The immediate challenges facing Local Authorities are well known, and the short-term responses have been explored at length. At Capita, we have been thinking beyond the short-term to the types of authorities that will emerge after necessary spending reductions have been made. We believe that the decisions made now will determine the type of authorities that exist in the future, and our insights can help authorities navigate this unknown terrain. By thinking in a long-term and strategic way about their course over the next few years, authorities will be able to make their spending cuts and continue to achieve their other objectives.

Our brief paper Navigating the 'Perfect Storm' sketches three possible types of Local Authority – the productive, sharing and enabling authority – that will emerge as Local Authorities deal with spending reductions, new legislation and rising customer demand. We expect successful authorities to make a decision about the type of authority they want to be, and the trade-offs they are willing to make to become it, and then commit to developing the core competencies needed to thrive. We have explored some of these trade-offs and core competencies in our paper, and will be supplementing it with in-depth papers in the future.

To download a copy of the paper please click here.

We hope that our ideas stimulate your thinking, and welcome your thoughts on where your Local Authority is going. If you are interested in continuing the discussion, contact Ben Eggleston (ben.eggleston@capita.co.uk), our Local Government Director.