In this episode of The Truth About Local Government, Matt Masters is joined by Simon Higgins to explore why local government must focus on prevention, and why corporate services have a critical and often underestimated, role to play in making prevention succeed.

While prevention is often associated with frontline services, Simon and Matt argue that sustainable, effective prevention only works when it is led, enabled and protected by corporate leadership. Drawing on Simon’s experience of preventative work at Cumberland, the discussion examines how corporate services such as finance, HR, policy, commissioning and data can either unlock or unintentionally undermine preventative approaches.

The conversation explores why too many councils intervene only when people reach crisis point – when outcomes are worse, costs are higher and options are limited – and why shifting upstream is essential for supporting communities, managing demand and protecting public services.

This episode offers practical insight for Chief Executives, Corporate Directors of Resources and senior leaders on:

• Why prevention must be treated as a corporate and system‑wide responsibility
• The conditions required for preventative strategies to work in practice
• How leaders can move beyond short‑term pressures to embed long‑term preventative thinking
• What success in prevention actually looks like, and how to sustain it

A timely and candid conversation for leaders who want to ensure local government supports residents before crisis hits, not after.

This episode explores how power‑sharing is reshaping the political and operational reality of local government. Matthew speaks with Abigail Gallop, Head of the Independent Group at the Local Government Association (LGA), about the rapid rise of multi‑party councils, the decline of single‑party dominance, and what these shifts mean for leadership, accountability, and democratic culture.

Drawing on examples such as Runnymede’s, Abigail explains how councils are four co‑leader model adapting to new political landscapes, what makes shared leadership succeed or fail, and why collaborative governance may become the defining feature of the next decade. The conversation cuts through assumptions and gets to the practical truth of how councils function when no one party holds all the power.

Interim leadership is often seen as a holding pattern, a bridge between what was and what comes next. But for organisations in transition, an interim chief executive can be a stabiliser, a strategist and a catalyst for clarity.

In this episode, Matt Masters speaks with Steve Gibling, Interim Chief Executive of Selwyn District Council and former Interim CEO at Buller District Council, about what it really means to step into the top job on a temporary basis. Drawing on more than 25 years across local government, tertiary education and the not‑for‑profit sector, Steve shares a grounded, practical view of how to lead when time is limited, expectations are high and the organisation needs both continuity and confidence.

The conversation explores how to approach an interim role, whether stepping up internally or arriving from outside, and how to balance stewardship with the opportunity to make meaningful impact. Steve reflects on how to read culture quickly, how to maintain momentum on critical programmes, and how to decide what is appropriate to change when your mandate is temporary. He also unpacks the unique learning value of interim roles and why they can be career‑defining for leaders who embrace them with clarity, humility and intent.

This episode is essential listening for leaders navigating organisational transitions, preparing for executive succession, or wanting to understand how to lead well in periods of uncertainty.