English Local Authorities Research Articles

Agent-Based Simulations Using Genetic Algorithm Calibration: A Children’s Services Application

With increased pressures and tightening budgets within English Children’s Services in the UK, seeking more effective operational and financial management is becoming a more significant topic of discussion. In other sectors, complex data analysis methods provide the aforementioned management improvements through better understanding of current situations leading to better decision making. Currently, investment remains at a slow pace in English Local Authorities due to budget restrictions. In this paper, a potential opportunity is explored with existing publicly available data related to this area. With the help of industry experts, an Agent-Based Model is created to emulate basic Children’s Services operations and optimised to fit existing data using NSGA-III. With relatively close matches being achieved with sample authorities, this approach demonstrates promise in advancing analytics capabilities for Children’s Services and practical solutions are discussed. With this presented work, it is shown that further expansion and exploration into real-world applications is warranted.

Are Local Public Expenditure Reductions Associated with Increases in Inequality in Emergency Hospitalisation? Time-Series Analysis of English Local Authorities from 2012 to 2017

Are Local Public Expenditure Reductions Associated with Increases in Inequality in Emergency Hospitalisation? Time-Series Analysis of English Local Authorities from 2012 to 2017

Problematising Young Male Victims in Twenty-First Century English Child Sexual Exploitation Policy: a Critical Discourse Analysis

Since 2000, English child sexual exploitation (CSE) policy has expanded, both in its understanding and response, to the increasing recognition and scale of the problem. Since 2011, with the move from statutory guidance to a government action plan, there was, for the first time, a substantial increase in CSE responses across English local authorities. Within English CSE policy, male victims are often referenced as a minority population in the ‘dance’ between gender-neutral and gender-specific guidance. For an observable eight-year period, specific CSE guidance was issued on ‘Boys and Young Men’ between 2009 and 2017. Using a qualitative case study methodology with 18 professionals in England, a critical discourse analysis, inspired by Foucauldian and liminality theories, was undertaken to understand the ‘ethics’ within professional perceptions of male victims in contemporary CSE policy. The key findings highlight an incongruity of existing CSE vocabulary with male victims due to overtly gynocentric connotations. This article identifies how male victims have been perceived in the ‘shadows’ of their female peers, perhaps, as a policy ‘afterthought’, with consequential professional practice. Essentially, male victims have been implicated through this gendered conceptualisation and are assembled awkwardly on the surface of mainstream CSE discourse in England.

Funding for preventative Children’s Services and rates of children becoming looked after: A natural experiment using longitudinal area-level data in England

BackgroundChildren in care face adverse health outcomes, throughout the life-course, relative to the general population. In England, over the last decade, the rate of children entering care has increased. The rate of change differs markedly for older and younger children, who may also experience different preventative services. These services have been subject to inequitable spending reductions due to fiscal policies trailing the 2008 recession. ObjectiveTo assess the impact of cuts to prevention on rates of preschool children and adolescents entering care between 2012 and 2019. Participants and SettingChildren aged 1–4 and 16–17 years, across 150 English upper-tier local authorities. MethodsOur outcomes were annual rates of children entering care, aged 1–4 and 16–17. Our exposures were Children’s Services prevention spend per child under 5, and per child over 12. Regression models were used to quantify, within areas, associations between trends in prevention spend and trends in rates of children entering care, controlling for employment and child poverty rates. ResultsWe found no association between changes in prevention spend per child under 5 and changes in care entry for 1–4-year-olds. However, spending reductions per child over 12 were associated with rising rates of 16–17-year-olds entering care. Every £10 per child decrease in prevention spend was associated with an estimated additional 1.9 per 100,000 children aged 16–17 entering care the following year (95% CI 0.7 to 2.9), equivalent to 1 in 25 care entries in this age group between 2012 and 2019. ConclusionThis study offers evidence that rising rates of older children entering care has partly been driven by cuts to prevention services catering to their needs. Policies to tackle adverse trends should promote reinvestment in youth services, placing ordinary help on a robust statutory footing.

Planning and technological innovation: the governance challenges faced by English local authorities in adopting planning technologies

ABSTRACT The term ‘smart city’ has become synonymous with a technologically cultivated utopia, where urban problems can be solved computationally. This approach to urban development has been promoted as a method of enabling city administrations to become more proactive when dealing with issues including pollution, traffic flow and congestion, public safety, energy use, and urban planning. This trend towards using technology in urban management and planning has sparked research and development initiatives across the planet. In the UK, the #PlanTech trend is a governmental initiative that aims to improve engagement between various actors in the planning system, including local authorities and central government, with tech start-ups and digital entrepreneurs who can design solutions to the problems currently experienced by planners, developers, and citizens alike. Despite the significant opportunities that technologies offer city council planning departments in terms of productivity, existing governance models can be shown to represent a significant obstacle to implementation. This paper uses case study research conducted at two English city councils – Coventry and Leeds – to examine the implications of planning reforms and digital transformation of public services on urban planning governance. Utilizing the information gained from a combination of semi-structured interviews and stakeholder engagement exercises, it examines the growing emphasis on technology in planning practice within the public sector and discusses the potential implications that it may have for current governance arrangements. Finally, it suggests what a framework for future urban planning governance within an English political context, in the era of the smart city might require. The paper overall offers a critical view of how current urban planning practice and governance procedures are being quickly subsumed by digital technologies which offer novel and effective methods for professional planners yet are undermined, or are inhibited, by current governance arrangements.

Research-informed decision making about research capacity and activity within an English local authority: a mixed-methods study

BackgroundLocal government organisations face challenges in health and social care decision-making. Disparities in engagement and use of research within local government to underpin decision-making can affect public health policy and practice outcomes. We aimed to understand how research is used within local authorities to aid decision-making and its barriers and enablers. We used an academic definition of research, incorporating methods that would traditionally be used in health and social care sciences. MethodsA mixed-methods design was used. All staff within an English local authority (n=2881) were invited to participate in an online survey to explore the use of research in their role. A purposive convenience sample of survey responders were invited to one of six online recorded focus groups to further explore their responses. Ethics approval was obtained from Northumbria University Ethics Committee. Participant information and consent information was emailed to the full sample, with replies granting written informed consent. Regression analysis and statistical tests were analysed using SPSSv.26. Thematic framework analysis was used for focus group data. Findings124 staff responded to the survey and 20 participants attended focus groups. Results indicated that likely enablers were enthusiasm in engagement among staff (79%, n=98) agreed or strongly agreed); however, only being a senior manager or manager was a statistically significant predictor for undertaking research (manager β=3·021, SE=0·852, p=0·0010; senior managers β=3·992, SE=1·212, p=0·0010). Lack of time was notably the biggest barrier (47%, n=58) strongly agreed or agreed). Confidence in engaging as a research partner was average (44%, n=54) agreed or strongly agreed) and confidence in commissioning research from external partners was low (27%, n=34) agreed or strongly agreed). In the focus group, with the exception of the public health department personnel, participants' definitions of research were vague compared with traditional definitions., with secondary research of non-peer reviewed literature dominating research activity. InterpretationThe findings provided rich evidence of a lack of understanding of what research entails. Major challenges included limited knowledge of how to engage in research and shortage of time. For research-informed decision-making and evidence-based policies and practices, an understanding of research that is sympathetic to the needs of local government decision-makers is needed. Conceptualisation of research might have to deviate from traditional academic norms. FundingNIHR Public Health Research.

Localizing the SDGs in England: Challenges and Value Propositions for Local Government

The United Nations' Development Goals (SDGs) have been criticized but are nonetheless seen by many as an important, if imperfect, international effort to address climate and environmental change, resource depletion and the unsustainability of contemporary life. Many of the Goals need to be implemented at the local level, yet sub-national governments have not been granted any enhanced status at the UN to facilitate this process. As a result, the role and effectiveness of local governments in localizing the SDGs is dependent on multi-level arrangements within respective national contexts. In this paper we present findings on the challenges facing local authorities in England, namely co-dependent ambivalence, partial holism and narrow practices of knowledge governance. We draw on work carried out collaboratively with local authorities and other stakeholders in Greater Manchester and Sheffield, and a UK-wide national workshop. These challenges explain the relatively low uptake and engagement with the SDGs in the context of wider political and economic concerns compared with international comparator cities. Against this background our research found that making the Goals real, relevant, relatable and relational offered a tactical route to localization for English local government.

Comparative analysis of variation in the quality and completeness of local outbreak control plans for SARS-CoV-2 in English local authorities.

BackgroundLocal outbreak control plans (LOCPs) are statutory documents produced by local authorities (LAs) across England. LOCPs outline LAs’ response to Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID19) outbreaks and the coordination of local resources, data and communication to support outbreak response. LOCPs are therefore crucial in the nation’s response to COVID-19. However, there has been no previous systematic assessment of these documents. We performed this study to systematically assess the quality of LOCPs and to offer recommendations of good practice.MethodsAll published LOCPs were assessed for basic characteristics. A framework based on Department of Health and Social Care guidelines was used to assess a random sample of LOCPs. Qualitative analysis was undertaken for LOCPs with highest completeness.ResultsHundred and thirty-seven of 150 LAs publicly published a full LOCP; 9 were drafts. Statistical analysis demonstrated the significant difference between reporting of mainstream schools, care homes and the homeless population and other educational settings, high-risk settings and other vulnerable groups. LOCPs varied in approach when structuring outbreak response information and focused on different areas of outbreak management.ConclusionsThe majority of LAs are publicly accessible. There is significant variation between the reporting of high-risk settings and groups. Suggested recommendations may help to improve future LOCP updates.

Impacts of local area public sector spending and food purchasing in England: a panel study

Abstract Background The UK adopted austerity policies in 2010, leading to reduced public sector spending. Reductions in local authority (LA) highways and transport expenditure may affect food access, and decreases in LA housing service expenditure may reduce financial resources for many. Impacts of these changes on food purchasing have not yet been investigated. Methods We used publicly available data for 324 English LAs between 2008-15. Highways and transport service expenditure and housing service expenditure were the exposures, log transformed to account for diminishing returns. Food purchasing outcomes were fresh fruit and vegetables; foods high in fat, salt, and sugars (HFSS); and takeaways, as a proportion of total food and drink purchases. We used fixed effects linear regression models adjusting for local socio-demographics with robust standard errors. We stratified by Index of Multiple Deprivation and rural/urban area status. Results A 10% reduction in highways and transport expenditure was associated with a 0.005 (p = 0.002) percentage point decrease in fruit and vegetable purchases and a 0.006 (p = 0.010) percentage point increase in takeaway purchases, both as a proportion of total food and drink purchasing. Both results were only statistically significant in urban areas when stratified by rural/urban area status. A 10% decrease in housing expenditure was associated with a 0.006 percentage point decrease in HFSS purchasing as a proportion of total food and drink expenditure (p = 0.001). Conclusions This is the first time that impacts of reductions in public sector spending on food purchasing have been investigated. Our research highlights that these changes may affect diets of the whole population in addition to existing evidence around impacts on foodbank use. Reductions in public spending may impact food purchasing, suggesting that austerity policies may have impacts on diets and health. Further research at the individual level is needed. Key messages To our knowledge, our research is the first time impacts of reductions in public sector spending on food purchases have been investigated. Reductions in local authority highways and transport and housing service expenditure may lead to decreased fruit and vegetables and unhealthy food purchases and increased takeaway purchases.

Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England

The evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.

How have the Care Act 2014 ambitions to support carers translated into local practice? Findings from a process evaluation study of local stakeholders' perceptions of Care Act implementation.

The Care Act 2014 imposed new statutory duties on English local authorities in relation to family or informal carers and it broadened carers' statutory entitlements to assessment, care and support, irrespective of eligibility for local authority funding of the person they care for. Despite this legislative framework, local authorities appear to be translating the new legal obligation into practice in different ways. This paper draws on evidence from in-depth interviews held during 2017-2018 with key stakeholders in three English local authorities to investigate whether and how local efforts meet the Act's intention of supporting carers. We explored local goals associated with supporting carers, local authorities' approaches to needs assessment and service provision as well as barriers and facilitators to adoption of the new legal obligations towards carers. The paper draws on Twigg, J., & Atkin, K. (1995), typology to explore perceptions of local stakeholders of the interaction between formal care system and carers post-Care Act. The findings indicate that despite a clear Care Act emphasis on meeting carers' needs, when faced with financial constraints the formal care system approaches carers mainly as a resource and often supports carers to keep cared-for people away from health and social care systems. Although replacement care is a vital element in the Care Act's ambitions to support carers, in sampled authorities, it was often newly being subject to needs thresholds and financial assessment of people they care for, leading to reported conflicts of interests between carers' needs and those of cared-for-people. The Care Act is nonetheless seen as having made progress in legitimising carers' needs as clients. Social care professionals increasingly emphasise the importance of meeting carers' needs and well-being as valued and desirable outcomes.

Exploring the impact of Ofsted inspections on performance in children’s social care

Children’s social care services in England are inspected by a government agency, Ofsted. This paper reports on the impact of Ofsted inspections on rates of intervention and other performance measures, such as expenditure and workforce, drawing on a quantitative analysis of national datasets. Annual published returns from 150 English local authorities from 2009 to 19 were combined with results from Ofsted inspections under the Single Inspection Framework (2014–17), which covered all local authorities. Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis was undertaken to find out whether an inspection had a significant effect on performance in the context of trends pre- and post-inspection, and whether this effect varied according to the type of judgement. The results showed discontinuities in a range of indicators in the year of an inspection and the year afterwards. An increase in rates of child protection interventions occurred at the time of an inspection, which was most pronounced in local authorities receiving an inadequate judgement. An inadequate judgement led to a steep rise in spending and use of agency workers compared to other local authorities. The findings suggest that a short-term spike in intervention rates is an unintended consequence of inspections, which is sustained only in local authorities judged to be performing badly. Implications are discussed for performance in the sector and the purpose of inspection.

Public health interventions in English local authorities: constructing the facts, (re)imagining the future

PurposeThis paper examines the contested value of healthy life and wellbeing in a context of severe austerity, exploring how the value of “Public Health” is constructed through and with material-discursive practices and accounting representations. It seeks to explore the political and ethical implications of constructing the valuable through a shared consensus over the “facts” when addressing complex, multi-agency problems with long time horizons and outcomes that are not always easily quantifiable.Design/methodology/approachThe theorisation, drawing on science and technology studies (STS) scholars and Karen Barad's (2007) agential realism, opens up the analysis to the performativity of both material and discursive practices in the period following a major re-organisation of activity. The study investigates two case authorities in England and the national regulator through interviews, observations and documentary analysis.FindingsThe paper demonstrates the deeply ethical and political entanglements of accounting representations as objectivity, consensus and collective action are constructed and resisted in practice. It goes on to demonstrate the practical challenges of constructing “alternative accounts” and “intelligent accountabilities” through times of austerity towards a shared sense of public value and suggests austerity measures make such aims both more challenging and all the more essential.Originality/valueFew studies in the accounting literature have explored the full complexity of valuation practices in non-market settings, particularly in a public sector context; this paper, therefore, extends familiar conceptual vocabulary of STS inspired research to further explore how value(s), ethics and identity all play a crucial role in making things valuable.

The impact of school exclusion zone planning guidance on the number and type of food outlets in an English local authority: A longitudinal analysis.

The use of planning policy to manage and create a healthy food environment has become a popular policy tool for local governments in England. To date there has been no evaluation of their short-term impact on the built environment. We assess if planning guidance restricting new fast food outlets within 400 m of a secondary school, influences the food environment in the local authority of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. We have administrative data on all food outlets in Newcastle 3 years pre-intervention 2012–2015, the intervention year 2016, and three years’ post-intervention 2016–2019. We employ a difference-in-difference approach comparing postcodes within the school fast food outlet exclusion zone to those outside the fast-food exclusion zones. In the short term (3 years), planning guidance to limit the number of new fast-food outlets in a school exclusion zone did not have a statistically significant impact on the food environment when compared with a control zone.

Enhancing Social-Emotional Outcomes in Early Years (E-SEE): Randomized Pilot Study of Incredible Years Infant and Toddler Programs

Social emotional development in infancy is a predictor of outcomes in later life, yet there is little evidence of effectiveness for parenting interventions designed to enhance social emotional wellbeing in infancy. An 18-month two-arm randomized controlled pilot trial evaluated the feasibility of a definitive trial of Incredible Years (IY) Infant and Toddler parent programs delivered in a proportionate universal model, called Enhancing Social-Emotional Health and Wellbeing in the Early Years (E-SEE) Steps. Intervention families received an IY Babies book (universal dose), followed by the IY Infant and/or the Toddler group-based programs, based on parent depression (PHQ-9) and/or child social emotional development (ASQ:SE-2) scores. Control parents received services as usual. Parents from two English local authorities with a child eight-weeks-old or younger participated, and were block randomized using a web-based system. Primary endpoints for the study were feasibility parameters relating to recruitment, retention, intervention fidelity and appropriateness of measures. 205 participants were randomized (152:53, intervention:control). Our target was 288 parents. Trial retention rate was higher than expected, with a completion rate of 88% (n = 181, 137:44) at follow-up 3; equating to 94% of 192 expected participants. Intervention uptake was lower than expected. Fidelity of delivery was acceptable and measures were deemed appropriate. A definitive trial is feasible with design amendments to include: introduction of a child screener for intervention eligibility; enhanced intervention material; revised sample size and random allocation ratio. Our internal pilot became an external pilot due to these changes.

Austerity, political control and supplier selection in English local government: implications for autonomy in multi-level systems

ABSTRACT Analysis of 60,000 contracts awarded by English councils between 2015–19 reveals that austerity constraints are a key predictor of councils outsourcing services to for-profit suppliers, regardless of their political control. Conservative Party-controlled councils are also more likely to contract with for-profit suppliers, although we found no link between Labour-controlled councils and not-for-profit suppliers, nor evidence that political or budgetary factors influence whether councils contract with providers based in their own region. We argue that centrally imposed funding cuts, and a belief that for-profit suppliers represent a cheaper option, could be overriding Labour Party councils’ ideological preference for not-for-profit providers.

A ridge regression approach to estimate the relationship between landfill taxation and waste collection and disposal in England.

The production of household waste is characterised by externalities and market failure, where the decision to consume does not consider the environmental impact of consequent waste generated. Policy interventions in the UK have focused primarily on pricing the disposal of waste through a landfill tax. This article tests the effectiveness of landfill taxation on household waste collection and disposal. Using a ridge regression with correction for fixed effects on a panel dataset of English local authorities, we estimate the landfill tax elasticity of waste for a range of waste disposal and collection streams. Results indicate that the landfill tax is elastic at disposal and effective in shifting waste from landfills to incineration. The tax is inelastic at collection, and encourages recycling. Our results indicate that landfill taxation is an important tool to change how waste is disposed by households and local authorities.

Grasping the nettle: the central–local constraints on local government funding in England

ABSTRACT In England, the traditional method of central government redistribution and equalization between locations has been replaced with a greater emphasis on self-sufficiency and entrepreneurism. English local government now faces existential funding questions – a situation that is repeated around the world as the public sector manages the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Financialization has figured large in the study of entrepreneurial behaviour. However, in England, legal and procedural constraints have driven authorities to seek revenue funding from other sources, principally seeking additional property-related revenues. In response, this article presents a novel typology of local government funding sources and offers an original analysis of their implications for local authorities’ role. The empirical findings show that the buoyancy and quantum of many funding sources are constrained by prior evolution of location and central–local relations: they are not automatic routes to financialization. Conceptually, these findings reveal that methods of financialization, and the local government funding system within which they typically sit, are as likely to be constrained by the evolution and techniques of governance as they are accelerated by it. International debates around financialization, and wider concerns of how locations develop, would benefit from this account of the often-hidden nature and agency of local government funding systems.

The Motivations for the Adoption of Management Innovation by Local Governments and its Performance Effects

AbstractThis article analyses the economic, political, and institutional antecedents and performance effects of the adoption of shared Senior Management Teams (SMTs)—a management innovation (MI) that occurs when a team of senior managers oversees two or more public organizations. Findings from statistical analysis of 201 English local governments and interviews with organizational leaders reveal that shared SMTs are adopted to develop organizational capacity in resource‐challenged, politically risk‐averse governments, and in response to coercive and mimetic institutional pressures. Importantly, sharing SMTs may reduce rather than enhance efficiency and effectiveness due to redundancy costs and the political transaction costs associated with diverting resources away from a high‐performing partner to support their lower‐performing counterpart.

Beyond the Toxic Trio: Exploring Demand Typologies in Children’s Social Care

AbstractDemand for children’s social care is often conflated with rates of intervention and associated with a limited constellation of parental risk factors. This article reports on a more comprehensive picture of demand obtained through a quantitative study of child welfare interventions in England. Longitudinal child-level data were combined from children’s social care services in six English local authorities over a four-year period (2015–2018). Latent class analysis was undertaken for a random sample of child episodes where an assessment was undertaken (n = 15,000). The results were tested for consistency across LAs and to identify the most appropriate number of classes. Conditional probabilities were used to interpret the demand represented by each class, and to explore the relationship between typologies and child characteristics such as age, gender and ethnicity. The analysis found seven classes, or typologies of demand, to be present in factors at assessment across all the LAs, which were linked to certain child characteristics and intervention pathways. The findings go beyond the ‘toxic trio’ terminology often used to profile risks to children and support the innovative use of administrative data to provide insight into patterns of demand. Implications are discussed for strategic responses to child welfare problems and the multi-agency context of prevention.