Today, MPs return to Westminster after a brief hiatus during which a huge change has taken place. A new government is now in place and after an eventful couple of weeks, we will soon begin to see the first policies and initiatives put into effect.
One of the most highly-debated policies is that of the now-inevitable public service spending cuts – something destined to affect all who live and work in the UK. Last night, the “…unprecedented squeeze to public spending” was the focus of the BBC’s latest Panorama programme.
The show concentrated on how cuts will affect local government services and, more importantly, how residents to whom those services are crucial have been making their priorities known. Particularly interesting is the Northamptonshire resident who, after speaking with a Councillor, appreciated that maybe the issue of potholes on his road isn’t so important if fixing them meant that a different service had to be cut. This reiterates the fact that people are more likely to have an opinion to voice if the services they rely upon are in danger. This kind of deliberative dialogue allows each party to better understand the position of the other and make decisions based on that understanding.
For us, the programme serves as another prompt for the importance of added emphasis on budget consultation with residents as we face cuts within local government of “…perhaps 20-25% or more”. Services are going to be cut and it’s better to take early steps to involve the public in big decisions – rather than face a situation such as Wirral Council did when they were forced to take a u-turn on a decision to close libraries because they hadn’t consulted their residents in the outset.
Budget consultation is going to become ever more important and tools that allow residents to gain a greater understanding of the issues being faced will stand out. Exeter recently used the Budget Simulator ahead of needing to make a 5% cut in their total spend for the year ahead. The Budget Simulator was customized so that residents could better understand the climate being faced and make their recommendations for how the Council should change service spending to achieve this. Similar consultations were carried out with Barnet and Wycombe choosing the Budget Simulator to engage the public too.
No doubt, there’ll be growing numbers of Councils facing reduction-focused budget consultations in the next few years. Hopefully this week’s Panorama programme demonstrated that working with the public when facing severe budget cuts benefits all involved.
