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It would be naïve to say that major infrastructure projects in the UK have a successful history of being delivered on time and on budget. Whilst there are many good examples of projects that have been successful in this way, the UK is still underperforming when it comes to delivery, with one of the most notable examples – the High Speed 2 rail link – still causing controversy seven years on from its commencement.
In order to explore why major infrastructure projects are failing, and how the issue can be resolved, MIGSO-PCUBED’s David Whitmore joined us on the latest episode of the PSE Podcast. David outlined the evidence that exists to support claims that the nation is underperforming when it comes to infrastructure, saying:
“There’s quite a bit of evidence, unfortunately. Probably the main piece of evidence is that the Infrastructure and Projects Authority carries out an annual review of the performance of public sector projects in the public interest, and we’ve seen consistently over the 10-12 years that they’ve been doing that review, more red in the performance of the projects and less green.
“It’s not just that our baseline performance is worse than it was 25 years ago, it would appear to be getting worse every year.”
David was also asked about the UK’s place in the world, and whether an inability to deliver major infrastructure projects was a UK-specific issue. Bringing in the example of the far-east, David said:
“For me, it’s very much a UK issue – you might argue it’s a western world issue.
“If you take the example of the civil nuclear programme, that – for me- is probably the starkest example… About 2007 we embarked on a new nuclear programme to build 16 gigawatts of additional capacity; around the same time, the UAE started a programme to build four nuclear reactors. No contest, we’ve got 100,000 engineers and we’ve built loads of nuclear reactors, clearly we’re going to win that race.
“But here we stand today, we’ve built zero gigawatts out of that 16, two of the three projects that started have failed and are no longer in existence… yet in the UAE – using Far East partners and forming relationships with South Korean companies – they’ve built their four reactors.”
To learn more about how major infrastructure projects can be delivered successfully, listen to the latest episode of the PSE Podcast now.
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Whilst not necessarily one of the ‘big ticket’ items that councils are responsible for, the importance of highways cannot be understated. Providing a vital way of getting people to their jobs, their appointments, and their families, roads are integral to most aspects of everyday life in 2024.
Despite this, there continue to be issues with roads that should not be happening. When was the last time you saw a pothole? It was probably recently.
This is because many councils are without the adequate resources, expertise, or partner to ensure that they can make long-term improvements to their highways. On the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, host Dan Benn was joined by Wrekin Product’s Dave Sanders and IKO Road’s Alistair Puddick, to discuss how local authorities can make sure that pesky pothole problems can be solved and highways improved in the long-term.
Talking about the challenges that councils face when they’re going about making road improvements and fixing potholes, Alistair said:
“We’ve seen that, from 2021, we were looking at £10 billion just to get the roads back up to a maintainable standard. That’s sitting in April 2024 at £16.3 billion. So the situation is only going one way and will probably, in the next couple of years, exceed the £20 billion mark if there isn’t a change in what authorities are doing.”
Dave also explained why it is important for authorities to change the way they think about highway and maintenance, saying:
“For us, certainly, our message to LCRIG members – and any local authority that’s willing to listen – is that it's changing that mindset from looking at the cost today, to looking at the cost over ten years…
… It’s about education for the guys in the local authorities to understand what products are good, what good looks like, and understand the dynamics to products when they get trafficked in the highway.”
To hear more from Dave and Alistair on how local authorities can make the right decisions when it comes to highways and maintenance, listen to the full episode now.
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There have been countless conversations about how to improve transport in the north of England in recent times, with the cancellation of HS2 removing an important potential transport link to the south, and subsequent discussions about improved road and rail connections between the north’s most important cities.
Discussing some of the most important aspects relating to the futureproofing of transport in the north of England, some of the challenges involved, and how Transport for the North are supporting this drive, TfN’s Head of Major Roads Owen Wilson joined host Dan Benn on the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
When looking into the future of transport, Owen was asked the introduction of new technology, and how it can support transport improvement. Answering by touching on the future of tech, Owens said:
“No-one can predict the future can they? That brings me onto the need actually not to be fixated on a particular future, or how that’s going to pan out… We need to be adaptable and flexible and plan for different scenarios in terms of the uptake of technology, but also how that impacts people’s behaviours.
“It’s a bit of a cliché, but the smartphone has really changed the way people behave in the last two decades. Thirty years ago could that have been predicted?
“So, we need to be adaptable and flexible to changing technologies.”
Transport systems around the UK, especially in the north, have seen their fair share of challenges in recent years. Owen expanded on some of challenges faced by authorities, and what can be done to help organisations overcome them, saying:
“Policy certainty is critical. We’ve seen a bit of chopping and changing over recent years in terms of policy and investment in transport, so it’s really important to have greater certainty in terms of what the ambitions and outcomes we’re aiming for are.
“I think the critical challenge is reshaping how we appraise investment in transport in the future.”
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Transport, as an enabler, can play an integral role in many of the priorities that government of all levels are trying to achieve. Whether it is connecting communities to the services that their lives revolve around, or bringing trade into economic centres, the transport network is an important place to start.
Chief Executive of Transport East, Andrew Summers, spoke to host Dan Benn about the organisations Annual Review for 2023-2024, commenting on achievements, goals, and some stumbling blocks that have been encountered in the region.
Expanding on the importance of transport in driving improvement around the country, Andrew said:
“Transport is ultimately one of a number of enablers that support economic growth, a better environment and better outcomes for society, and indeed, part of our transport strategy was to try to articulate what those priorities were for us, and to then determine how we went about our work.”
Considering the makeup of the East as a region, Andrew also touched upon the importance of keeping rural communities connected to both each other, and to the economic hubs nearby, saying:
“One in three people in the East live in a rural community, and for us that’s about 1.2 million people. So that’s a significant amount of our population.
“We’ve done a lot of analysis about their accessibility and it’s pretty concerning. Two thirds of those live in what we class as a transport desert – that is, they have no access to education, training, skills, work by any means apart from the private car – and we have explored this a bit further. This creates significant transport-related social exclusion.”
To hear more from Andrew on the successes and challenges of being responsible for transport developments in one of the most rural regions of the country, as well as what the future holds for transport in the East, listen to the latest episode of the PSE Podcast now.
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At the beginning of July, it was announced that we would be getting a Labour government for the first time since the Conservatives won the 2010 General Election. This saw Sir Keir Starmer become Prime Minister, replacing Rishi Sunak – who subsequently announced his intention to step down as Leader of the Conservative Party.
In the short space of time since they came into power, the new government has been getting to work to deliver on some of its key priorities, including furthering devolution, prioritising clean energy, and nationalising our railways. But what does this mean for local government?
On hand to answer that question, and reflect on the results of the general election was Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Chair of the District Council Network, who joined host Dan Benn on the 59th episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
When discussing what would be on his wishlist for the new government, and its relationship with local government, Chapman-Allen said:
“We’ve had a good relationship with government, but actually we’ve seen external pressures outside of the UK Government’s control – which has either slowed programmes and activities, or caused activities to be paused because other programmes have taken that attention. Actually, we need a grown-up conversation around certain areas, such as asylum and immigration so we will ensure that that those individuals who comes to England are provided safe, appropriate homes and housing….
“I think the second part is around our finances and making sure we actually have a robust conversation, understanding where their appetite is to support local government on the day-to-day expenditure, but also where is our appetite to support some of those big intervention pieces around regeneration, levelling up…?”
To hear more from Sam on how the new government can work alongside councils, and how this changing of the guard can bring benefits to communities, listen to the latest episode of the PSE Podcast now.
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Artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting technology developments in recent times.
Whilst it has seemingly endless possible uses across a number of sectors, AI can also bring major improvements for local authorities.
To discuss the potential benefits, risks and challenges of authorities utilising artificial intelligence, Kent County Council’s Fil Kamps joined host Dan Benn for the latest episode of the PSE Podcast.
Discussing some of the benefits of AI for the public sector, especially when it comes to productivity and efficiency which has been a hot topic in recent months, Fil said:
“There’s a number of benefits to the customers and residents of these organisations… the end users will benefit. I think the primary way they’ll feel it is actually not the most obvious; it’s the changes to backend processes that will improve delivery times against services, the processing of requests that come in.
“AI is helping to improve and streamline a lot of those processes in the backend whilst keeping human decision making at its core.”
Fil also touched upon the skills that the public sector workforce might need as it embraces AI, saying:
“I think we started to see this shift in public sector workforces when Covid hit and everything went from being in person in the office, to being online and digital… That change in working practices really placed an emphasis on people’s ability to pick up technology and to have a decent level of digital literacy to be able to work in a public sector organisation.”
To hear more from Fil about how organisations across the sector can use AI to drive major improvement, as well as some of challenges that may be faced along the AI journey, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast now.
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Digitalisation is a big part of the future of the public sector, however organisations need to make sure that their digital ambitions don’t leave communities lagging behind, or unable to access the services they need.
Discussing how organisations across the sector can transform digitally, bring communities with them, and his career in digital inclusion, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Will Plant joined host Dan Benn on the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
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Decision making is a crucial part of leading in any industry, never mind the public sector. With decisions being made that can have life changing consequences for entire communities it is vital that leaders are accountable, able to make decisions under pressure, and able to foresee the challenges that they might face in the future.
To talk about making decisions under pressure, the journey that the organisation has been on, and his personal career, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service’s Mark Smyth joined host Dan Benn on the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
Talking about some of the challenges that the fire and rescue service faces over the course of the next year, Mark said: “There’s many major threats when you start to look at the national risk registers and you look at dealing with climate change. We’re getting more flooding, we’re getting longer periods of wetness. You’re starting to see the large wildfires and gorse fires that hit the Southeast of England last year.”
Challenges don’t stop with climate change, however, as Mark expanded: “There’s challenges in and around the operational side of our culture and changing, that’s major for us. You’ll know that financially and under budget restraints that we have in the world we’re in now, there’s really big challenges around that, and providing the service that the public want with the limited financial resources we have.”
To learn more about the type of training that is available for councillors, why it is so important, and the role that central government can play, listen to the newest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
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Ensuring that councillors are equipped with the proper skills is essential to making sure that council services run smoothly, and communities benefit from the best value for money. Whilst this may seem like a simple concept, some councils don’t train their councillors take councillor training as serious as they perhaps should.
To explore more about the kinds of skills that councillors should be developing, why some councils don’t offer the right training, and how this impacts councils themselves, Cllr Liz Green joined host Dan Benn on the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
Speaking about the kind of training that councillors require, Liz said:
“Being a counsellor is very different to anything anybody’s ever done before in their life. So, even if you’ve been highly successful in business, you’re still going to need to learn some new skills; things like negotiating and conflict resolution…
“Councils can’t do anything by themselves because they need to work with the public sector, the private sector, and with the voluntary sector and you need to be able to influence those in a different way because you are not the direct boss – you can’t tell them what to do.”
Liz also touched on the issue of productivity within the public sector, and how this relates to skills and funding. She said:
“I was a counsellor before we started austerity in 2010 – it never felt like we had a lot of money to start with so I think we did some improvements in councils. We looked more at our budgets and we scrutinised them more…
“We also did more transformation, which is a buzzword at the moment, but improving services, looking at how we used it, how we used our resources of people and assets and builds etc. So I think there was some really good work that went on.
“It’s gone way too far now. We just simply cannot afford as councils to keep operating.”
To learn more about the type of training that is available for councillors, why it is so important, and the role that central government can play, listen to the newest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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21st century problems require 21st century solutions, and nowhere proves this as effectively as the public sector. Whether its using the latest technology to guide policy decisions, or simply making the sector more environmentally friendly, digital and data offer the answers to many of the questions being asked of public sector organisations.
Martin Dolce and Dan Westley, from Oracle UK, joined host Dan Benn to talk about the work that Oracle are doing to support cloud, data, and digitisation progress across government. Martin is the Sales Director for Public Sector; Central Government and Defence, whilst also being UK Regional Director for the North West, whilst Dan is Cloud Engineering Director at Oracle.
Offering a wealth of knowledge, Martin and Dan were on hand to talk about how Oracle Cloud can support the ambitions of organisations across central government, including by helping them through major projects. Touching on one of the projects that Oracle embarked on with a major government department, Martin said:
“We engaged with the Department for Work and Pensions about 18 months ago. They had a stated objective around their journey to cloud; they had about 30% of the business in the cloud and 70% on prem(ises) and they wanted to flip that around.
“But they recognised that a lot of their real core applications, that touch us all today… were still on Oracle legacy software and they had deferred upgrading that platform because they were challenged on budget, and so that rolled on and on and they were in a position where there wasn’t a natural migration path…”
By approaching Oracle, the Department was able to embark on a journey of transformation that ended up with a successful migration, whilst also building confidence within the department.
To hear all about how Oracle has supported organisations ranging from central government organisations, to one of the world's most successful Formula One teams, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Devolution is offering regions the opportunity to control more of the decisions that are being made locally, with communities reaping the benefits of every combined authority that pops up around the country. Established in March 2017, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is one of the most recently established combined authorities and it follows in the footsteps of areas such as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the Liverpool City Region.
For the 53rd episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, spoke to host Dan Benn about some of the most important issues facing his region, as well as what drives him as a leader.
Touching on the impact that pride in a region can play in economic growth, Dr Johnson said:
“If you can build up a framework of a sense of pride, identity, then business comes. There are a lot of examples where the culture – and the culture is of many things, it goes across the digital industry, across the arts – drives the economy…”
Another topic of discussion was the emphasis that the mayor places on combating climate change, with his role as a paediatrician influencing this:
“I have done my role as a doctor easily over 30 years and in the last 20 years, when I’ve been a consultant, I’ve been able to diagnose and treat children with respiratory conditions and can given them the best medicines in the world. The real sin here is that it doesn’t matter that I can give them the best medicine, it doesn’t matter that I can diagnose it, I know that if they live next to busy roads or if they live in poor housing – all of these things, in recent times have been shown through tragic situations of child deaths… are not acceptable…
“(I work) day in day out to make sure that all the officers at the combined authority realise the importance of putting public health, as well as the importance of air quality, the environment, at the heart of all policy development.”
To hear more about the role that Dr Nik Johnson plays as a medical professional and a local government leader, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
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The state of council finances is one of the most pressing issues across the public sector right now.
As councils face bankruptcy, cut funding and reduced services, and the demands for those services from communities pile on the pressure, the government is set to announce its budget for the next financial year.
In the 52nd episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast Cllr Pete Marland joins host Dan Benn to discuss the challenges that councils face. Pete is Chair of the LGA’s Economy and Resources Board and Leader of Milton Keynes Council
Touching on the increase in demand for social care services, Pete said:
“More or less for every ten pounds they (councils) collect, they now spend eight pounds on children’s social care and adult social care. Obviously what that means is that there’s only two pounds left for everything else that councils do.”
Pete and Dan also explored the point of local government if councils aren’t given power to make local decisions, with Pete saying:
“Ultimately, I think there becomes a fundamental question about what the point of local government is if you end up just delivering statutory services set from the middle and not having any local flavour to it.
“What’s the point in local elections if all a local leader has to do every morning is get up and deliver statutory children’s care and not concentrate on what’s right for Manchester, or Lincolnshire, or wherever it may be.”
To hear from a leading voice within local government, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
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It is the role of local government leaders to make the decisions that will best deliver for the communities that they represent. That much is obvious.
How can they do this, however, if they are not accurately representative of those very communities?
Great strides have been made in ensuring that everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, or social class is represented in some way within local government. Chief Executive of Westminster City Council Stuart Love joins host Dan Benn to talk about why this work is important, the different work that is being done in Westminster, and how his background influences his stance on equality and diversity.
Touching on his leadership model, Stuart said:
“I do wear my heart on my sleeve as a leader, and that’s not for everybody. I get that. I don’t think that there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to this.
“The most important thing for me, though, is this has got to be led by the people at the top of the organisation… The whole thing around EDI (equality, diversity, and inclusion) is not something that can be farmed out to somewhere else.”
Stuart also discussed how success in diversity and inclusion can be measured within the public sector:
“The public sector is not very good at talking about why this is such an important thing. But if you look at the changes in our organisation, that fact that our organisation is now much more representative of our communities… the organisation has increased by 10% in terms of our global majority staff over the last six years.
“That means we’ve gone from being around 32% to now 42% of our organisation and, because of that, we have much greater resident satisfaction and residents feel more engaged.”
To make sure you get Stuart’s expert insight on such a key issue for leaders around the country, listen to Episode 51 of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
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In the 50th episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, Leader of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Cllr Anne Handley talks about the upcoming devolution deal for the region and what it can bring to East Yorkshire.
Councillor Handley delved into the potential that East Yorkshire holds, ongoing transport issues and, touching on just how important the deal is for the region, said:
“It’s really important. We are the last part of Yorkshire to actually have any kind of deal…
“…We need the funding like everybody else, and why shouldn’t we have it?”
Whilst discussing some of the challenges that the deal poses, including the consultation around it, Cllr Handley added:“We need to let as many people know as we possibly can, and do some myth-busting, explain what the positives of this will be and get the local residents on board so that they’re talking about it and know about it. There’s a job to be done to start with because you say the word combined authority and it’s such a misnomer.
“I really wish it wasn’t in purely and simply because we’re not combining.”
To hear more about the devolution deal for East Yorkshire, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
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On the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, Councillor Amanda Hopgood joins host Dan Benn to discuss the devolution deal that has been secured for the North East of England.
As the Leader of Durham County Council, Amanda is brilliantly placed to talk about all of the main facets of such an important deal, especially with £4.2 billion of investment coming into the region. Speaking on this investment, Amanda said:
“[It’s] absolutely immense for a region like ours that sadly, on many of the indexes and scales, is top of all the wrong ones. Where we can make huge inroads is around adult education, housing, jobs, and health, all of which will hopefully change aspirations and the future of our residents in a positive way.
“That, for me, is the most important thing that we’re doing here. Bringing that power and money to local decision-makers who know what the residents in the North East need. We know what skills we need, as opposed to someone in Whitehall or Westminster telling us.”
Speaking about some of the potential challenges of the devolution deal, Amanda went on to say:
“Most people are sceptical of another tier of possible bureaucracy in local government, so the biggest challenge we have is to make sure that, when the mayor - whoever they may be - is elected next year, we hit the ground running and have some things that can be delivered quickly so people see the benefit.”
To find out more about the exciting possibilities of this devolution deal, as well as some of the real challenges that councils in the North East face, listen to the latest Public Sector Executive Podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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As central government aims for the UK to be net zero by 2050, councils around the country make plans for how to reduce emissions. This episode’s guest, Oldham’s Councillor Abdul Jabbar outlines the importance of coming together to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint, the benefits of achieving net zero, and how Oldham Council are working to do just that.
Touching on the role that the public sector can play in sustainability, Cllr Jabbar said:
“I think it’s really important that the public sector gives true leadership in this space. I think something like one third of the carbon emissions in the country come from the public sector, so obviously we’re a big polluter in terms of the emissions.”
Councillor Jabbar also spoke about challenges being faced by organisations:
“I think the biggest one has been finance. Clearly the local government sector in particular has had its grants cut from central government by a huge amount and that’s had a very big impact in terms of our plans to take forward projects in relation to climate change, so that’s a major issue.”
To hear what Cllr Jabbar has to say about the mission to achieve net zero carbon emissions, listen to the latest episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast.
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The Leader of Liverpool City Council Liam Robinson spoke to PSE’s Dan Benn about the importance of transport links being decided locally, the homelessness crisis that is only worsening across the country, the financial pressure that many councils find themselves under and lots more.
Speaking about the cancellation of HS2, Liam said: “I think we’ve found the process predominantly over the course of the last six to seven years very, very frustrating with the way that the North of England, particularly big cities like Liverpool, haven’t been equal partners in the conversation, the planning and the delivery of that. The way that Rishi Sunak decided to, sort of, obliterate the plans we found was completely and utterly unacceptable.”
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In 2020, most of the world stopped. People were forced to stay at home and many people were furloughed.
This episode's guest, however, was thrown into the forefront of the government's response to to the Covid-19 pandemic, leading the tracing system and working alongside local and central government bodies.
Host Dan Benn is joined by Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council, to discuss loyalty, the pressures of Covid-19, and the importance of transport to a city like Leeds.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this episode of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, host Dan Benn is joined by Martin Cresswell (Chair of the Lampton Group) and Shantanu Rajawat (Leader of London Borough of Hounslow Council) as they discuss the importance of innovation in the public sector.
Shantanu, Martin and Dan also touch on the topic of Local Authority Trading Companies, their effectiveness, and how they support innovation and development.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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On episode 44 of the Public Sector Executive Podcast, host Dan Benn was joined by former Lord Mayor of Manchester, Carl Austin-Behan OBE. Carl spoke about everything ranging from his time in the RAF, being Manchester’s first openly gay Lord Mayor, and the important work he does now, with the LGBT Foundation.
Speaking on his time in the Royal Air Force, Carl said “they just sat me down and said ‘ do you have homosexual tendencies?’ In that split second I had to make my decision, whether I was going to be true to myself and this was the moment where I could be, or I could lie.
“I think If I’d said no, the Air Force would have been like ‘thank you very much, we just had to ask’ but they asked again, and I burst into tears.”
Carl also touched on the improvements that have been made in workplaces, since that time, saying that “Because of the way that a lot of organisations have moved on, I think they also realise that they’ve got to treat the LGBTQ community in their workforce, with respect. Also, we’ve now got things like LGBT History Month, which we never used to have, and everyone knows about.
“It does frustrate me sometimes because, if you’re a business or organisation that are bringing people in to do a talk – which is great, but it doesn’t have to just be during LGBT History Month or Pride Month. For me, permanent visibility is permanent acceptance.”Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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