Government reveals guidelines for new council ‘productivity plans’
The guidelines for productivity plans, which the Government asked councils to produce when it announced the Local Government Finance Settlement, have been revealed.
The Government introduced the concept of productivity plans when it announced the recent Local Government Financial Settlement.
In a letter to all council chief executives sent on 16 April (source: Jack Shaw on X), the Minister for Local Government, Simon Hoare, outlined what the plans should include.
He wrote: "Local Government has already done a huge amount in recent years to improve productivity and efficiency.
"However, lockdown and post-lockdown has proved challenging, and you are looking for new ways to go further."
He said the new plans will help the department "understand what is already working well across the whole country, what the common themes are, whether there any gaps and what more we need to do to unlock future opportunities".
According to the letter, there is no formal template or detailed list of criteria that councils must meet as part of their plans.
Plans are expected to be three to four pages in length and to set out what the council has done in recent years, alongside current plans, to transform the organisation and services, the letter said.
The letter added that councils should consider the following four questions when drafting their plans:
- How the council has transformed the way it designs and delivers services to make better use of resources.
- How the council plans to take advantage of technology and make better use of data to improve decision-making, service design and use of resources.
- The council's plans to reduce wasteful spend within its organisation and systems.
- The barriers preventing progress that the Government can help to reduce or remove.
Councils must hand in their productivity plans by 19 July 2024.
Councillors must oversee and endorse the plan before it is submitted to the Department, and the plans must be uploaded to the council's website for residents to see.
The Department said it is creating a panel to consider the themes and evidence that come from the plans.
The panel, which will be chaired by Simon Hoare, will also consider the implications for future policy design, the role of Government in supporting further change "and the role of the sector in going further", the letter added.
Adam Carey
