English: Shows the difference between systematic and unsystematic risk (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is an excellent, MUST READ article from the Guardian. Check it out!

Warning to councils: the biggest cuts are yet to come | Local Leaders Network | Guardian Professional.

Personally, I agree that the biggest cuts are yet to come for Local Authorities. By and large, cuts have been the simplistic, bacon-slicer approach, with services and quality being front-line targets. There is a desperate need for effective, independent risk assessment across the Local Authority sector, with political leaders, bureaucrats and their cronies, in advising consulting firms, all sitting on time-bombs, like for example, Social Care. Indeed, I fear that many of the risks might now be systemic risks.

Simply, UK Local Authorities have not yet taken a strategic approach and cut their cloth accordingly. To protect public services, there still needs to be an enormous consolidation, de-layering, outsourcing and off-shoring, in my judgment.

Let me turn this to an open question:

In your view, what is the risk of systemic failure in the UK’s Local Authority sector?

Any thoughts?

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