So Localism it is! In every speech; every press release; every Ministerial statement. They all express the same mantra and the message – to give the Coalition Government its due – is wholly consistent. Its other message is that people have to be given a bigger say and many of their ideas, from local referenda to transparency of expenditure, support that policy.

But, as everyone recognises, not everything lends itself to determination at local levels. So the abolition of the ‘Regional’ tier – either in health, housing, planning or whatever -does not remove the need to consolidate requirements, to prioritise desired outcomes and to allocate resources over a wider area.

Expect, therefore, to see much manoeuvring and negotiation as Councils and other public agencies align themselves to find the optimum groupings that make most sense in a fierce cost-cutting environment. It will be complicated as the logic of different services may point to different aggregations of areas; that’s why the ideal of co-terminosity isn’t quite so ideal after all. It is also complicated by local politics; partnering with opponents is far from easy.

The LGA’s new Report Place-based budgets – The future governance of local public services, makes the case for continued partnership working – and the NHS White Paper, Liberating the NHS, talks positively about working with local authorities. Indeed we may be seeing the emergence of a kind of consensus.

If, therefore, we have localism, and we also have partnership working (whatever the precise terminology) what’s different from the models with which we have become familiar in recent years? Well here are three differences:

• Current LSPs often operate as clubs of public agencies – with the third sector playing a walk-on part. The Big Society agenda puts them much more centre stage.
  • The emphasis on transparency will oblige LSPs to be less opaque about their decisions and their impact. Note the row in Stoke-on-Trent this week as Councillors complain about LSP cuts to 34 Community projects without their involvement.
  • Collaborating to make cuts has a different dynamic from conventional joined-up working. Hopefully LSPs can act as a brake on crude cost-shunting – but it requires participants to be ultra-aware of the different scope/leeway each organisation has to share the pain.

The common theme is accountability. Actions taken and services re-engineered will need to pass the test of public acceptability and that is why a vigorous and inclusive local dialogue will be essential. Everyone agrees surely? … Unless you read the Ministerial letter to District Councils last week a little quickly. It called for ‘light-touch consultation’ for Councils required to choose between having elected mayors and leaders. Some have wondered whether this can be extrapolated into a significant de-emphasis for consultation in other areas, but that may be reading too much into a very specific set of circumstances – and one where, to be frank, consultation has scarcely had a decisive influence

What is beyond doubt is that fragmented, piecemeal consultation has to become a thing of the past, and that communities cannot afford exercises whose influence is speculative. Part of the answer is for elected members to take the lead. An increasing number of them are asking themselves What does localism mean for us? And they may well conclude that it’s now up to them. Lifting some of the burdens imposed by Whitehall … removing that Regional tier … building new Local enterprise partnerships … They will never have a better opportunity.

Leadership of this kind involves more than taking tough decisions; it means carrying people with you. This is why Councillors need to mastermind an engagement strategy that tells people the truth, which gives everyone who’s interested a chance to voice their opinions and involves key stakeholders in the search for solutions.

Will they be up to this challenge?

This is the 166^th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement