Public sector moves towards a private sector working model

By: Bill Loughrey, Managing Director, Local Government and Housing, Civica Published: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - 09:26 GMT

Research from Civica highlights issues and priorities for public sector organisations improving service delivery the year ahead, and a move towards operating like the private sector. The challenges facing the public sector are set to ratchet up several notches over the next few months. Balancing the constant pressure to reduce costs and the need to maintain service delivery represents a daunting task for public sector leaders nationwide. From next month local authorities will implement housing benefit reforms, as well as their own local council tax reduction schemes. In addition to that, almost half of all authorities will be deploying a local Social Fund replacement scheme all of which will be complicated further by the introduction of Universal Credit (UC) from October 2013 (April 2013 for the pathfinder sites). This is an unprecedented level of change which will require a clear and focused timetable of activity and objectives. Ipsos MORIs recent public sector leaders survey showed that redesigning services to meet users needs in a different way is the strategy local government leaders think will lead to most improvement in service delivery. It is this essential redesign in approach that will be empowered by technology-enhanced services, including outsourcing. When debating how to manage the delivery and increased pressure on resources, a review of IT requirements, processes and service delivery options will be vital. As always, a one size fits all approach is not the answer. Each local authority will need to create a tailored solution informed by its own needs, drawing on the right partners and their expertise to support the changes required. To help guide authorities through the options we have been offering a number of practical workshops to our customers, providing advice on how to develop their own local schemes successfully. We have also introduced On Demand services, to help authorities cope with the transition, and provide off-site processing resilience to support their service delivery. At Civicas annual conference earlier this year, the mounting pressure to meet reform demands was top of the agenda. Attended by over 600 public sector, local government and social housing directors and managers, conversations throughout centred on the response to major policy changes at a time when organisations are already stretched to deliver savings while maintaining and improving the delivery of citizen-centric services. It seems clear that the significant challenges and opportunities facing the sector will demand that local authorities continue to change the way they operate, informed by a positive and compelling vision. Insights gathered in a survey of over 100 delegates at the conference revealed that 71% are still in the midst of preparations to tackle impending welfare reform. A reassuring figure some might think, but with less than a month until the advent of housing benefit, council tax reduction and social fund reforms, time is very short. This was a recurrent theme throughout the Conference, with organisations looking for ways to ensure that the potential risks associated with the changes required are mitigated. Jon Thomson, Head of Information Management and Technology, at housing association, Places for People, for example, said that, Universal C redit is undeniably the biggest challenge to face us in many years, when discussing the issues facing organisations during the conference. While welfare reform was front of mind for many, the biggest challenge according to the survey remains the need to maintain and improve service delivery while still cutting costs with 57% of delegates highlighting this as a priority. As well as significant change for all involved in the sector, it is also a significant period in respect of technology. With advances in consumer technology feeding into our business lives, there is increasing recognition that improvement in public services is dependent on IT-enhanced ways of working to support more agile and mobile working, a shift to lower cost self-service and more immediate social channels, available any time, any place

through the cloud. Throwing more in to the mix is the continued advance of bring-your-own-technology (BYOT) combined with the significant shift in attitudes towards work patterns. In this environment, the potential for technology to streamline citizen engagement and create IT-based efficiencies continues to gain attention, with the vast majority of delegates (94%) seeing the need for technology change as imperative in order to improve the delivery of services. Growing financial, social and service demands There are mixed opinions across local government around how organisations will address structural budget deficits by 2016/17. In recent years local government has made real progress with ongoing efficiencies. However, with some councils admitting that immediate opportunities for savings have largely been realised, this year will prove a greater challenge. In the Conference plenary session for example, Michael Kitts, partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers revealed that 90% of chief executives and 80% of leaders believe that in the next three years one or more councils will get into serious financial difficulties. One of the biggest challenges for chief executives and leaders of course is managing the increasing demand for services, whilst continuing to make savings. Many will be looking at how partnerships can stimulate effective innovation in order to streamline decision-making and service development. The imperative will be practical initiatives with partners who share a common vision, long term commitment and experience in service delivery. New policies, new responsibilities By 2015 authorities are expected to be smaller and sharing more services, while partnering with other public and private sector organisations. More will start to operate with a stronger business mind-set, an opinion heralded further by the survey results with 71% of delegates in agreement. It is no surprise therefore that this will have implications for staff. New-look authorities will require different skillsets to manage changing demand. Partnership skills, focused on managing demand, securing outcomes and realising tangible benefits will come to the fore. New models will emerge for delivering resilient and cost-efficient services, while safeguarding against risk during a period of tumultuous change. The role technology can play in helping to transform local government will be a sustained force over the next few years. With the focus on reducing the cost of administration by a further 1 billion, this will challenge the resources and service models of most organisations; many of which are already seeking new ways to operate, as well as innovative ways of maintaining services to save money while safeguarding people and places. Several (20%) organisations are already tackling these issues by sharing resources with others and many (46%) are looking to make next stage savings in back -office areas with new technology and technology-enhanced outsourcing. For instance, Forest of Dean District Council recently announced a new shared revenues and benefits partnership with Gloucester City Council, in conjunction with Civica, to achieve annual savings whilst retaining jobs in the local area. By combining services with Gloucester City Council, Forest of Dean District Council will benefit from a cost efficient service model with lower operating costs than retaining in-house provision. Through the partnership, the council will have a stable platform to drive back-office savings in administration and the right environment to support innovation and pilot new ways of working to improve the delivery of services. This will build on the existing partnership with Gloucester City Council which currently supports the Forest of Deans welfare rights services. Commenting on the partnership Cllr Brian Robinson, cabinet member for Efficient Council and Planning Policy at Forest of Dean District Council said: This enables us to deliver an even better service for our customers giving them the option of going to Coleford or, in the future to Gloucester, whichever is most convenient. Staff will continue to work in the Forest of Dean and we will deliver a saving of 100,000 without reducing the level of service we provide. The governments Universal Credit will eventually rep lace housing benefit and the steps we are taking will help us prepare for future changes locally and keep jobs in the Forest of Dean. The council already works successfully with Gloucester City Council in a number of areas including welfare benefits advice .

Eastbourne Borough Council is another example of a council that has managed to rethink its delivery of services to its 90,000 residents, this time through a flexible working drive and property rationalisation. Through implementing an Agile Working programme with Civica, the council has been able to make savings of 3 million, whilst helping its staff work more flexibly and with greater productivity as time goes on. Civicas EDM and workflow platform is delivering 10% process efficiency savings, and staff have more time to plan and improve delivery of front line services. These are clear examples of local authorities putting their ideas into action to ensure that service provision and support is facilitated and transformed. Getting straight to the heart of the processes and people on the ground can help outline the opportunities and the route required to deliver the necessary improvements and speed up the design and execution of new and flexible services. To leave you with some final thoughts, here are some key points that will help guide local authorities through the 2013 transformation maze. These include delivering rapid service innovations, finding a way to manage risk and demand, testing new ways to work more flexibly with the private sector and most of all partnership. Building the right partnerships with both your peers, wider authorities and service providers will be vital to ensuring the whole process runs successfully and that the transition is seamless. Key findings from the survey of 103 local government and social housing service directors and managers are below: Over half (57%) of public sector organisations are struggling to improve service delivery whilst cutting costs Key priorities for 2013 are improving back office and admin processes (33%), making financial savings (31%) and improving service delivery (26%) Over three quarters (79%) argue central government isnt aligned enough to the real needs of local authorities and NHS trusts