What is Total Place?
Total Place is the name for counting all the public money spent for a particular reason in a particular place and - through sustained collaboration between the local authority, the NHS, other local public sector and anchor organisations, businesses, community groups, charities and the people who live in that place - discovering together whether it could be spent better.
Almost all local authorities have made some progress in such partnership working despite the extreme centralisation of public spending in the UK. The government is now intent on reducing that that but it would be wrong to wait until the work is complete. Acting now, as leading edge councils are doing, delivers major benefits and also clarifies what needs to change at the centre. Local collaboration then becomes the natural way of providing local services, not a nice-to-have at the margin.
The idea has a long root: it was proposed twenty five years ago that it would be useful to know how much public money was spent for what reason in each postcode. It was first put to work in Cumbria in 2008, with a hundred and fifty Cumbrians from all walks of life fanning out across the county to talk to people in shops, factories, farms, offices and homes about how things were going and what might be done better. The reports are in the library.
In 2010 pilots were run in thirteen places covering thirty three themes, including for example drug abuse, guns and gangs, DWP spend, economic development and services for older people. The pilots showed huge scope for better local outcomes at far lower cost. Reports are also in the library. Interest in Total Place was reignited in 2024 following the government’s declared intent to create more mayor-led and combined authorities and to devolve powers and money to them.
Three principles underpin Total Place:
Places are different: involve the people who live there because they know it best and care about it most.
Prevention beats cure: stop unwanted things happening in the first place rather than put them right afterwards.
Think whole, not parts: see an individual, household, community or place as an entity, not a bunch of parts.
Hence Total Place speaks to both heart and head: affection for the place where I live and practical determination to find a better way to do things. There are big systemic and behavioural obstacles but many places have nonetheless made a start. Their experience is revealing further opportunities, building commitment and skills, and strengthening the case for removing the obstacles.