Don’t stick with the old models

Total Place appears to be the phrase which dare not speak its name, judging by its absence in the coalition government ‘manifesto’ last week, and by its similar non-appearance in the Osborne/Laws first round of cuts and the Queen’s Speech this week.
But its presence is undoubtedly there, under the surface, and it remains as relevant now as it was 12 months ago. If, as we are constantly reminded, we are to make the biggest public sector cuts in living memory, then transformation rather than salami-slicing has to be the reponse, and Total Place is at its core.
The local government sector certainly regards it as relevant. A week after the new CLG ministerial team was confirmed, the first event looking at the next steps for Total Place occurred.
A second was organised earlier this week, under the auspices of the Leadership Centre. Feedback from the events was that as a ‘brand’, Total Place is likely to be renamed, but as a concept, will continue, assuming a) local government pursues it energetically, and b) it matches the new coalition priorities.
There are, however, some early concerns that Total Place – or its successor – still appears in Whitehall to be seen as a CLG matter, when its real impact has to be cross-sector. Ring-fencing health and school budgets is hardly likely to encourage them to adopt a Total Place philosophy either.
For example, the CLG has a minister, Greg Clark (see interview on page 6), responsible for decentralisation. This is the only minister with such a title across Whitehall, even though any discussion of cross-sector working invariably involves criticism of the centralised NHS or Work and Pensions, or the Home Office. It was Lord Bichard at last week’s Total Place event who remarked that we would end up with the worst of both worlds if we merely ‘decentralised in silos.’
The pooling of resources around outcomes has to be an objective, however long-term, of all public sector managers, despite the obstacles, such as culture, funding regimes and lack of standardised terms and conditions. But the new government must not make it even harder by persisting with the old models.
Michael Burton, Editor, The MJ