Keep the red tape from total place

摘要

The combination of local election purdah, MPs' expenses, the Cabinet reshuffle and a general election in 12 months has severely curtailed the appetite among ministers and Whitehall mandarins for launching new initiatives.Most local government chief executives would silently, maybe even loudly, applaud. They have had their fill of Bills, regulations, duties and codes. And they are doubtless wondering what makes ministers and mandarins believe they know more about a locality than the people who work there, a sentiment recently supported by MPs on the CLG select committee (The MJ, 21 May).However, the one initiative which does excite ministers and mandarins - and indeed, many council chief executives - is the so-called 'total place' agenda.Although officially unveiled by Sir Michael Bichard at the Budget, with the announcement of the 13 pilots, the idea of joining up budgets locally has been on the circuit considerably longer. Part of its attraction is that it encapsulates the trend set by the LAAs towards breaking down boundaries between central and local government, and prioritising funding around need, not institutions. It also ticks the efficiency box because, in theory, 'total place' should mean more joining up across the local public sector with reduced costs. In particular, not least because it is the only game in town, total place will survive a change of government which means, unusually in the current political climate, it has longevity.