Peter Hesketh

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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Turning ‘should’ in to ‘must’ is a must for NRPSI working with the government and public sector organisations; click here for more on this Turning a ‘should’ in to a ‘must’ is a must for NRPSI, working with the government and public sector organisations; explore here https://lnkd.in/e_vNFix2   "When seeing a professional interpreter or translator their relevant qualifications, experience, independence and membership of such organisations as the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) should be considered" : #nrpsi ; #nrpst ; #publicservice ; #interpreting ; #translation ; #professional ; #independent ; #regulation ; #registration

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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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Great opportunity to make a difference on #ClimateAction in Scotland with this new role with SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) working with the brilliant Beth Mukushi on Growing Climate Confidence in Scotland's third sector. Climate Development Officer, 3 days/wk, blended working with a base in Glasgow, Edinburgh or Inverness. Job purpose: - Promote and raise awareness: Using the Growing Climate Confidence brand to reach organisations to encourage action on the climate crisis and help them relate this to their organisational mission. - Support organisations to develop and implement net-zero action plans, signposting to specialist sources of support and funding opportunities. - Develop shared insights: Share the real time aggregate data generated through the net zero scorecard, along with other research, with the Funders’ Forum and net zero working group to inform wider funding and support decisions. #Vacancy #Scotland #Charities #ClimateChange https://lnkd.in/eWcAk6Z5

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In the UK, the Conservatives will remain largely mute on the national stage until they have selected a new leader. In the meantime, it’s worth keeping an eye on what’s happening within Nigel Farage’s Reform Party… First, Farage and his parliamentary colleagues are focussing their ire on Labour, which reflects a strategic choice to forego trying to win over more former Tory voters. Second, the party wants to create a professional and nationwide infrastructure that facilitates ‘ground campaigns’ (e.g. delivering leaflets, holding local events, etc), where it previously relied on ‘air campaigns’ (i.e. media coverage). And third, Reform is prioritising elections to local and regional positions where wins would also secure new public funding for the party. None of this guarantees success for Reform – but it is a more deliberative approach than simply provoking a protest vote. On a broader horizon, HMG is now confirming its assessment that Russia is conducting active, hostile, operations in the UK and across various EU countries. The Secret Intelligence Service is denouncing a “reckless campaign of sabotage across Europe” and the Defence Secretary is accusing Russia of carrying out “offensive cyber operations directed at governments and civilian infrastructure”. In light of this activity, HMG is diluting its ambitions to project force in the Indo-Pacific. Instead, the UK will further prioritise the European theatre – something that is likely to be emulated by other western European administrations. In practical terms, this means any European contribution to security in and around the South China Sea is going to be even more limited than it was before. That won’t make much difference in terms of the amount of military kit in the region, but it does risk leaving the USA out on a diplomatic limb when it comes to countering China.

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#CircularCommunuties #CircularEconomy Great that you are there Anthea Coulter for Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface (CTSI) as your leadership within Clackmannanshire and the Voluntary Sector will ensure we all benefit from the knowledge sharing and learning. Circular Communities Scotland #Alloa

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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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This great new campaign is launching in Scotland today, already backed by 50 plus Scottish civil society organisations, trade unions, economists, and academics. Tax Justice Scotland is pushing for bold tax changes, so our tax system does much more to help tackle poverty, address the climate crisis and invest in strained public services, like care. All while reducing inequalities. Of course, we need fairer taxes at UK level too, as well as much better global tax cooperation (with some encouraging momentum). But we also need to use devolved taxes to drive the shift to a fairer, greener, healthier Scotland. You can read more here: taxjustice.scot

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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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What percentage of the carbon being generated by your business activities is being responsibly removed and stored? The question posed by Myles Allen in this insightful interview with one of the most influential science voices on #carbonremoval. It is a powerful number by which to measure companies we choose to do business with. Over time, if we are to achieve net zero, it needs to be 100.

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Please help Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and GMCVO find robust examples of deep participatory approaches to help create a knowledge bank of priority areas for action set put by people directly affected by the economic injustice of poverty. More info on why we are doing this and the criteria for examples below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eqYEbUuq

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I’ve written this post a couple of times over … and still struggling to get the right words, but there are a couple of thoughts I’d like to share. 1. Literally thousands of young people have experienced youth social action, community service and built life skills they’ll not get elsewhere BECAUSE of NCS. Their lives have been changed BECAUSE of the relationships they’ve built and the impact they made over those 2 or 4 weeks they spent together over the summer months. 2. So many of those who were impacted by NCS, went on to become Fixers young people who created their own social action campaigns that gave them the opportunity to create change in their own communities. If they didn’t directly get involved, they’ll have pitched their ideas to our YPC’s, taken part in workshops, focus groups or have seen our campaigns at film or media launches. 3. So many of the staff I’ve met, and worked with over the years, have been some of the biggest cheerleaders for those young people they’re empowering and directly supporting. They’ve championed youth voice, created opportunities, and spearheaded campaigns that will go down in history. Just like the YHA’s “Do it for Real” all those years ago, and Fixers, NCS will now have a huge legacy that will become an archive of the amazing work that young people Can and Do achieve when given the opportunity to have a voice. While this government finds ways to cut services and “fill the hole” it’s once again young people who will loose out. It’s not enough to cut council budgets, where youth services are diminished, it’s now the large scale initiatives that are few and far between that take the hit. It’s a sad day. Thoughts are genuinely with all those who’ll be affected by this decision.

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Great to speak today to Professor Paul Gregg, Chair of the new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Labour Market Advisory Board, about the nature and increase of economic inactivity as part of Bright Blue’s Ludgate Lectures Fascinating that: ➕UK had among lowest economic inactivity and highest employment rates in OECD before the pandemic ➖A million more people since the start of the pandemic have become economically inactive, pushing the economically inactive rate of the adult population from c20% in 2019 to c25% today ➖Some of the biggest drivers of post-pandemic economic inactivity have been the u35s and internalising mental health disorders 🗞️ Covered in The Sunday Times here: https://lnkd.in/edpQwPpK 📺 Watch the full lecture here: https://lnkd.in/dJPvfgMN

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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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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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Today’s Public Hearing on The Common Strategic Policy with The Chief Minister and Common Strategic Policy Review Panel is on this link https://lnkd.in/etsEf4NG

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Absolutely, an excellent initiative and project; just so important.

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