Did David Gray have a point?

David Gray isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Talented as he is.

I’ve heard his music described as ‘insipid’.

Critics would say he reached his pinnacle with the album White Ladder, featuring hits such as Babylon, Please forgive me and This Year’s Love.

It has gone on to become the UKs 26th best selling album of all time. Not bad for something recorded in a bedroom, and bathroom.

You see, David Gray was penniless.

And was recording everything on a shoestring.

Gray summed the situation up in one interview saying:?

“They were constantly digging up the road outside the house and you can hear traffic on the record. On Babylon, there’s a car going right past the house. When I edited it out, the song didn’t sound as good, so I put it back in.”

It was tough, as Gray alluded to in the song Nightblindness.

A song that highlighted the emotion, frugalness, and desperation of the time.

The chorus asking:

What we gonna do?

When the money runs out

I wish that there was somethin' left to say

Where we goin' to find the eyes to see

A brighter day?

It sums up the struggles of balancing money with delivery. And I imagine Gray would have preferred not to have his drummer bashing out a beat in the bathtub.

But White Ladder demonstrates that money isn’t the be all and end all to great delivery, although it does help, right?

From your perspective, keeping the books balanced means services can flow unhindered into your communities.

But it relies on a fine balancing act of income vs expenditure.

So, here’s a question for you:?

What would you and your authority do if the money runs out? Will things stop?

I’m being facetious, of course, the money won’t run out; things will just get … cut. And your job will become tougher.

Insight from the Local Government Association suggests there is a real danger of this happening.

This was their response to ‘The 2021/22 Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement’ report:

After March 2022 there is no clarity over funding levels, both nationally and at the local authority level. This hampers meaningful financial planning.

It’s a worry.

Without financial insight and the ability to plan, do you know if your authority will be able to meet community service needs? You’ll likely have little idea.

Another worrying point was also noted:

More than 85% of the potential core funding increase next year is dependent on councils increasing council tax by up to 5% next year.?

Not only are things going to get tougher for you, but they’re about to get tougher for your communities too.

You want to do a good job.

So don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re finding it tough.

Like I say, change is tough – especially when it comes to implementing new finance and IT systems just so you can keep on delivering.

This is exactly the reason HSO exists.

Our business is set up to help people like you, who have been tasked with the almost impossible job of fundamentally transforming local authorities and the way it supports citizens.

And we have faced and overcome almost all the different challenges you might be facing – whether it’s a technical problem with the actual connection of finance data and systems, or a cultural problem such as a reluctance to embrace new approaches.

There is no reason someone like yourself should have to try to change an organisation alone.

For this reason, I’d like to invite you to join experts from HSO, Microsoft, and Agilisys, for a one-hour webinar.

During the session you will learn how to continue providing the care and support your communities need despite the impending lack of financial clarity.

And each expert will share with you examples of local authorities taking advantage of technology to improve clarity of information to deliver more with less.

You can register here, without cost or obligation to do anything else.

Of course, if you have any questions, just send me a reply.

Best, Michael

P.S. If you register, but are then unable to join us, you’ll still get the recording.