DRAFT A Vision for Local Government in Leicestershire: Strategic Business Case October 2019 Future Leicestershire Foreword by the Leader of the Council The long-term financial situation facing councils is bleak. A one-year cash injection is welcome but with service demands and national funding reductions ramping up, it’s clear we must consider change. Across Leicestershire, local government is facing millions of pounds of savings, meaning we simply can’t go on paying for old fashioned bureaucracy and duplication. Simply put, the financial position of local government in Leicestershire is unsustainable. The time is right to explore the possible solutions to save money and protect residents from Council Tax rises. This must be about services for residents, not structures. This strategic business case demonstrates that a single unitary council would deliver £30 million savings per year, meaning we can put local government in Leicestershire onto a sustainable footing and protect vital front-line services. Residents want easy access to joined-up, effective services and the ability to shape decisions that affect their communities. Ambitious town and parish councils want greater responsibility to support their communities and to represent their views on decisions that affect them. Integrating and simplifying local government services would reduce confusion over who does what and improve services. Creating area committees and devolving services would empower communities, with local councillors responsible and accountable for all their decisions - speeding up work to join up health, social care and housing services would improve support for vulnerable and older people. Leicestershire is changing - with new homes, growing demand for social care and a rising population making planning for the future crucial. Having unity of purpose and a single strategic direction would mean we can establish a strong voice for Leicestershire with the Government, investors and partners to help secure funding, drive growth, create jobs, develop skills and build the right infrastructure. For too long Leicestershire and the East Midlands has lost out to other regions when it comes to government support. A new council, fit for the 21st century, delivers on all these fronts. A single unitary council for Leicestershire would make a real difference... For Residents • Simplify and join up local government services - reducing confusion over who does what. • Clear and simple access to all services - by phone, online, local area committees. • Save at least £30m every year to benefit Council Tax payers - by reducing senior management and back office costs, more efficient use of buildings, fewer councillors and fewer elections. • Local area committees - shaping local services and giving communities a stronger voice. • Easier access to information and a greater influence over decision-making through area committees and empowered town and parish councils. 3 For Businesses • Build a stronger local and regional voice for Leicestershire - with the Government, investors and partners including the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership. • Strategic collaboration on issues such as use of business rates and skills. • Single accountability for council services - such as planning, licensing, inspections, trading standards and business advice. • Cut red tape, drive growth and boost jobs. • Better infrastructure to help improve productivity. For Parish and Town Councils • Creation of more town councils - where areas want them. • Devolution of responsibilities where requested and where a business case is agreed. • Simpler single access for advice on unitary council services. • Membership of area committees - strengthening their role in representing the views of their communities. For Partners • One council with boundaries covering the same areas (where possible). • One set of strategic outcomes, unity of purpose from local government. • Consistent service delivery. • Speed up work to join up health, social care and housing services - improving support for vulnerable and older people. For Central Government • One powerful voice for Leicestershire covering local priorities, funding and strategy. • Simplify planning for the future - by shaping growth locations, building new roads, schools and infrastructure required to support much-needed new homes and businesses. • Improved local delivery of Government priorities. • Value for money service delivery. Nick Rushton CC Leader of Leicestershire County Council 4 Executive Summary Leicestershire’s rural backdrop and bustling market towns and villages make it a great place to live and work and are a draw for tourism and recreation. It enjoys a central location in the UK with excellent transport links by road, rail and air. Through supporting jobs, growth and infrastructure, boosting communities and keeping people healthy and safe, local government transforms lives. A growing population, rising demand for services and funding pressures pose current and future challenges. This strategic business case makes the case for change to the structure of local government in Leicestershire. It sets out a modern, 21st century structure and describes the benefits and savings that change would deliver. This strategic business case is part of an iterative exercise and further analysis and planning will be undertaken as the programme of change develops. Vision To modernise the structure of local government for Leicestershire and: simplify delivery and improve services; strengthen accountability; cut bureaucracy; reduce duplication and save money for investment in front-line services, people and outcomes; save money for the taxpayer. Case for Change The principal driver for change is the challenging long-term financial position facing the County Council and the ongoing impact that this has on its ability to deliver front-line services. Without major change, the position is unsustainable. Low funding for Leicestershire is a significant problem, making further savings difficult and making cuts in services or additional charges more likely. Demographic pressures, such as the continued growth in the number of elderly people and adults and children with increasingly complex needs, compound this situation. If no changes are made to the structure of local government in Leicestershire, residents can expect to see a further tightening of eligibility criteria for care and support services and cuts to valued services such as household waste sites, trading standards and road maintenance. Introducing a unitary model of local government in Leicestershire would achieve significant savings on a recurrent basis through avoiding duplication, reducing management and back-office costs and the number of head offices and offices in the County. This streamlined approach would mean money spent on administration can be directed at front-line services and enable demographic pressures to be met without having an adverse effect on other local government services or Council Tax payers. 5 Residents would benefit from a simplified structure of local government. The current structure causes fragmentation in service delivery with multiple organisations being responsible for different parts of the same service. This leads to frustration and confusion for members of the public. A single unitary council for Leicestershire would significantly improvestrategic decision-making. A single Cabinet with unity of purpose, setting a single strategic direction for Leicestershire, would provide the necessary certainty, stability and democratic accountability to give investors and the government confidence in Leicestershire’s ability to deliver. Leicestershire would have a stronger negotiating position, both regionally and nationally, and would drive forward delivery of its strategic priorities. A new approach to local government in Leicestershire provides an opportunity to reassess how a council can be meaningful to the lives of local residents by building stronger relationships with communities and the local voluntary sector and focusing on what is best for them. This would include devolving decision-making to a local level, both through the development of area committees and by strengthening the role of parish and town councils. A single unitary council for Leicestershire would be better for businesses as it would be able to work in partnership with the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership to set a long-term economic direction, supporting businesses to thrive and delivering the housing, skills and infrastructure that form the basis for the county’s future prosperity. A change to the structure of local government in Leicestershire would simplify working with partners, reducing duplication of effort and ensuring that the messages coming from local government are clear and consistent. In turn, this would make it easier to deliver better outcomes for services delivered with other organisations. Blueprint for the New Council Service Delivery The single unitary council for Leicestershire would have a fully integrated customer service approach which would involve a single point of access for all residents, underpinned by a common source of data. A service delivery model where services are managed centrally but delivered locally would address concerns that a countywide unitary council would be too remote. Economies of scale would be achieved through changes to management and back-office staff, with all services sharing the same strategic direction and consistent policies. It