The changing relationship between communities and public services

On 14 May, Local Trust and the New Local Government Network (NLGN) partnered to host an online panel discussion on the question of “How is COVID-19 changing the relationship between communities and public services?”.

This report summarises the discussion from the event, which was the first in a series looking at how communities have responded to COVID-19 and will renew and increase their resilience following it.

The pandemic has shown that communities are often best placed to respond to crises in the first instance through their deep knowledge of local issues and existing networks and relationships. The discussion considered how the community interventions during COVID-19 might disrupt the current relationship between communities and public services and how this could begin to shape a new dynamic where lines of authority are less defined and residents have more power to make a difference in their area.