Total ambition

Initiatives such as Total Place could have a far greater effect – and lead to much bigger savings – if accompanied by a radical reform of local and regional government, one of the UK's largest councils has claimed. In a report, Bold Steps for Radical Reform, Kent county council says programmes such as Total Place, though valuable in themselves, could be hamstrung by the fact that local councils control just 5% of spending – equal to around £350 out of every £7,000 spent locally. The report urges government to "radically" empower councils by slashing undemocratic and "bloated" layers of regional and quango bureaucracy. This could ultimately save £15-21bn, far greater than the £9bn target for the operational efficiency programme, of which Total Place is one part, it says. The report does not detail how these savings would be achieved. But it does claim that Britain's 360 local councils cannot expect central government to devolve power to them as they stand, because they are too small to deliver many services efficiently. Kent therefore proposes that local government organise itself in 46 loose "families" based around the historic boundaries of nine major cities and 37 counties and shires. These so-called families would come together to organise services in their area, as in Total Place, combining councils' democratic mandate and local knowledge with a sub-regional efficiency of scale. Councils would be responsible for helping each other and improve services, and could collectively have 1-4% taken off their annual grants if they failed to hit targets, the report says. It also says the local government families should sign direct contracts with the Treasury, the one body that could drive a coherent devolution of power. This would address one of the potential problems for Total Place – but would effectively sideline the Department of Communities and Local Government. The report praises the Greater London Authority (GLA) as one model of devolution, although it does not explore the many tensions between the GLA and the London boroughs. The report also does not address how the Treasury might feel about devolving power to a patchwork quilt of voluntary partnerships that could, the report implies, come and go over time.