Member News
By Tom Levitt MP - 21st February 2010
Tom Levitt MP writes for ePolitix.com ahead of his adjournment debate on Total Place.
So far, Total Place (TP) has been more of a concept inside the Department for Communities and Local Government than a process on the ground.
The concept is that although government services are delivered from silos that is not how 'real people' live.
Fighting crime, for example, depends not only on an effective and responsive police service but also on good street lighting, proactive urban design and positive community aspirations. It builds on the fact that some of the police's most frequent 'customers' are also those best known also to health, housing and other services.
The TP concept is not just about fighting crime, but about every aspect of service delivery and addressing community needs.
TP is not just a response to public spending restrictions; it should have been done long ago. The creation of Local Strategic Partnerships was an opportunity to develop this degree of co-ordination which was not fully capitalised upon.
Today, several TP pilot schemes are looking at how government services within a locality can share information, points of access and back office functions. Breaking down the silos, integrating the front lines and adopting a holistic approach to solving community problems is a challenge; but it can lead to both more effective services and significant economies, a rare dual prize in these challenging times.
In my adjournment debate on February 22, I will be looking at how services in High Peak lend themselves to the TP approach, even though we are not a pilot area. I will look at how the police in particular are breaking down the silos in a positive and welcome fashion. I will champion the role of community education, Sure Starts and volunteers in their holistic approach. But I will also suggest that not every cost-cutting 'efficiency' is as worthwhile and valuable as those based on a TP approach.
In particular, I will argue that whilst local authorities should legitimately seek to cut unnecessary costs, doing so to the extent that a council such as High Peak has means that it no longer has the capacity to act independently of its 'strategic partner' and is a less effective player in its myriad communities than it could be.
Finally, in what may be my final adjournment debate before I step down at the general election, I want to put on record my appreciation of, and pride in, some of the players that make High Peak the wonderful total place that it is.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd