Fund councils to allow them to purchase resilience

A new report claimed that councils have ridden the waves of the coronavirus pandemic exceptionally well however they need a long-term funding settlement to purchase organisational resilience.

The County Councils Network, alongside IMPOWER, has put down a framework based on how local authorities can enhance their resilience following a pandemic.

Based on evidence from over 100 sector experts – including council chief executives, leaders, and senior councillors – the report finds that local authorities’ capability to quickly adapt to the daily challenges from the pandemic are ‘testament to their willingness to grasp everyday disruption’.

However, delivering on successful economic recovery strategies, revised budgets, and postponed service transformation projects could be challenging for local authorities whose workforce is exhausted by the pandemic and people with inadequate central resource to co-ordinate efforts.

The report requires a sufficient long-term funding settlement for local authorities within this year’s Spending Review so they can invest in efforts to boost resilience to prevent workforce burnout and be sure that their organisations are best placed to horizon-scan and address future disruptive events.

The ‘resilience framework’ sets out three areas councils ought to be strong in:

• Absorbative capabilities: to undertake rapid change to have the ability to carry on throughout a shock
• Adaptive capabilities: to make incremental changes to be able to move forward
• Anticipatory capabilities: to make sure positive changes are sustained and optimised, and also to get ready for future disruptions

Simon Edwards, director of the County Councils Network, said: “Local government originates from the pandemic with its reputation enhanced and this is in no small part to the tireless work of staff across the nation, with councils’ capability to adapt proof of their willingness to understand every day disruption.

“Whilst facing fresh challenges every day, it has been ‘business as usual’ for many council services since the first lockdown, showcasing councils’ strong absorbative and adaptive capabilities. But 15 months on, staff who have gone the extra mile face burnout whilst horizon scanning is something some councils felt they could enhance.

“This report is a key learning exercise in the pandemic and sets out how – and why – councils should purchase resilience from crisis events and be better ready to predict disruption. This can't be done on a shoestring though, and that's why CCN continues to make the case for further funding.”