Name: Demos Public Services 2030 Network: Beyond the Sticking Plaster
Start: 2024-10-29T12:00:00+00:00
End: 2024-10-29T13:30:00+00:00
Location: Demos

Demos Public Services 2030 Network: Beyond the Sticking Plaster

Join us to discuss a new Demos report - Beyond the Sticking Plaster: A long-term solution to the crisis in local government finances.
About this Event

The new government has a daunting set of issues to deal with, but one of the most important is the ongoing crisis in the finances of England’s local authorities.

Reforming finances may not make for exciting headlines, but it is necessary to avoid the opposite – terrible headlines as local authorities declare effective bankruptcy.

At Demos, we have been exploring longer-term solutions to this crisis. ‘Sticking plaster’ solutions – like selling assets, using emergency reserves or receiving last-minute bailouts from central government – are not going to work for much longer.

Join the Public Services 2030 Network to discuss a new Demos report - Beyond the Sticking Plaster: A long-term solution to the crisis in local government finances. Speakers:

Baroness Hilary Armstrong, former Minister of State for Local Government, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Chris Naylor, Director - Inner Circle Consulting and former Chief Executive of Barking and Dagenham Council.

Andrew Phillips, Senior Researcher - Demos and co-author of Beyond the Sticking Plaster: A long-term solution to the crisis in local government finances.

Andrew O’Brien, Director of Policy and Impact - Demos, will chair the discussion.

About the Public Services 2030 Network

Public services are in crisis. Backlogs are everywhere, from NHS waiting lists to undecided asylum applications. Frontline staff, managers and civil servants alike are doing their best to respond, and often performing heroically.

But the fundamentals of the situation are beyond individual heroism, short term fixes or limited cash injections to resolve. The United Kingdom needs a rethink on public services: what do we want, what are we willing to pay for, and who will do the work and how will there be change?

There is no shortage of bold and innovative ideas. From pioneering councils to charities experimenting to new approaches to service design and thinkers across the political spectrum, we have been inspired by the wealth of work happening right across the country.

Now is the time to connect these voices to create a new era of public service reform. The Public Services 2030 Network is a movement of organisations committed to rebuilding and reforming our public services so they are fit for the next decade.The Network is supported in 2024 by: