In the current climate of funding cuts, one of the discussions we pick up is whether services can be delivered over a wider area making better use of resources. On the one hand it is argued that shrinking resources can mean that there is not sufficient funding left at a local level to deliver a basic service to the necessary quality. On the other, people will argue that delivery across a wider area loses the local ownership that ensures that the service is embedded in the local community and reflects its needs.
A key issue here is whether “locally responsive” means “locally managed”. Is it possible to deliver a service across a county which has local access points, staff with local knowledge and effective local engagement with governance? There are examples where this is happening and it would be interesting to study what impact this has had on local perceptions of service delivery and engagement.
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