Recognising the challenges of local government leadership

Citation

Tatam, J. (2012), "Recognising the challenges of local government leadership", International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Vol. 8 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijlps.2012.54708daa.001

Recognising the challenges of local government leadership

Article Type: Editorial From: The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 8, Issue 4

The raison d’etre of this journal is that leadership in the public sector raises particular challenges which are different in type or degree from leading in other sectors. As John Tizard explores in his article in this edition, these differences include the levels of public visibility, scrutiny and accountability, and the political context. Added to this are pressures arising from an increasing demand for many services, reducing budgets and ever growing public expectations.

Nowhere is this truer than in UK local government. Since 2010 budgets have been reduced across the sector by an average of 27 per cent, with more to come, yet demand continues to grow. For example, there is a projected increase of 64 per cent in the numbers of people aged over 75 between 2010 and 2030 and a 32 per cent increase in adults with learning difficulties over the same period. It is not open for local government to manage these cost pressures by discouraging or denying service to users with the highest needs and costs – by perhaps failing to display contact phone numbers on web sites or simply refusing to cater for certain categories of client, such as disabled people – which happens in other sectors. On the contrary, where service has to be restricted it is areas such as libraries, which cater for many general users, which have to be squeezed, creating obvious pressures at the ballot box.

But local authorities have to do much more than deliver local services. They are charged with promoting the social, economic and environmental well-being of their localities and, under the new health service legislation, this now specifically includes improving public health. This is a pretty tall order and only achievable by working in partnership with the private sector, other public agencies and the community in its various forms – harnessing the combined strength, energy and ingenuity of the area. To achieve effective collaboration – and the best authorities can point to some transformational outcomes – requires a particular set of skills which John Tizard explores further in his piece.

A recent survey by the Local Government Chronicle[1] of over 100 local authority chief executives and directors found that they saw strong and effective leadership as being more important than ever. The three principal reasons for this were:

1. 1.

   delivering services and outcomes with or through partners means direction and strategy must be clearer than ever;

2. 2.

   falling income means they cannot do everything so will be forced to make difficult decisions; and

3. 3.

   playing a leadership role in encouraging the community to change its behaviour.

A key requirement to succeed was the ability to manage the all-important political interface.

Sadly a substantial number felt hampered in their efforts by the disparaging remarks about local government (and chief executives in particular) by the government and MPs and to a lesser extent, local press. As one commented “the general public has no perception of the breadth of programmes that councils perform and support”.

Many of these issues will, of course, resonate across the public sector. I hope that this journal will continue to explore and highlight the real leadership challenges, and where appropriate achievements, within local government and across the public sector more widely.

Note

1. www.lgcplus.com/news/future-leaders/the-changing-face-of-leadership/5038003.article, and Local Government Chronicle, 31 January 2013.

John TatamCo-Editor