Stronger together: UK local authorities and effective partnership work during the COVID-19 pandemic

By Richard Machin

The UK COVID-19 inquiry is in full swing. Preliminary evidence on decision-making and political governance has been submitted and the opening public hearings are considering pandemic resilience and preparedness. The UK’s handling of the pandemic will be under the spotlight for a significant period – with the inquiry set to run until at least summer 2026.

I’m a social policy academic with a genuine interest in how this high-level management and decision-making interacts on a national and local level and then impacts on people in our communities. I live and work in Nottingham and so it made sense that I should start here to try and piece together localised experiences of the pandemic. My interview with the then Deputy leader of Nottingham City Council and analysis of publicly available documents was a revealing, sometimes sombre sometimes uplifting experience. One of the most powerful reveals was a sense of unity amongst isolation, of communities working together and the local council being the fulcrum at the centre of much effective partnership work. Yes, challenges were evident (not everything worked) but I wanted my analysis to convey the strengths of joint local working during the pandemic.

Partnership work is nothing new for local authorities. However, during the COVID-19 lockdowns partnership work took on a new level of importance for Nottingham City Council. The effective management of the pandemic relied on joint working with both internal (such as public health and housing) and external stakeholders (e.g., the NHS, the media, and universities).  This analysis demonstrated the differing dynamics of working with these different types of partners, as often more compromise and negotiation was needed when working with external agencies. A key example was the delicate discussions which were required with the NHS to agree the most appropriate locations for vaccination centres. For Nottingham City Council joint, strategic decision-making was driven through the Outbreak Control Engagement Board. This was a key example of best practice in relation to data sharing, joint analysis of national and local statistics, risk management and emergency planning.

Two of the most striking examples of effective partnership work which were shared with me were in education and homelessness support. The Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council spoke in glowing terms about the joint work of council and education professionals (‘schools did a marvellous job in managing the outbreaks’). This was despite huge logistical challenges and the need to reach out and, where possible, protect the most vulnerable children in the city. The effectiveness of this partnership work was perhaps most visibly seen with the extension of the ‘traditional functions’ of education to include the provision of food, home visits for welfare checks, and delivering classroom resources to homes. Similarly, the work with rough sleepers during the lockdowns demonstrated that ‘the unthinkable can work’. The public, private, voluntary and health sectors worked together to ensure that nearly 200 of the most vulnerable people in the city were quickly accommodated and provided with food and medical care.

 While the pandemic was a unique moment in time, a number of key lessons on effective partnership which will endure. Clear communication and a detailed knowledge of local communities is critical. An understanding of culture, language, religion, and tradition must underpin decision making. A readiness to quickly adapt, take risks and focus on the big picture rather than getting bogged down in organisational processes is important. It is essential to understand that a community works on many levels (for example, business, education, transport) which are all equally important and require careful consideration and support.

Moving forward many of the effective partnership practices developed during the pandemic have been reshaped but maintained. Nottingham, like many other places in the UK, will rely on the partnerships forged during lockdown to face the uncertainties of the post-pandemic world.

Article Details
UK local government experience of COVID-19 Lockdown: Local responses to global challenges
Richard Machin
First published online June 8, 2023
DOI: 10.1177/02690942231181562
Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit

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