John Hayes
It was a little over two years ago that Adur district council and Worthing borough council took the groundbreaking step of appointing a permanent joint chief executive.
Their bold move was a pivotal one as its success in terms of savings and workforce solutions prompted other councils to also explore the option.
Supported by the IDeA, there are now 11 pairs of councils with established joint chief executives, and many other authorities are in the planning stages or are about to implement it.
But a great deal has changed since 2007, not least the financial context.
While the earlier partnerships were in response to filling temporary chief executive vacancies, the drive to share management and services to reduce costs and speed up efficiency savings is forcing many councils to consider partnerships with neighbouring authorities.
The IDeA this week published its latest report on sharing chief executives, based on the evidence and experience from 10 joint arrangements.
While they are all at different stages it is now clear that a shared chief executive provides the catalyst for more profound integration.
Having started at the top with a shared chief executive and management it seems that many of the problems usually faced with the delivery of shared services can be overcome.
Because a more profound integration is being delivered through the shared chief executive route the savings are much larger – instead of hundreds of thousands a year a number of the councils (which are typically small in size) are projecting savings of millions.
The potential savings through more extensive adoption of the approach – even if restricted to district councils – are clearly very significant.
The arrangement also gives smaller councils greater influence in regional and national debates, and can boost local decision-making – Brentwood borough council now controls more than £2.5m of Essex county council spend through a local highways panel which makes decisions on local priorities.
There have also been unforeseen benefits: the success of Adur and Worthing has led to other local public bodies realigning the way they deliver services to match the new arrangements, including police and local strategic partnerships.
The IDeA produced its first report on sharing chief executives a year ago, which included insights into why joint management arrangement had failed in some instances.
The agency and councils have learned from those lessons and this second report offers strong evidence that there are large demonstrable benefits to be had.
Initially some authorities were cautious as it was unchartered territory, but now there is more confidence and many councils are moving more quickly.
An important vehicle for change
While shared chief executives seem to be an important vehicle for change and savings it is important to acknowledge that they are not a panacea for the pressures councils are facing.
There remain some 'acid tests' for the initiative which we have yet to see the results of, primarily a change of political control in jointly managed councils.
Strong political support is vital to the success of a shared system. It is a brave decision for councillors as well as the chief executive and it is difficult to achieve without consistent cross-party backing.
The IDeA has been working hard to make councils aware of that and to stress the importance of members owning and driving the process.
There is a reason the report's title ends in a question: 'Shared chief executives and joint management: a model for the future?'
Until the new way of working has gone through a complete cycle, we cannot know whether it will be applicable to all councils – but we can be sure that it is worth seriously considering.
John Hayes is director of services and development at the Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA)
• For more information on the reports click here
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