A number of councils realise they have become, as one director put it, “assessment for services factories”. Guards are placed on the door – in the shape of ‘one number’ contact functions (call centres). They are performance managed to keep people ‘out’ almost by any means, including throwing services at people, or people at services – and hoping they work. If people force their way in, they are processed – a bit like a sorting office. They are ‘triaged’, ‘handed off’, ‘referred’ and eventually end up on a waiting list or in an allocation meeting. In one council recently they…