Agenda item

Sir Merrick Cockell welcomed Dr Henry Kippin, Director of Collaborate, to speak to members about demand management following the recent report jointly published by the RSA, LGA, ESRC, iMPOWER, and Collaborate.

Dr Kippin began by reminding members of the projected funding gap of £14.4 billion by 2020 for local authorities. Added to this is the projected spending rise as the result of demographic changes and the corresponding public health implications. Surveys show that the biggest concerns of the public are unemployment and poverty, issues that need to be tackled alongside other sectors and not solely within the public sector. In order to do change behaviours and systems though, there must be trust in government from the public, and this is particularly low.

Demand management looks at proactive ways to tackle these problems and the report pulls out future principles including:

·         Understanding people’s networks and connectors.

·         Collaboration and partnerships.

·         Better commissioning.

·         Focusing on growth and working with the private sector.

·         Using technology to communicate effectively.

·         Strong community leadership and the critical role of elected members in this.

Members discussed the following issues:

·         How to move the public from being consumers to being citizens.

·         Early intervention producing initial results but failing to relieve pressure in the long-term.

·         Capacity building in local communities.

·         The value of families in reducing demand on public services.

·         Using the term ‘innovation’ instead of ‘demand management’.

·         Focusing on injecting social capital so communities can take more responsibility.

·         Public services must concentrate of ‘need’ rather than ‘demand’.