Total Place is an initiative that looks at how a ‘whole area’ approach to public services can lead to better services at less cost. It seeks to identify and avoid overlap and duplication between organisations – delivering a step change in both service improvement and efficiency at the local level, as well as across Whitehall.
There are 13 pilot areas participating in the scheme, each area ensuring a diverse mix of economic, geographical and demographic profiles. These pilots have a real opportunity to rip up the text book and redesign the way public services are planned and delivered.
In Yorkshire, the Bradford pilot focusses on supporting people back into independence such as young people leaving care, young offenders leaving prison, and older people leaving hospital, with the aim of integrating services around the individual.
The impact of the economic downturn means all of the public sector needs to find radical new solutions to not only deliver better value for money, but also better local services more tailored to local needs.
Total Place is the next big step to redesign how we do things and by doing so, improve the quality of life for all communities across England.
"Total Place is not just another Whitehall initiative. It is about giving local providers the incentive to work together in new ways for the benefit of their clients and citizens – and the opportunity to tell Government how it could behave differently to make this kind of collaborative action more likely. As we enter a period when resources will inevitably be constrained, Total Place is also a chance for local agencies to ‘get ahead’ by examining how they can deliver better services at less cost. So the hope is that Total Place will provide good experience to share about service improvement, suggestions about cost savings and proposals for changes in Central Government. There is no time to lose!"
Sir Michael Bichard, Executive Director of the Institute for Government and Chair of the high-level officials’ group
"Total Place presents significant opportunities for local government to set the direction for the next phase of public sector reform. Success will depend on strong leadership, innovation and strong partnerships based on an expert understanding of the needs of residents, customers and citizens."
Cllr David Parsons, Chair of the Local Government Association Improvement Board
Prime Ministerial support for Total Place: In his “Towards a New Politics” speech at the Institute for Public Policy Research, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, “Our total place reforms are potentially transformative in the better use of resources: they will allow local government and its partners to reach across all the funding coming into an area and enable better choices to be made at a local level about how this money is spent.” Pilots submitted their final reports on 5 February, but they will continue to work with Whitehall to develop solutions, and co-design solutions to central and local barriers. A video and transcript of of Gordon Brown’s speech can be found at www.ippr.org.
For more information visit www.localleadership.gov.uk/totalplace.