Local government faces existential threats like no other with council risk registers changing ever more frequently.
From the threats posed by artificial intelligence and cyber attacks from hostile states through to the complexities of an ageing population, council leaders in the modern age are challenged like never before to innovate, pioneer and devise a better offer to the communities they serve.
It is Conservative-led councils that are leading this fight.
Take Wiltshire Council as an example. In its recent children’s services inspection report from Ofsted, the council received ‘outstanding’ for its overall effectiveness.
The report specifically mentioned that leaders in children’s services “support and encourage innovation” while also acknowledging the “contribution they make to regional and national developments”.
“Council leaders are challenged like never before to innovate, pioneer and devise a better offer to the communities they serve”
To secure this result from Ofsted, Wiltshire implemented an innovative transformation programme which has included the establishment of a new out-of-hours service and a new transitions team to provide better support for care leavers.
We hear about the legitimate pressures the sector faces in the delivery of adult social care, yet some councils have taken it upon themselves to use the current situation to embrace transformation.
Conservative-led Essex County Council is a fine example of this as it has embraced digital care technology in its social care offer.
In an article in the Municipal Journal, it was confirmed that “almost 9,000 people” are in receipt of this digital care with 98 per cent saying it “improves their sense of feeling safe and secure”.
In the recent LGA Conservative Group manifesto, we have called upon government to offer tax breaks for businesses that support councils in delivering transformation within adult social care.
With the LGA’s annual conference in Harrogate just around the corner, we will yet again be using the conference’s Innovation Zone to highlight innovation across all corners of the sector to share best practice and ideas.