Cost-saving 'place-based' public services will be frustrated unless public agencies improve understanding and management of information says new Socitm report

The potential for saving public funds through concepts like place-based budgeting, where multiple spending by different agencies on the same thing is prevented, could be frustrated without better understanding of the value of information and how it should be managed.

This is the message from Too many cooks: the information management implications of place-based public services, the latest report from Socitm Insight.

The report is based on a study by Socitm Insight of thirteen 'Total Place' pilots, run under the previous government's Operational Efficiency Programme to identify economies and efficiency improvements that might be achieved by taking a coordinated, collaborative approach to service delivery across all public sector agencies in a locality. The underlying premise is that uncoordinated spend by multiple agencies (ie too many cooks....) on vulnerable children and adults, drug and alcohol abuse, offender management and similar services leads to duplication, waste and poor outcomes for the citizen.

Socitm trawled the final reports from the pilot projects run in Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry, Solihull & Warwickshire, Croydon, Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole, Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside & Sunderland, Kent, Leicester & Leicestershire, Lewisham, Luton & Central Bedfordshire, Manchester City and Warrington, and Worcestershire. The research sought evidence of the information problems encountered, and the information issues that localism raises. Specific topics were followed up in detail with the team at 'BeBirmingham'.

Despite the fact that information was not a primary interest of the Total Place pilots themselves, the evaluation studies from almost every one of them raise serious issues about information availability, quality, sharing and management.

Each pilot started with an attempt to develop a comprehensive view of who was doing what, how much was being spent, and what the outcomes were in relation to the specific topic under consideration. Assembling this picture proved to be a challenge in every area that ran a pilot.

The report shows that problems with information exchange between public agencies centre on two main issues: willingness to share and the format of the data. Getting a big picture of what is happening local is frequently prevented by fears, real or imagined, of transgressing the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Data formats can be equally problematic. Data may refer to different areas, or be aggregated at a level higher than the locality of interest. Double counting becomes an issue where there are different tiers of government. Finally, the sheer volumes of information involved present analytical and presentational problems.

Approaches to data handling and exchange are not consistent. The report cites an example in which Council A was able, through local negotiation to access to live birth data, housing benefit data and council tax benefit data. Council B worked with its local PCT to gain access to live birth data on a monthly basis, while Council C was unable to access any of this data with both the PCT and the local authority's legal team quoting the Data Protection Act as the barrier to access.

'If we are to protect the frontline despite the cuts, local, joined up, evidence-based approaches are essential' says report author Chris Head. 'But these will not happen unless there is better understanding what can be done now and what might be done in future to ease availability and collation of key datasets required to inform change. In addition, public services need to get their information assets in order and ensure that employees have essential skills in analysis, presentation and interpretation of data in order to deliver evidence-based decision-making'.

Too many cooks: the information management implications of place-based public services is free to download for Socitm Insight subscribers or can be purchased for £95 (£85 for Socitm members) from www.socitm.net.

Further information

Vicky Sargent, Socitm Press Office
Tel: 07726 601 139 email: vicky.sargent@socitm.net

Martin Greenwood, Programme Manager, Socitm Insight
Tel: 01926 498703 or 07967 383755 e-mail: martin.greenwood@socitm.net