Meeting the challenge in Barnet:What we have done and what we are doing next
The past...
Planning ahead has been crucial: 2008 ‘Future Shape’ project set the framework for Barnet’s response to impending Government cuts…
‘Future Shape’ became ‘One Barnet’ – our ambitious change programme to achieve £75m (26%) of savings resulting from SR2010…
• Is this service necessary?
• Is this the right model?
• Who’s best placed to deliver it?
The ‘Big Questions’:
Now…
Then…
• One Barnet was about reimagining public services for the C21st and asking fundamental questions of local services…
Our approach attracted local and national attention and legal challenge…
The present...
£75m successfully saved in the first half of the decade…
• £75m successfully saved during 2010-2015, limited impact on frontline services
• Planning ahead avoided mass redundancies
• Strong 5 year plan for the future – ahead of most councils:
5 year Corporate Plan 5 year Commissioning Plans for
each major service area 5 year budget Platform for reform through
commissioning approach
High levels of resident satisfaction maintained over the past 5 years…
• 88% of residents happy with Barnet as a place to live
• 71% satisfied with how the council runs things, up 8% from 2012
• 77% feel the council is doing a good job
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2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20
Savings target (£m) Savings agreed (£m) Savings delivered (£m)
One Barnet programme was ambitious but it only gets us half way there…
• In real terms, by the end of the decade we will be spending roughly half what we did at the start…
‘Commissioning Council’ approach: A mixed economy of local services providers (public, private, VCS) through a variety of delivery models…
Guaranteed savings of £126m over 10 years though deal with private sector to provide our back office services…
• Customer & Support Group (CSG) - unique package of services designed
for synergy and savings
• Partnership with Capita will save £126m over 10 years with up front
investment to improve services
• New standards of customer service to achieve savings and make it easier
for customers to transact – e.g. web-based ‘Single Customer Account’
• Co-design of services with users and improved customer insight
And £39m of growth in ‘visible’ planning and regulatory services – in partnership with private sector…
• Developmental and Regulatory Services (DRS) - new to the market,
so scope for growth
• Saving of £39m over 10 years, including growth of a guaranteed £33m
• Investment in services - real time data via handheld devices and
investment in customer facing web
• A Joint Venture, so the Barnet taxpayer benefits from success with a
strong incentive to grow the business
We have changed our operating model to deliver our new approach -becoming a ‘Commissioning Council’…
Strategic Commissioning Board (SCB)
Commissioning Group Support Services
Customer Services
Assurance
Delivery Units
SCB
Assurance
● Commissioning Directors
& Teams
● Strategy & Comms
● Commercial Team
Adults &
CommunitiesFamily Services
Street SceneBarnet Group
Re
Schools
CSG
Legal
CSG
Elected Members
Predominantly in-house
KEY:
Education & Skills
Predominantly external
The future...
Further cuts to Local Gov’t, combined with increasing demand, means we need to save a further £81m in Barnet by 2020
We conducted a 12 month Spending Review to develop future plans…
• Enabled Councillors to define their strategic priorities & outcomes
• Identified transformation proposals for the new administration to
consider that enable the council to meet the budget gap to 2020
• Communicated, consulted & engaged with residents, partners,
customers and businesses
‘Priorities & Spending Review’ – A year long process of analysis and engagement, concluding June 2014, which:
Our strategy...
In three steps…
1. GROWTH, REGENERATION & MAXIMISING INCOME
2. TRANSFORMING SERVICES & TAKLING DEMAND
3. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION & RESILIENCE – RESIDENTS DOING MORE
1. Growth, regeneration & maximising income…• Regeneration, homes, jobs - income for the council, opportunity for
residents• Barnet will deliver the most homes in outer London – 20K by 2025• Joint venture to sell services within and outside Barnet – guaranteed
minimum income
7 major regeneration schemes across the borough…
15,000HOMES IN
REGENERATION AREAS
450NEW JOBS IN
NEXT 5 YEARS
+91,509SQM OF RETAIL & COMMERCIAL SPACE
DELIVERED IN BRENT CROSS SHOPPING CENTRE
10SCHOOLS ACROSS
PRIMARY, SECONDARY &HIGHER EDUCATION
LEVELS
£25m+NEW HOMES BONUS
Brent Cross Cricklewood: The most significant publicly-owned growth site in London…
Planning consent in place for a new Town Centre:
Doubled shopping centre
7,500 New Homes
Space for 27,000 new jobs
Major transport infrastructure
Schools, parks, health & community facilities
2. Transforming services & tackling demand, driven by insight…● For every service – consider the case for different ways to deliver our
priority outcomes● Integrated, co-located teams to tackle cross-cutting issues & drive
innovation
Our approach to Welfare Reform and employment demonstrates the benefits of integrating services…
Welfare Reform Task Force●Co-located, Multi-Agency team – Housing officers, Benefit advisers, Job Centreplus employment advisers, Mental Health support.●Engaged 96% of those impacted by Benefit Cap; supported 35% into work●Economic benefit – over £3 economic benefit for each £1 invested
Burnt Oak Opportunity Support Team (BOOST)•Love Burnt Oak, JCP, Benefits service, Youth services, Barnet Homes, Health Coaching Support from Future Path•Based in Burnt Oak Library•One to one support, signposting, action planning, workshops, support to access discretionary funds, benefits and money management, access to computers, keeping healthy and improve wellbeing.•Drop in, telephone and follow on Twitter.•Established June 2015 – 200+ people signed up; 70 into work.
3. Community Participation & Resilience - residents doing more…● For themselves and their communities and, where appropriate, designing
& delivering services● In order to build social capital, increase cohesion and reduce dependency
on services
Ambitious Community Participation Strategy being implemented…
• Strategy covers multiple work streams:
• Community Assets Strategy – how we use 130+ community buildings
to achieve outcomes and lever support from residents & VCS
• Comprehensive VCS database – of 1,400 local VCS organisations, so
residents can find non-council support, reduce demand on services
• Volunteering programme – to get more people to volunteer to
provide local services such as libraries
This is underpinned by...
Excellent customer services…
And a continued commitment to openness and transparency…
Engaging – and getting the most from – the groups that matter…
3rd highest
business stock and
start-up rate in London
Our Councillors
Our Partners
Our Residents & Businesses
Our Staff