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Best value: implications for local government communications in the UK
The UK Government's best value legislation places a requirement upon local authorities "to meet the aspirations of local people for the highest quality and most efficient services that are possible at a price that people are willing to pay." At the heart of this is the need to consult with those who use and supply the services, and with those who pay local taxes. The Government wants local people to have a greater say in how services are run, to help set standards, to provide feedback and to have access to benchmarking information to help them assess local authority performance. It's hard to argue with the logic, and most local authorities and related interest groups have welcomed the government's desire to encourage a closer relationship between these authorities and the people they serve. Already, most of these communicate extensively with their constituencies, but providing information is only one step along the road to engaging an audience in a debate about services. Some consultation does take place, but it tends to be patchy, that is, rarely is it done at a corporate level, more often it is done by individual departments on specific issues. Clearly it would make sense for any new consultation process to build on what already exists but even a moments thought raises a panoply of issues which must be addressed before the Best Value framework can successfully operate: |
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Are people aware of what the Authority does for them? |
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Are local people interested in being consulted about local services? (Isn't it only those with strong views that tend to get involved in local discussion?) |
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How can we encourage local participation in debate in a way which elicits the views of the majority and without risking consultation-fatigue? |
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How can local consultation be made meaningful - that is, how can it be designed to provide guidance on the balance between 'wish lists' and practical resource and other constraints? |
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How can consultation be dovetailed to the cycle of fundamental reviews and performance plans required by the Best Value framework? |
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How can all the information that is gathered be used most effectively? |
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Should consultation take place at a departmental or corporate level? |
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How can elected members best reflect the concerns of local and priorities of local people in a way which can be harnessed and fed into the consultation process? |
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What kind of benchmarking would be meaningful to local people? |
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How can information about best practice best be communicated to local people? |
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How can staff best be brought into the loop and do they need special training? |
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How can local authorities make best and cost-effective use of new technology in the consultation process? |
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How can we ensure that appropriate feedback mechanisms are put in place to let local people know what they have said and how the local authority has responded? |
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And these are just the tip of the iceberg! Steering a practical way through these issues in a timely and cost-effective way is possible. But it needs three things: the backing of the entire senior team so that any recommendations can be implemented, a willingness to move away from the way things have always been done, to take some risks, and a recognition that what ends up will not be perfect but will be a 'Best Value' solution(!) Against that background, the steps become obvious: |
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Review
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Assess, or audit what is in place already |
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Consider how best to fill the gaps emerging from the audit drawing on best practice from elsewhere and on good ideas emerging from staff and local people |
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Segment audiences and determine the most appropriate channels for reaching them |
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Propose an implementation timetable based on Best Value review process. |
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Test paper recommendations with representatives of key audiences. |
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Implement
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Explain Best Value to all audiences (internal as well as external) and then keep explaining it. |
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Fine-tune existing communication systems to help fill gaps identified and launch new communication channels as appropriate. |
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Pilot any new consultation schemes ahead of full roll-out. |
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Publicise any individual schemes which work well |
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Put in place arrangements for sharing best practices in consultation across the local authority. |
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Feedback and measurement
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Check that new consultation processes are working |
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Sanity check the emerging results to ensure that they are as representative as possible. |
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Put in place mechanisms to feedback to those consulted the results of the consultation process. |
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Admit mistakes, learn from them and don't give up. |