COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (242) issued by The Government News Network
on 12 December 2007
An historic new
written agreement which will radically transform the relationship
between central and local government and which sets out
unprecedented new freedoms for local areas and communities has
been signed by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and LGA Chairman
Sir Simon Milton today.
The Central-Local Concordat is the culmination of months of
careful negotiation with local government and meets a key
commitment in delivering what Gordon Brown has called a
fundamental transformation in the way we govern, shifting more
power to local communities and away from the state.
It commits Government to reducing unnecessary intervention saying
that: 'Councils have the right to lead the delivery of public
services in their area and shape its future without unnecessary
direction or control' and that both local and central
government have the responsibility to 'devolve power and
engage and empower communities and individual citizens - in debate
and decision making and in shaping and delivering services.'
It commits central and local government to work together towards
giving people a clearer understanding of what public money is
spent in their area, and towards giving councils greater
flexibility in their funding, for example by reducing ring-fencing
of money and through the proposed Business Rate Supplements. The
Government remains firmly of the view that the council tax is an
effective local tax and that the current local government finance
system is guided by the principles of transparency, clarity and
accountability. The Government also remains committed to ensuring
that taxpayers are protected from excessive council tax increases.
The Concordat commits local government to provide strong
leadership, to work with their partners and to collaborate in
delivering national targets.
It is explicit for the first time that 'there should be a
presumption that powers are best exercised at the lowest effective
and practical level'.
It spells out key priorities which central and local government
will deliver together - this includes tackling anti-social
behaviour and crime, delivering good local services, more
opportunities for young people, promoting enterprise - and how the
two should work together.
It makes clear that central Government has the right to set
national policies including minimum standards of services. But
central Government also has a responsibility to collaborate with
councils and make it easier for them to deliver these priorities
at a local level - making a commitment to reduce the burden of
appraisal and approval regimes and the ring-fencing of funds for
specific purposes as well as ensuring that central guidance is proportionate.
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said: "Local devolution
is no longer a fringe pursuit but now right at the centre of the
Government's agenda. The historic shift outlined today will
help unleash the potential of local communities, giving them new
freedoms in delivering what local people want.
"For local authorities, it promises the progressive removal
of obstacles that prevent them from pursuing their role. And for
local communities, it provides the springboard for giving local
people more power and control over their communities and their own lives."
Notes to Editors
1. The Concordat is available here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/centrallocalconcordat
2. The Concordat meets a commitment in the Governance of Britain
green paper (July 2007). Paragraph 179 on page 52 states:
'Creating a more participatory democracy requires a healthy
representative democracy at local level. It also requires citizens
to understand the roles of central and local government, and who
can b held responsible for the decisions and services which affect
their lives. The performance of local authorities, as measured
through the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, has improved
greatly in recent years. The Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government will now work with the Local Government
Association to establish a concordat to govern the relations
between central and local government. This will establish for the
first time an agreement on the rights and responsibilities of
local government, including its responsibilities to provide
effective leadership of the local area and to empower local
communities where possible.'
3. This commitment was repeated in the Prime Minister's
speech to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
on 3rd September 2007, when he said:
'I want to see a vibrant, reinvigorated local democracy -
from neighbourhood level engagement and community calls to action,
to a renewed focus on the devolution of powers and
responsibilities to local government and the accountability of our
local police and health services to their communities.
In this way, people can connect neighbourhood meetings, local
ballots and elections, and new forms of community action, with
decision-making and the exercise of power over issues they care
about in their daily lives.
As part of a new concordat between local and central government
Hazel Blears will be working on proposals for the extension of
local democracy and decision making in these areas.'
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