Council Leader Richard Farnell's round-up - it is the way forward

Co-operative Councils Innovation Network

Early last week, following a two-day conference on the issue, I outlined the ever-increasing role co-ops play in today’s society.

As austerity continues to bite, partnership work is seen as a saviour for local authorities such as ours.

It's simple economics, less money from the government means we have to either cut services to the public or look at different ways of delivering them at a cheaper cost.

Partnership work is a basic principle of the co-operative movement; hence the increasingly integral role co-ops can play in supporting council service delivery.

As vice-chairman of the Co-operative Councils Innovation Network (CCIN) I addressed the conference, telling them that services can be delivered differently by working with communities and community enterprises.

Co-op councils such as Rochdale have to take the lead in ensuring we deliver these services in a better way, not just how local government used to run these.

We need to look at new models of delivering services and co-ops will have a major role to play in that.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/112347/council-leader-richard-farnells-roundup-innovate-and-cooperate