Brian Mcleish FRSA

Are you a Tameside organisation or business trading for social good? Are you looking to grow your activities? GMCVO have formed a partnership with the GM Credit Union Consortium, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to deliver local investment with real impact, this follows the success of the Access to Growth Fund which ended in 2022. Any Tameside organisation or business trading for social good and looking to grow their trading activity which has been trading for at least 6 months can apply. The offer: - Unsecured investments between £20,000 & £100,000. - Blended finance; the investment includes a grant of an average of 20% of your total investment. - An initial interest-only period of up to 6 months may be available. To learn more and apply please visit: https://lnkd.in/eaNbrbqh #tmb #tameside #funding #investment #grants #socialgood #makingadifference #businessgrowth #accessfunds #bettertogether Tameside Council

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There are so many challenges facing our local councils. We can all play a part in helping them to understand how they can reform and transform how services are delivered. Interesting read from the Accounts Commission.

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Clean Energy by 2030 ⚡️ A national mission. But locally delivered. So, where do councils start? Here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eJu4wnUt

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The Boundary Commission for Wales’ review presents a critical opportunity to reshape our political landscape in a way that genuinely reflects and serves BAME communities. This is more than a technical exercise—it’s about ensuring that every voice in our diverse society has the power to influence policies that affect our economy and well-being. Politicians and media must see this as a chance to promote real equity, where fair representation leads to tangible improvements in the lives of minority communities across Wales. #BAME #RepresentationMatters #EquityInAction #BoundaryReview https://lnkd.in/ek4cm32x

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I wrote this article for the Local Government Chronicle a few weeks back and got a very small amount of blow back on Twitter from a reader who felt that it de-emphasised the transformative potential of CWB in favour of interventions that could be seen as tinkering round the edges. I'm not going to name the critic but they sent me a very lovely and considered email this weekend which made me think more about CLES's approach to navigating the tricky waters of creating change in and through institutions. I've put an edited version of my response to that email below. *** In all honesty, on a personal level I agree with much of your argument – the danger of enabling tinkering round the edges, rather than pushing local authorities (and others) into more transformative action is one we’ve always been conscious of at CLES. On the whole, when we work with councils, we encounter officers and members who are more enthused by the potential of either (I’ll let you make some guesses about which group tends to favour which although there are no hard and fast rules and often we are surprised!). Our job then becomes to manage both groups into a place where they can do something practical and “value demonstrable” (like procurement or employment, for instance) whilst maintaining that spirit of transformative potential and the relationship to enable future work which comes closer to that ideal. We have mixed successes, but the reality is that, were we to go in all guns blazing to every meeting we would be shown the door more often than not. That’s the spirit in which this article was written – to demonstrate to those who might previously have considered CWB, at first glance, to be too far out of their comfort zone, by tying it specifically to the new government’s agenda. The aim would then be, potentially, that we could get in there and make the case for why, in what way and how CWB can transform their local economy. I’ll be completely honest and say that I have had a few dark nights of the soul where I have considered whether this is a mealy mouthed approach, and whether staying closer to our ideals and banging the table louder would be ideologically better but, as in many cases, I return to the belief that sacrificing the potential for change – no matter how small scale, or incremental – is a naïve act. This at least applies to CLES: for who we are, what we do and the role we play with our partners, although I absolutely don’t think it’s the case for many other organisations whose work I gladly champion. I hope that gives you some insight and thanks again for writing. *** Interested in people's thoughts.

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How have financial pressures facing local government shifted in recent years? How are councils responding to unprecedented fiscal pressures? New research collaboration between New Local & International Public Policy Observatory at UCL will be exploring these questions and making practical and policy recommendations. We’ll announce full details of the project shortly and how #localgov colleagues can get involved, but early findings from our recent scoping workshop are sobering. - Big structural pressures like ageing and wealth inequality have been compounded by the pandemic and cost of living crisis: councils are dealing with the consequences of this. There has been a sustained rise in demand for adult social care (working age adults are fastest rising cohort), children’s social care, SEN and homelessness. - The connection between how local government is funded and what it needs to deliver has been lost. This is the context of a few councils “going bust” and some others approaching the brink of doing so. - Layered onto this public sector funding failure, councils must deal with the consequences of an array of broken private markets – for social care placements, temporary accommodation and children’s homes. Providers are increasingly dominated by actors and people in it for profit, with weak regulation to curtail this. - The Government’s reliance on short term measures like mass capitalisations does not give confidence that the seriousness of the situation is understood at Whitehall. In terms of how this is affecting councils, some reflections: - The ongoing cost of living crisis is weakening the ability to do prevention in previous ways, such is the continuing flow of people needing support. Focused preventative work with one group might stop them tipping into acute need, but they will be fast replaced by a new cohort. - Increasingly, there is no such thing as a separate preventative service anymore: all universal services need to have a strong aspect of prevention. It is essential to do as much as possible for someone in the first contact they have with the council, to maximise that connection. - Staff are exhausted. Levels of optimism and resilience within the workforce are weakened by years of making decisions under austerity, then the pandemic response, which immediately transitioned into the cost-of-living crisis response and hasn’t let up. There are broadly two choices facing the sector: continue on trajectory of cutting back, becoming smaller and doing less, OR identify a new operating model that takes a whole system approach locally, hardwires prevention and shifts towards long term sustainability. Of course, we at New Local choose the second option and our research will explore what that direction looks like. How do these early reflections chime with the experience of other local government colleagues? We are keen to hear your experiences and insights – please get in touch if you’d like to participate in the research.

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How can planning policy better support councils in promoting healthier communities? That's a question posed in the government's NPPF consultation, and I’m pleased to have been asked by Simon Wicks to share my thoughts on this topic for the latest issue of The Planner RTPI. It’s definitely encouraging to see the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government recognising the critical link between planning and public health. And there’s a real opportunity to strengthen policy to support this. Here are a few key ideas I believe the government should consider: - Make health improvement and the reduction of health inequalities explicit objectives in national planning policy. - Extend the concept of vision-led planning (introduced in the transport section of the NPPF consultation) to all development projects. - Apply the green belt 'golden rules' to all developments (everyone deserves access to green spaces and reliable public services don't they?) - Expand the understanding of what makes a healthy place - and the Quality of Life Framework offers a helpful, evidence-based approach. The Quality of Life Foundation’s full response to the consultation digs deeper into these points and more. Because planning plays a vital role in shaping healthier, happier communities—and now is the time to make that a core focus. #PlanningPolicy #NPPF #NPPFConsultation #PublicHealth #HealthAndWellbeing #HealthyPlaces #UrbanPlanning #SpatialPlanning #LocalGov

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Looking forward to chairing this session for PLMR Genesis colleagues next week, with an expert panel discussing what may happen in the polls coming July 4th & what the East of England needs from a new administration. Sign-up details below if you want to listen in! #politics #policy #publicaffairs #eastofengland

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As #publicservices face increasing complexity and resource scarcity, reform prescriptions emphasize #localism and relationships such that people and communities are centered in service design and delivery. #PublicAdministration is awash in concepts that acknowledge the influence of relationships on service effectiveness (e.g. #cocreation, #networkgovernance, #citizenparticipation) suggesting relationality is an 'implied characteristic' of the discipline. Still, its conceptual dimensions and effects remain blurry. The hope with this special issue is to move the conversation forward theoretically and empirically as well as advancing discussions about how, as academics and practitioners, we might practically develop the field. If this sounds like a conversation you'd like to be a part of, I hope you'll consider sending us your work! The call for papers can be found below! PMM: Public Money & Management UK Association for Public Administration (UKAPA) Government Outcomes Lab, University of Oxford Rob Wilson Hannah Hesselgreaves Britt Regal, PhD Sam van Elk Adina Iulia Dudau Dr Ian C Elliott Felix-Anselm van Lier

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Terminally ill people can face high energy costs when they are least able to mange them. It is often difficult to target affordability support to those that really need it. But this report, written by Grace Remmington, Jane Williams and David Eiser, has identified a mechanism to do that in this circumstance. Consumer Scotland recommends the Scottish Government targets extra support through the Special Rules for Terminal Illness, which allow for quicker access to benefits. This report also makes recommendations that energy affordability support should be provided to disabled people, particularly those limited a lot by their disability, to reflect their higher energy needs and, that the UK and Scottish Governments should review support schemes to achieve that.

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Do the UK public know their EPCs as well as their ABCs? In March the Department of Energy released its latest data on the public’s awareness and understanding of climate change issues, green heating, and low-carbon choices. Nesta has delved into the data for a temperature check on the public’s awareness of the transition to green heating and whether there are signs of change. From growing awareness of heat pumps to a better understanding of EPC ratings, these are their five key findings:

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My piece in Left Foot Forward on LGR: “New unitaries with populations of around 350,000 and coherent economic geographies and travel to work areas are where we should be looking and that’s a view backed up by leaders and chief executives right across the sector. In Essex that would mean five new councils ready to deliver on the health, homes, journeys and jobs that communities and government alike need.” https://lnkd.in/ecrpY8gR

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If you are looking for a short overview of recent global, UK and Scottish economic performance and trends, SE's October Economic Commentary is a quick read (and can be downloaded at the link below). https://lnkd.in/eFq-TG2i

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This is going to be a brilliant event. Never mind the creeping impostor syndrome for sharing the stage with such giants :) Looking forward to discussing and learning more about the future of data.

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Are you a voluntary organisation managing a heritage assets and trying to reduce your energy costs? Government funding for  voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations to improve energy efficiency is open for applications until August 14th https://lnkd.in/eyK3hxbY. Reducing energy use in historic buildings is achievable ... but be sure to get the right advice. Why not start with information from Historic England https://lnkd.in/e_qci7fR? or prepare your own building health and energy check with the Oxford Heritage and Energy Efficiency Toolkit from Oxford City Council https://lnkd.in/eAurpCRw #HeritageEnergyEfficiency

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Something I've always banged the drum about - services don't operate in a vacuum, they are constrained by the policy that sits around them, hence the need for more participatory approaches to policy making. However, to take the analysis one step further, all policy making is constrained by the budget that is available. If there is a supposedly 'limited' budget then cuts will have to be made. Ones that cause so much harm to many many people. We couldn't make those decisions without the strong stigmatising narrative we have about the people those poor budget decisions will affect. And the good people within the services that have to implement them (who clearly want to do the best job they can given their constraints) could not do this without a narrative that blames and sets apart and 'others' the people who are harmed by it. Stigma, enables these decisions to be made and the system to continue as it is. It dehumanises everyone who has to operate within it, the people affected, frontline workers, policy makers, treasury decision makers. Much like war...we even use the same language 'frontline services'. More in this blog - https://lnkd.in/giM35ydK

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With limited unrestricted funding for Youth Highland and our 63 member clubs in Highland over the past 10 years, my organisation has been forced to deliver up to 20 projects a year. This funding model puts too much pressure on staff and on the organisation. It is not sustainable. The sector is exhausted... but it remains best placed to understand and respond to the needs of individuals and communities and to prevent crisis. A new funding approach, agreed and delivered in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders is essential in supporting youth work in Highland and ensuring a positive future for young people in rural communities in the North of Scotland. A new approach will enable us to work innovatively in communities to ensure sustainable development and growth in line with regional and national priorities. #becauseofcld #youthworkchangeslives #communitywealthbuilding #positivefutures #sustainability

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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝? There have been a lot of headlines recently about using the Mayoral role (and funds) to buy a hotel in Scarborough and, more recently, to set up a Mayoral Development Corporation for the town. This is a useful read from the Yorkshire Post https://lnkd.in/e99z7_vB which explains that these “…have proved controversial as they are essentially unaccountable, being largely made up of unelected individuals” and “the use of MDCs has drawn criticism elsewhere, particularly in Teesside... https://lnkd.in/eGv5Gsy8 which was criticised in a government-commissioned review for lacking transparency and appropriate systems to evaluate whether value for money was being achieved” So is this what Scarborough needs? Is it for a lack of a hotel (albeit refurbished) that 85% of North Yorkshire’s most deprived residents live in Scarborough? This is a town that has some of the highest levels of unemployment and poverty, and lowest life expectancy in the region - but at the same time it’s a beautiful place with excellent potential. It needs a positive narrative, and I have other plans… You can read my comments in York Mix https://lnkd.in/eJGhzGVT in essence, there are a blend of issues to resolve and various elements of my manifesto address these : “to establish a clear and innovative marketing plan for tourism, regenerate the High Street, boost the night-time economy, improve public transport, address the second homes/holiday let imbalance, resolve the skills and labour shortage crisis and get to the bottom of the shellfish die back and ongoing sea water quality issues.” I have also pledged to improve health and wellbeing, with subsidised access to sport, nutritious school food, mental health support and daily toothbrushing for children - along with an allotment scheme, supporting community hubs and increased social care provision. So I hate to disappoint you if you are looking for a headline grabbing fix... but the answer lies in getting to grips with what the issues really are, resolving them and identifying opportunity to generate growth and prosperity for all. To read Felicity's manifesto: https://lnkd.in/eQ3gWwZE #scarborough #community #jobs #economy #socialcare #yorkandnorthyorkshire #york #northyorkshire #yorkshire #felicity4mayor #felicitycunliffelister

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You'll hopefully have seen Co-operative Development Scotland's new research results showing that the #employeeownership sector in Scotland has grown 47% since 2022 with 286 #employeeowned businesses currently operating in Scotland. The census was also accompanied by a survey providing detailed information on Scottish-registered #EOBs ownership and governance structures, as well as company objectives and practices. Read the full findings: https://bit.ly/4bNWMIq

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