The government's 13 Total Place pilot schemes were launched yesterday to examine spending by all public bodies in those areas, on specific issues, such as housing, regeneration, tackling alcohol and drug abuse, tackling crime, or children's health and wellbeing.
The launch of the scheme, aimed at cutting duplication in spending by different bodies, and identifying gaps in provision, coincided with a report from local government watchdog the Audit Commission that urged local authorities to improve the quality of their information management, to avoid basing important decisions on unreliable information.
The watchdog's report suggests that councils acknowledge the problem, with nine out of 10 saying they think good quality information is a top priority, and that they need to act quickly to improve the quality of their data. But it highlights a common failing, with councillors often receiving lengthy reports that contain information they do not need.
Fewer than 5% of councils have excellent quality data while 65% face problems sharing data externally, the report says. Almost 80% of councils say they lack in-depth analysis, with analysts spending twice as much time producing routing reports as anything that adds value, while only 20% of finance directors have all the information to manage their council's estates properly.
Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, said it was important for councils to have the right information now, because many decisions they will make in the years ahead will be "harder than usual". Too many councils risk making poor decisions because their information is inaccurate, irrelevant or incomplete, he added.
The Total Place initiative was announced in the government's Operational Efficiency Programme final report, earlier this year. Communities secretary John Denham said Total Place is "about looking at all the money coming in" and asked council leaders in the pilot areas to be clear on what they could do differently, or what is blocking further action. The leadership centre for local government is leading the project and supporting the pilots on behalf of the Local Government Association group.
