At last week's Solace summit, Martin Reeves, the chief executive of Coventry council, set out an uncompromising vision for local authorities.
While Reeves acknowledged the vital role of councils in shaping their local place, he said they could best achieve this through stepping back and letting go - driving, in other words, from the back seat and working through closer partnerships with everyone in the local area, from voluntary groups and businesses to those who use all local public services.
Our online conversation, in association with the Solace Foundation, will explore the value of local solutions to national problems, which, as Sir Merrick Cockell has written, cannot be underestimated. "At a time when the country is searching for answers to the economic crisis, councils are at the forefront of helping to deliver much needed growth," noted Cockell.
Lord Michael Bichard, a former local authority chief executive and former permanent secretary, who sits on the new Lords select committee on the future of public services, particularly for elderly people, exhorts councils to oversee effective local integrated action, in order to overcome issues such as a lack of collaboration between agencies; insufficient emphasis on prevention and early intervention to ensure people are better prepared and equipped to deal with old age; a lack of small practical interventions which can make all the difference to older people. "There is little done to make the best use of community resources such as private community pharmacies to reduce the load on GPs and A&E departments," writes Bichard. "Planning restrictions make it unnecessarily difficult to build extra-care housing that could reduce the need for more traditional care accomodation."
Our live discussion from 12noon - 2pm on Thursday 25 October will bring together leaders of local public services to ask who should be shaping local services; whether new local structures, such as Local Enterprise Partnerships, are helping or hindering; and how to make best use of the government's revised plan for local retention of business rate income.
You can leave your views and questions in the comments section below and to join our experts on the panel, email kathryn.dobinson@guardian.co.uk
Expert panel (to be confirmed)
Miranda Carruthers-Watt is the chief executive of Lancashire police authority
Donald Graham is the chief executive of Hertsmere borough council
Helen Briggs is the chief executive of Rutland county council
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