WIREDGOV

Radical programme to strengthen local democracy - councillors commission backs action at local level to rebuild trust between citizen and state

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT News Release (239) issued by The Government News Network on 7 December 2007

A significant package of reforms to raise the game of local councils and strengthen local democracy throughout England and Wales is proposed in a ground-breaking report published today.

Innovative action to boost understanding of local government and the role of councillors, to attract new and more diverse candidates to stand in local elections and to deliver better quality support to those elected are among the proposals.

At the heart of the recommendations from the Councillors Commission is the demand for an explicit duty to be placed on local authorities to disseminate clear information about how councils and other local agencies work as well as promote the role of councillors and the activities of elected members, including raising interest on how to stand for election.

Councils need to support more active participation through groups such as tenant and residents' associations and school governing bodies and provide the tools and organisations to equip councillors to act as essential two-way links between the authorities and their communities.

"Councillors carry into the council the views of the public and explain the decisions of the council to the public. As such, they must be given the tools to work effectively," the Commission's report "Representing the Future" urges.

The report sets out 61 proposals to transform local councils as well as encourage greater participation in local elections including lowering the voting age to 16 and creating regional Local Government Days when all seats for authorities in those areas are contested on the same day.

Significantly, the Commission says that in order to ensure as many people as possible can play their part in local representative democracy, the role of a councillor must be compatible with full-time employment and the role of most council leaders should be compatible with part-time work.

Dame Jane Roberts, Chair of the Commission, said: "Our democracy faces a major problem of disenchantment and disengagement - at times, even mutual incomprehension between citizen and the state.

"The Commission's key message is that building effective and vibrant local democracy is a vital part of the solution to this wider malaise. We have a real opportunity to strengthen democracy in this country - we cannot afford to ignore it.

"Elected councillors are an essential part of that mission. If we are to attract new and able candidates it must become less daunting to stand for election and councillors must feel better supported once elected.

"Furthermore it must become less daunting to stand down - and for that reason we recommend that political parties should be allowed to publish a list of reserve councillors who can replace a councillor of their party who stands down without the need for a by-election."

The Commission concludes that councillors are most effective as local elected representatives when they have similar life experiences to those of their constituents yet councillors increasingly are failing to reflect the communities they serve.

Today's average age for a councillor is 58.3 - a significant increase since 10 years ago when it was 55.4 - and the overwhelming majority are retired or self-employed. Younger councillors are becoming a rarity with just 3.5 per cent under 30 and fewer than one in three are women. Only 4.1 per cent of local representatives come from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The Commission calls on the government to amend legislation to include councillor equalities targets in race, gender and disability equalities schemes. It proposes the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) work with the bottom 10 per cent of authorities who least reflect their communities supporting initiatives to improve diversity.

Legislation should also be introduced to limit councillors to serving five consecutive terms and to limit leaders to three consecutive terms.

National political parties are urged to adopt fresh thinking about candidates to local government; they should encourage local parties to recruit people who share their values but may not have a lengthy record of party activity and work with a range of organisations such as Operation Black Vote and the Fawcett Society to develop presentational and political skills in under-represented groups.

And the EHRC and Electoral Commission should work with political parties to reach a voluntary agreement that they behave as if they were bound by positive duties to promote equality.

Disabled candidates should be offered assessments of their needs in advance of their arrival in post and those elected should have the same right to support as council employees with disabilities.
Other proposals include:

* Parachute payments equivalent to statutory redundancy for councillors in executive positions who lose their seats in an election and access to the local government pension scheme for all councillors;

* Introducing a national framework for allowances for councillors with minimum levels according to size and type of authority but with powers for Local Authority Standards Committees to suspend and claw back part of the basic allowance when councillors measurably fail to fulfil their role description;

* Incentives to vote in local elections such as offering entry to a free lottery;

* Promotion of the role of councillors and the enhanced skills they bring to workplaces to employers and compensation for small businesses whose employees have to be absent from work for councillor duties;

* Government departments to work with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to ensure the role of councils and councillors and the value of local democracy is built into the citizenship curriculum;

* A dedicated fund from public money for political parties to spend at local level for projects to improve the recruitment, training and selection of candidates linked to enhancing diversity of local councillors;

* A call for public service broadcasters to fulfil their remit to facilitate civic understanding, including better coverage of local government;

* Changes to the "far-reaching" restrictions that prevent council employees standing as councillors or engaging in political activity.

Dame Jane said:

"Local government has shown some of the most impressive improvements in performance within the public sector over the last decade and the best of local government without question far outstrips the work of much of central government.

"But this is not the view of the public, who too often see councillors as out of touch and acting out of self interest. We cannot ignore some real problems in the culture of local government and local political parties which means that in a number of areas there can be a reluctance to attract new blood.

"There is inevitably no single magic bullet to sweep away the confusion about councils and councillors and encourage more talented people to put themselves forward for election to local government. The Commission has proposed a package of reforms that we believe will renew and reinvigorate local democracy. We intend them to open up a wider debate about meeting the urgent challenge for change."

Notes for Editors

The Councillors Commission was set up by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to seek ways of encouraging suitably able, qualified and representative people to be candidates to serve as councillors of principal authorities and make recommendations for their retention and development in office.

The Commissioners are: Chair: Dame Jane Roberts; members: Yaseer Ahmed, Councillor Cathy Bakewell, Jessica Crowe, Councillor Margaret Eaton, Ben Page, Matthew Taylor.

The Commission is seeking responses to its report. People can log on and join the debate on: http://haveyoursay.communities.gov.uk/forums/

Full copies of the Report are available on http://www.communities.gov.uk