Councils urged to close commissioning skills gap
Author: Jonathan Werran, Localgov.co.uk (originally published by The MJ) |
In the Catalyst Councils report, the group calls on the Local Government Association to co-create with the Government a ‘Commission on Better Commissioning’ (CBC) to assess how councils can close the skills gap.
According to research used in the report, two thirds of council chiefs claimed the opportunity to use external expertise and skills was a major reason for working with outside partners. The report also found despite being more experienced than the rest of the public sector with commissioning, many councils said they wanted to have greater skills in order to successfully commission external poviders.
Building on the concept of a government commissioning academy ? a training body first proposed in the Open Public Services white paper – the report’s authors suggest the CBC would advise councils and other parts of the public sector on what is legally permissible under revised EU regulations in establishing new models for delivering services.
In his foreword to the report, Government policy minister, Oliver Letwin stated: ‘I am determined that this Government will continue to do everything possible to address this skills gap and any other impediments that prevent local authorities from assuming the enterprising, innovative and catalytical role that our citizens and communities will increasingly rely on them to perform.’
Alex Thomson, chief executive of Localis said the financial situation faced by local government is serious and the status quo is not a viable option.
‘If everyone is willing to play their part: the public sector to be more receptive to new ideas, the voluntary sector more open to working in collaborative alliances, and the private sector more of a risk sharing partner ? then we’ve got a decent shot at continuing to enjoy high quality public services in the years to come,’ said Mr Thomson.