Public Sector Executive Podcast

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.