Pay for less

It may be that I'm high on the rarefied air of the new surroundings but I've just read a very thought provoking article at ConservativeHome by the Taxpayers Alliance. The TPA believes that local authority officers are sluggish, bureau shaping, budget maximising, useless tossers who systematically hide information from Councillors, using the information asymmetries to dazzle them with management speak. Ahem.

To find these hidden savings officials should be offered a percentage of any saving they identify as a reward*. I disagree with part of the analysis - Councillors should be better selected, better trained, and get to know their services so they can identify cuts - i.e. they should be full time. Local authority workers, in my experience, are no more systematically under motivated and appreciated than any other workers, and (perhaps unfortunately) don't care enough to hide all the juicy spending from elected Councillors. However, any ideas that help to create an environment where innovation, efficiency and sustainability (in its broadest sense) is part of the ethos of the public sector will be vital for the next decade. If you can design appropriate and fair (v difficult) models of performance pay for the public sector then why should these employees not benefit from bonuses.

But money alone will not be sufficient. As Matthew Taylor has argued radical devolution and a much smarter Whitehall is essential if we are to free councils to creatively attack the deficit. He also argued at the clash of the pointy heads that one simple way would be to tell Councils they will have no additional funds for the next 10 years but give them complete autonomy over delivery. Only by removing the corset of central targets and ringfencing can local authorities start to gain any confidence. Councils need a lot more confidence before they will ever think of listening to their employees (big confident businesses do it all the time). A really brave Council could emulate Google and allot a certain percentage of time to all workers to think of new ideas or savings.

We're closer than ever before (well since '97) of big changes to the machinery of government, but will the allure of power stop the Conservatives from giving it away as it did with New Labour? I still think the various progressive agendas of all parties are still too small, fragmented and contradictory for any real change to occur, even under a hung parliament. What has been suggested is a 'reset referendum', on PR, Lords, Local Gov etc. so that everyone understands the state we're in. I think I agree. Bit late now though as it would take a full 6 months to properly debate these things. Anyone got any ideas for what a 21st Century Royal Commission would look like? That's what should come out of a hung parliament.

* What would happen if this reward pushed the employee over £58,000, the point at which the Conservatives propose to publish the wages of council workers?