing public services and the public sector as a burden that we can scarcely afford, to a key driver in improving social and economic wellbeing.

Kevin Rowan is regional secretary of the Northern TUC