Martyn Taylor

Monday Discussion Group 13/5/24 Local Authorities and Housing Challenges This week’s discussion covered a range of interlinked subject areas. Local Elections Impact We began by discussing the impact of the local elections. While detailed results were not revisited, the focus was on potential strategic changes in local authorities. Robert Fox noted stability in his area following a significant shift last year when Labour took over. Naomi Armstrong and Malcolm both reported minimal changes in their respective areas. Paul Howarth mentioned financial constraints limiting radical changes but anticipated more focus on issues like domestic violence. Alex Clegg highlighted that mayoral contests might bring bigger policy shifts due to less budget constraint, though overall council flexibility remains limited. Homelessness Issues We then turned to the topic of homelessness, noting a significant increase in assessments and temporary accommodations. Naomi expressed concerns over the strain on the General Fund and the challenges of finding local accommodations, leading to placements outside the city. Robert acknowledged ongoing issues with rent levels and support costs in his area. Alex pointed out the pressure points created by the intersection of housing and welfare cuts, while Paul emphasized the importance of prevention and better integration of housing benefits with local authorities. Gareth Morgan added that local housing allowances are often insufficient, and the rise of Airbnb in tourist areas is reducing available private rentals. Challenges in Social Housing Regarding social housing, we discussed government reports highlighting challenges like decreased construction, urgent resource allocation, and funding restrictions due to right-to-buy policies. Robert observed resistance to new builds, especially in rural areas, with local authorities prioritizing commercial investments. Alex stressed the importance of direct investment in social housing to address acute needs, while Paul reminisced about the significant improvements in social housing standards during the Blair-Brown years, advocating for similar focus and investment today. Refugee Homelessness Lastly, we addressed the rise in refugee homelessness, with Naomi describing efforts in Cambridge to work with local partners to accommodate refugees. Paul pointed out that efficient government processing of asylum applications exacerbates homelessness, transferring the burden to local authorities. The recording can be accessed from https://bit.ly/VNR-240429.  While the slide pack, files and reports can be downloaded from https://bit.ly/VNP-240429. Please note that the handout contains additional slides covering other items of interest in the news and job adverts, which are provided in partnership with Business Smart Solutions

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https://lnkd.in/ebRbWwf5 Well it's half way through 2024, we're steaming ahead and disrupting. Here's an insight into how UK communities and our ecosystem are now supporting public contracting by locking social value from inside each county. #socialvalue #impact #ROI

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Fantastic news - a joint bid by Suffolk County Council and Norfolk County Council has secured funding to support the region’s digital tech ecosystem. The funding is from the Barclays Eagle Labs partnership programme and will be used to deliver ‘The Future’, a joint project which aims to support and scale digital technology innovation in Suffolk and Norfolk. It’s another success for our Connected Innovation project - the country’s largest innovation network. And it will be delivered by two outstanding partners - Akcela Ventures and Innovation Labs Group The Future will: 🏠 Grow a network across the entrepreneurial stack, engaging individuals from thinking of starting a high-growth business to investors looking to support them. 🚀 Support high potential start-ups with focussed support from successful entrepreneurs and an ecosystem of support. 💰 Early-stage seed funding for ideas with high-growth potential (creating more opportunities for founders from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds). Roberta Willner Katie Snell James Allen Mike Rigby Julian Munson Matthew Jones Jai Raithatha Peter Ballard James Charles Adams Peter Brady Peter Basford Fabian Eagle FLAA Norfolk Chambers of Commerce Suffolk Chamber of Commerce University of East Anglia University of Suffolk Norwich University of the Arts Lisa Perkins Tech East

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As the new 🇬🇧Government Cabinet meets today for the first time, here’s my blog on some key digital policy issues for the new Secretary of State’s red box. Including: 🤖 AI policy and regulation 🗣️ Public engagement and consultation about data 🧑‍💻 Privacy and data protection reform 🗃️ Transparency, freedom of information and open data https://lnkd.in/eBDXr2bX

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The latest LG improve accounts tracker shows that roughly two-thirds of authorities have published 23/24 accounts. Nearly three-quarters of upper tier authorities have published. This is significantly ahead when compared with the same point last year and validates the hard work and focus of finance teams in #localgov. #localgovernment

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An important document for the social housing sector…

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Keen to find out more about a Tay Cities Deal-funded opportunity to innovative with #5G? Join tomorrow's webinar at 11am to find out more about it and to ask any questions about the the fund and the Expression of Interest process. This funding stream is open to any UK-based organisation (with activities taking place in the Tay City Deal region) and you do not need to have prior detailed knowledge of 5G technology - the key things we're looking for at this stage are innovative ideas! Details below: #funding #5g #innovation #taycities

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New research from Nationwide Building Society shows that house price growth has been faster in predominantly rural areas, where it has risen by 22% over the the last five years, compared with 17% in predominantly urban areas

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The Scottish Government Digital Programme is transforming how colleagues approach digital public services. Launched to enhance the outcomes of a rapid review of digital functions, this initiative aligns with the broader public sector reform agenda. The Programme's scope encompasses the core Scottish Government, agencies, and public bodies within the Technology Assurance Framework's purview. https://lnkd.in/eiD88Pmg #PublicSector #DigitalTransformation #ScottishGovernment #Innovation #DigitalScotland

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Well worth a look

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Found at 2009 Consumer Focus report into DirectGov (predecessor to GOV.UK), but parts of it could have been written about GOV.UK in recent years. The original alpha/beta product design of GOV.UK was _all_ about creating a framework that put services before content and limited there ability of publishing multiple things. The clear demarcation of services vs content vs facts / single service page, single guide page, URL structure etc If there's a moment that the GOV.UK illustrates the drift back towards content soup, it's this 2013 blog post about icons: https://lnkd.in/dWTz9pfx It is, of course, 100% right on one level. Something testing with users, didn't work, so designs are iterated. (The original design had also been overstretched to accommodate government policy and new publishing, which should have been kept separate anyway). But on another level, it marked the abandonment of an attempt at system redesign towards the issues that Consumer Focus and others had identified. GOV.UK was destined to become a publishing first model. It was never about the icons. Baby -> bathwater.

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LocalGov Digital and the Local Government Association have set up an AI Practioners Group for the sector. https://lnkd.in/eb9Fi7np #ai #localgovernment

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With a focus on UK productivity, increased data sharing across government is key to joined up thinking and evidence based policy.

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Do you supply packaged goods to the UK; market under your own brand; place goods into packaging; import products in packaging; own an online marketplace; hire or loan out reusable packaging; or supply empty packaging? If so, this legal obligation applies to you! Register and supply your data by 31st May #pEPR #packaging

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Very glad to see this report published at this time in the electoral cycle. This is a report that should make any future government listen and sit up. We need D & T to be part of the curriculum going forward to enable more young people to gain practical hands-on experiences that will allow them to put theory into reality. The importance of this to a range of sectors is highlighted by the variety of organisations supporting its recommendations, including #EngineeringUK. https://lnkd.in/gtv47CuB

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In 2023, Coventry City Council's Procurement Services embarked on a mission to understand how we can better support SMEs in bidding for Council contracts. We launched our first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey to not only understand the diverse make-up of the businesses within the City, but to understand what the businesses consider to be the barriers to entry and what we can do to support them. The survey responses were considered and we drafted inclusive procurement changes that included, but were not limited to, increasing the minimum number of quotes/tenders sought, and establishing minimum timescales for quotes/tenders (below threshold). It was my first redraft of the Council's Contract Procedure Rules that are embedded within the Constitution, and I was delighted to see the changes approved in December and rolled out in February this year. But inclusive procurement and supporting SMEs isn't a one-time action. We will continue to identify opportunities to support SMEs in bidding for Council opportunities, and that's why I'm delighted to confirm that we've launched our 2024 iteration of the EDI Survey - we've even got some special prizes up for grabs for 3 lucky entrants. So if you're a business based in Coventry, please follow the link below and help the Council support you in its procurement activity! https://lnkd.in/e5aSGb4S #Coventry #Procurement #EDI #SME Oluremi Aremu Andy Williams

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Last day to complete this LGA / LocalGovDigital survey on the use (or not) of the service standard in local government: https://lnkd.in/eWGUHgap I think my view on this is that there needs to be a standard used in local government, but the current one is not nearly flexible enough to cope with the constraints councils operate within.

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I’m here at the DataGov 2024 Future of Government Data conference. TLDR — Data stewards and owners need to be shown the benefits for them to take on these roles and where it can take them! It is focussed on transforming data management, data sharing, privacy and security. We’ve had some great speakers from various places so far discussing data governance, enterprise data and concepts around emerging technologies and decision making. One discussion took us to digital twins, another about the need to consider sustainability of the data asset.📈 What I really enjoyed was the discussion about data stewards, and how we appoint them and why they don’t want to be in that role!👎 It’s clearly a common problem across many organisations. Not only where in the data lifecycle they should start their data stewardship, but actually getting involved in the role itself. It seems the SO WHAT is missing! 🧐 What can we do to help our new or emerging data stewards to work on something that is not generally rewarded but an extra on top of their day job? 1. Support with education, as they might have just been landed with it coming into the role📚 Enable them in the role by training and mentoring around data stewardship responsibilities for the organisation. 2. Give them the so what…🤷‍♀️ There seems to be all the risk but no rewards in the role. Currently they aren’t empowered to talk to the users or the curators of the data. Leaders and organisations approach it as a risk and compliance activity instead of an incentive. We need to reframe it to equipping data owners and stewards with more about their data and how it’s used. It is also an opportunity to be a ‘purple person’ (someone who spans both D&A and business). 🦄 Help them see the business incentive (what could they do with this role?) to drive engagement for the role. 🙋What does it mean if you become a data steward or data owner in your organisation? #datasteward #dataowner #datagovernance #data

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