The crisis of local authority funding and its implications for independent living for disabled people in the United Kingdom

an article by Steve Graby (Centre for Disability Studies, University of Leeds, UK) and Roxanne Homayoun (Independent scholar, Northampton, UK) published in Disability & Society Volume 34 Issue 2 (2019)

Abstract

The recent financial collapse of Northamptonshire County Council sets a worrying precedent for local authorities in the United Kingdom, and in particular for disabled people who depend on services provided by local authorities, such as Direct Payments for personal assistance, for their daily living needs.

While the Northamptonshire situation has been blamed on financial incompetence, we argue that it has deeper roots in austerity policies implemented by Conservative-led governments since 2010 on a national level. We also argue that the placement of responsibility for funding personal assistance services in the hands of local authorities creates a deeply unjust ‘postcode lottery’ for disabled people, and we call for a national right to all services necessary for independent living, regardless of cost.

Full text (PDF 7pp)

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Discretion As Blame Avoidance: Passing the Buck to Local Authorities in 'Welfare Reform'

an article by Jed Meers (University of York, UK) published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice Volume 27 Number 1 (February 2019)

Abstract

This paper argues that central governments can avoid blame for cuts to social security by giving local authorities discretionary powers.

When making reductions to entitlements, conferring discretion avoids delineating who is affected, allowing for conflicts in policy formation to be deliberately fudged, decisions to be shielded from the gaze of the public and the courts, and responsibility for the impact of budget reductions to be externalised.

Using three 'welfare reforms' in the UK as examples – the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, Discretionary Housing Payments, and local welfare assistance schemes – four 'blame avoidance' functions of conferring discretion are proposed.

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Action research into the evolving role of the local authority in education ...

The Final report for the Ministerial Advisory Group

by Natalie Parish, Andrew Baxter and Leigh Sandals (ISOS Partnership) for

Summary

The purpose of this research has been to explore how local authorities are evolving and adapting their role to meet the needs of a more autonomous education system. The particular focus of the research has been on three core responsibilities of the local authority in education:

• ensuring a sufficient supply of school places,
• tackling under-performance in schools whilst ensuring high standards, and
• supporting vulnerable children.

There has been discussion in the system about what the function of the middle tier and local authority should be in the future, but this research does not aim to second‐guess that ongoing policy debate. Furthermore, just as local authorities are evolving in the context of a new education landscape, so too have schools been contending with how their role as system‐leaders develops.

The purpose of this study is to provide a picture, drawn from a small number of local authorities from across the country, of how currently local authorities are practically responding to the challenges and opportunities afforded by a more autonomous education system.

Nine local authorities were selected to take part in the action research, based on criteria which were designed to ensure a broadly representative sample. The selection included authorities with:

• a high percentage of well‐established academies,
• a high percentage of newly converted academies,
• a rich diversity of schools including academies, free schools and teaching schools, and
• a high proportion of community, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools

Includes:

• Executive summary
• The context and strategic response
• Ensuring a sufficient supply of school places
• School improvement

Reference: DFE-RR224 Published:June 2012
Full text (PDF 102pp)

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Positive for Youth - A new approach to cross-government policy for young people aged 13 to 19

A guidance documents from the DFE (Reference: DFE-00133-2011) published: February 2012

This set of documents describes all of the government’s policies for young people aged 13 to 19 in England within the context of a vision for a society which will enable all young people to succeed. They set out a new partnership approach for giving young people more opportunities and better support – with young people themselves as key influencers and with voluntary and community groups and local businesses drawn in as full partners.

A number of the policies covered apply across the United Kingdom, such as those of the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Defence. The government will work with the devolved administrations on areas of shared interest.

There has been an extensive period of collaboration and consultation with young people and those who work with them to develop these materials. In March 2011 the Positive for Youth summit brought together young people and professionals with Ministers and officials from seven Government departments to identify and debate the key issues faced by young people today. This helped to develop a shared understanding of young people’s concerns and the support and services they need.

Includes:

• Secretary of State Foreword
  Ministerial Foreword

  Introduction
• Young People Today
• A Vision for a Society that is Positive for Youth
• Government Policy on Young People
• Working Together to Support Young People
• Making Progress Together
• Annex 1: The Positive for Youth Discussion Papers
• Annex 2: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Annex 3: Index of Case Studies

Downloads

Positive for Youth – A new approach to cross-government policy for young people aged 13 to 19 (PDF 102pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for voluntary and community organisations (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for young people (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for business and other employers (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for local authorities (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth presentation (PPT)

Related publications

Positive for Youth – Executive Summary (PDF 11pp)

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Scale and efficiency in the provision of local government services

article by Mark Burridge
in International Journal of Business Performance Management Vol. 10 No. 1 (2008 ), pp 99-107 on 2 December 2007

This paper investigates the size of local authority fixed and variable costs and the extent of economies of scale and scope in the provision of local services. A flexible-modelling framework is used which combines elements of both short- and long-run cost behaviour and allows returns to scale to vary over the output range. The empirical work based upon this model suggests that there are significant fixed costs associated with the provision of local services. Local authorities exhibit overall economies of scale over most of the observable output range, with these economies resulting largely from the cost savings associated with multiple outputs.
(Original abstract -- full text not freely available)