15.06.17
Challenges remain
Source: PSE Jun/Jul 17
As PSE went to press, we were days away from finding out which political party or parties would be leading the country following Theresa May’s decision to call a snap general election for 8 June.
Whoever enters the door at No.10, irrelevant of their political colour, is faced with serious challenges, from social care to the NHS, housing to the economy, and, of course, the all-consuming and imminent Brexit negotiations which will have ramifications for generations to come.
Andrew Carter, the recently-appointed CEO of Centre for Cities, makes a good point in our Last Word section that the new government will only succeed if it focuses on implementing policies that are adaptable to place-based needs.
Implementing these policies will also rely on greater collaboration across the public sector and its partners in local communities and neighbourhoods, a theme that runs throughout this edition of PSE.
In the last issue of the magazine, we had a focus on the metro mayor elections. Following the results on 4 May, which had relatively low voter turnouts, Dr Jonathan Carr-West, CEO of the Local Government Information Unit, reflects on the outcome which led to the Conservatives taking control of four of the six combined authorities (more on page 22).
We also feature a preview of this year’s Health+Care Show, which runs from
28-29 June at London’s ExCeL. Once again, PSE is the official media partner of the event, and we will be there for the duration. This section also has a special focus on NHS Digital’s new Health and Social Care Network, which aims to provide a “reliable, efficient and flexible way” for health and care organisations to procure connectivity services, and will be a key talking point at the exhibition.
Elsewhere in this edition, we look at the growing threat of cyber security facing the sector and how organisations are, or aren’t, getting ready for the incoming EU General Data Protection Regulation. We feature interesting contributions from Core Cities UK, the County Councils Network and the New Local Government Network. The University of Portsmouth’s Barry Loveday has also provided a fascinating piece of analysis which considers the role that the new metro mayors will have on policing and local service delivery going forward.
Have a look over the page for the rest of my recommendations and some of the highlights in this issue of PSE.
David Stevenson
Editor