Communities
Secretary John Denham today heralded the biggest single transfer
of power to local government in a generation.
Fundamental reforms being proposed by Government in the
Strengthening Local Democracy Consultation will result in a
radical strengthening of local democracy by giving citizens a much
bigger role in shaping the places in which they live and the
public services they use.
A combination of the radical new measures being proposed
today, together with recent reforms amount to the biggest shift in
power for a generation and will mean that councillors, as elected
representatives acting on behalf of local people, would
- be given enhanced scrutiny power and take a lead role in
ending bureaucracy, ending duplication, increasing value for money
and personalising services.
- have local influence and accountability over more than
£100bn of public money a year that is currently spent on key local
public services but sits outside elected councillors’ control.
- be able to maximise their financial freedoms through:
crucial changes to council house financing with proposals being
separately consulted on today to enable councils to keep all their
rental income and gain the freedom to manage their housing to meet
local needs; secure the long-term economic prosperity of their
communities with a new discretionary power to raise a supplement
on the business rate and retain their funds to support local
projects aimed at economic development. In addition responsibility
for commissioning education and training provision for 16-19 year
olds (funding worth around £7 billion a year) is to be transferred
from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to local authorities
from next year (2010).
- have the opportunity to go further on reducing carbon emissions
than the Government’s national climate change targets. This will
not only help in delivering the Low Carbon Transition Plan and Low
Carbon Industrial Strategy for green jobs launched last week, but
also empower authorities and enable them to demonstrate their
commitment to and drive in tackling climate change. The Government
wants a debate on whether the idea of local carbon budgets could
work for local authorities and what this might mean, building on
their current responsibilities for planning, transport, building
control and waste management.
The proposals, out for consultation today, will result in a
significant change that will put the citizen at the centre and
position councillors to act as their champion for getting value
for money, personalised services and minimum entitlements across
the public services.
The changes are intended to strengthen the link between
taking action and getting results, re-energise local democracy,
re-establish the citizen at the heart of local democracy and the
town hall at the heart of that democratic process.
John Denham said:
“Local democracy starts with the citizen. The changes being
outlined today are not about strengthening councils for their own
sake – rather to strengthen the rights of citizens through their
elected representatives - and make sure local government can
really fight the corner for local people.
“Recent reforms have strengthened Government’s commitment to
delivering minimum standards of public service for every single
person. That commitment means that individuals will be able to
exert real control over public services in a way that they never
have before.
“If services are not up to the mark or not delivering for them,
local people will be able to hold them to account.
"This marks a fundamental shift in the way that we drive
improvements in services and this must and will be matched by a
shift in power of a kind not seen for a generation.
"In future when people go to vote they will know that
they are electing someone who can act on their behalf in relation
to every aspect of public spending in the community and someone
who can secure for them the very best public services. That means
rebalancing the current system to put the citizen first and put
them - through their councillors - more firmly in the driving seat."
The proposals being set out today will include:
Increased scrutiny - Councils would become a local point of
accountability for citizens to call on to scrutinise public
spending decisions. Greater influence over all the money coming
into their area would mean that councils could scrutinise more
than £100bn a year from other deliverers of public services and so
look across the piece at where all money is being spent and
question what it is delivering.
Under the proposed changes town halls would become the
setting for select committee style sessions at which councillors
could grill anyone charged with spending public money – not only
police chiefs, health bosses but also representatives from Job
Centre Plus and the Environment Agency - and demand action where
they are coming up short. Other services provided by organisations
outside the public sector such as utility companies whose actions
equally affect people's quality of life would also be
subject to a new level of council scrutiny.
Putting the citizen first - People's needs - whether
education, health or social care related - can be complex and
often don’t start and end with one service or organisation. This
needs to be reflected in the way that services work – more joined
up provision, more pooled budgets, more focus on what is being
achieved rather than the process for delivery.
People would
not be passed from pillar to post to get the service they need. It
would be the council who would sort out barriers, problems and
failures, not a burden on the concerned resident who is trying to
get help.
Expanded role delivering on new challenges - local councils play
a crucial part in making the shift to a low carbon economy, and
many of them are already at the forefront of efforts to secure
reductions in carbon emissions. Today’s consultation looks at
whether local authorities could go further than their current
responsibilities - coordinating funding streams, offering
innovative financing to support low carbon activity or agreeing
local carbon budgets in exchange for government support or
freedoms and flexibilities.
Freedom to manage council housing - Following a joint CLG and HM
Treasury review of council house financing, steps will be taken to
give councils much greater independence and freedom to manage
their own housing resources. Proposals out for consultation today
seek to dismantle the current Housing Revenue Account subsidy
system and replace this with a local system of self-financing for
all councils. As a result they will be able to keep all their
rental income and be free to manage the housing needs in their
areas, including taking forward the improvements achieved through
the Decent Homes programme. In return for this freedom, councils
will need to demonstrate increased local responsibility and
accountability for long term planning, better asset management and
efficient and effective service delivery for their tenants.
The founding principle of local government is that citizens have
the right to influence the decisions that affect their lives and
their communities. Sometimes they may exercise this right through
personalised services. Sometimes, they may exercise this right by
influencing local services – for example, in having a direct say
over how their neighbourhood is policed. And sometimes, it will be
through lobbying their council.
But the key way in which local citizens are able to exercise that
right is their ability to elect a strong local council which can
lead and shape their area.
The consultation being published explores how best to ensure that
councils are fully equipped with the power they need to act
decisively and effectively on behalf of their citizens. The
resulting radical shift in power will be a crucial part of
reforming democracy in this country.
Notes to Editors
The Consultation: Strengthening Local Democracy can be found at
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/localdemocracyconsultation
Contacts:
Communities Local Government
NDS.CLG@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Jane Houghton
Phone: 020 7944 3288 Out of Hours 020 7944 5945
press.office@communities.gsi.gov.uk