A forum for open discussion on communities and local government policy.

Local Government White Paper - Implementation

The Government launched Strong and Prosperous Communities – The Local Government White Paper on October 26. You can read Ruth Kelly’s statement to the House of Commons, and read or download the full document and summary of key points from the Communities and Local Government website.

As the title suggests, the White Paper is about creating strong, prosperous communities. It sets out a radical, devolutionary agenda that will fundamentally re-balance the relationship between central and local government. It will also significantly change the way that local government interacts with other local service providers, and with local citizens and community groups.

Some of the proposals in the White Paper will require legislation (as announced in the Queen’s Speech, we will introduce a local government bill in this session). But central government can only do so much. The vision in the White Paper will become a reality only if local authorities embrace it, and make the most of the opportunities offered.

So we thought it would useful to run a discussion forum. Our question is this:

What are the priorities for local government in implementing the white paper?

We will run the forum for at least a month, and we want to hear from YOU. Local authorities, local service providers, members of the public, everyone: this is your chance to say what you think the priorities for local government should be.

Final comment

Posted by jreed on 09/03/2007 - 11:13

This discussion forum on the Local Government White Paper – Implementation is now closed. I would like to thank everyone that has contributed, and I hope that you found this to be as useful as we did.
We have received posts from a wide variety of contributors and these will all be considered during the implementation phase of the White Paper.

If you have anymore comments please send them by e-mail to LOCALGOVERNMENTWHITEPAPER@communities.gsi.gov.uk.

Meanwhile, please take a few minutes to minutes to fill in part two of the Hansard Society’s evaluation survey, to help us evaluate this online consultation.
Janice Reed
Policy Advisor

End of discussion forum

Posted by jreed on 01/03/2007 - 17:23

Many thanks for the comments that we have received on the forum so far. Your comments and views are very much appreciated and I would like to assure you that these will be considered in the context of the implementation phase of the Local Government White Paper.

The forum will be coming to an end on Friday 9 March, so if you have anymore comments please post them before the 9th. Once the forum closes you can send us your views to LOCALGOVERNMENTWHITEPAPER@communities.gsi.gov.uk

We do intend to relaunch this forum sometime in the spring, to coincide with the on-going Implementation of the White Paper.
Many thanks
Janice

parish council responsibilities

Posted by boyesy on 06/02/2007 - 21:21

If my reading of the White Paper is correct, town and parish councils are to be given a much more prominent role in decision making than they currently possess. As a long-standing parish oouncillor, whilst this initiative is to be welcomed, I have reservations about the capability of said councils to engage in important decision making. If town and parish councils in my area are anything to go by they are, on the whole, comprised of elderly people who's experience of engaging with the community consists of day-to-day contact with local residents in shopping centres and community halls. This way of doing things is invaluable in generating community cohesion: the immediacy of public contact with a local official in a relaxed environment has been the only contact the majority of local people in my area have ever had with politicians and decision making. However, if town and parish councils are to assume the amount of responsibility the White Paper has hinted that they are expected to, councillors are going to have to become much more professional, which will necessarily involve a great deal of training for councillors. My worry is that the more elderly councillors will simply resign from the council rather than undergo further training.

Local Government White Paper - Implementation considerations

Posted by Robert Howard on 06/02/2007 - 17:32

I live in Lenton, an inner-city area 1 mile south west of Nottingham city centre and I have been active in the local community for many years and, as a councillor in Birmingham (1971-79)and Nottinghamshire (1981-85), chaired East Midlands Airport and the then Midlands Area Museum Service. I was advocating a 'Greater Nottingham whilst a Notts county Councillor 1981-1985, so I am delighted that something may well happen this this time around, but I do think to balance a larger and more powerful city council, perhaps led by a mayor or a leader with a four year term, we need urban parish councils to manage local neighbourhood 'doorstep' services and a 'neighbourhood budget' which is managed and determined by the neighbourhood, with its local Forum/Parish Council chaired by its local councillor.
Also, a simple rule that says where and when local authorities merge (or are taken over against their wishes), the existing authority with the highest standards of services, according to Government indicators, should be the lead authority during the (I assume) one-year handover period. In other words, in the case of a Greater Nottingham being created, Rushcliffe would be the lead authority for re-cycling and household waste.
This simple rule would ensure that the new, enlarged council during its transition year, was not dominated by either the largest council or one political party.
I would like to argue that voters in the new council area should have a local referendum on whether they want the new council elected by: 1) First-past-the-post; 2) Proporional representation based on party lists or 3) a Added Member system whereby 67% of councillors are directly elected via single member wards and the remaining 33% of members are appointed from the highest losers in the ward elections so as to ensure all parties having more than, say, 10% of the total vote, get respresentation, even if they don't win any seats in the ward elections.
I should declare that I am a life long Labour Party member and have always taken the view that 'every vote should count' and, clearly, this does not happen with the first-past-the-post system. I have lost count of the' literally, thousands of times, I have heard local voters say 'My vote won't make any difference'. All the main political parties select their candidates by some form of exhaustive ballot, so why sould voters be denied the same rights when selecting local councillors (and MPs)?
Finally, I would like to suggest that any new, enlarged, local authority (like Greater Nottingham) should have a 'Neighbourhood Assembly' made up of local neighbourhood groups - who often lose out to the 'professional' voluntary sector - with which the new council will have a duty to consult about 'neighbourhood/doorstep' issues. Local groups almost exclusively depend on volunteers, national charities usually have paid staff in local/regional offices who use their networks and contacts to good effect. The creation of local Neighbourhood Assemblies attended by local groups and councillors could help re-balance local agendas towards local communities.

Elected Members are not Accountants

Posted by Acorn on 05/02/2007 - 12:54

Dear Secretary of State.
Thank you for publishing the “Planning Together” practical guide to LSP and LAA etc, most useful. Please can you do another guide to all the funding streams that are spent on my patch, call it “Spending Together”.
While the Lyons discussions are ongoing please can you get someone to sort out the local government Balance Sheets? My little council is getting about a million a year in interest payments on various funds invested, provisioned and reserved for multiple reasons which the elected members never understand.
The capital – about £20 million – that generates these funds is defined as either “unusable” or “usable” depending on how we acquired it in the first place. Most local councillors are not members of CIPFA and, it is difficult to get them interested in any aspect of council finances that are more complicated than the average episode of Blue Peter. We need some simplification of local government accounting.
Having recently had a brain damaging session with our Auditors concerning “Adjustment A”, minimum revenue provision, credit ceilings and “debt free” status, I had to go home and lie down for a day. The concept of having money in the bank that you can’t spend is confusing. Having spent some capital, which may or may not have increased the capital finance requirement, even though we may not have borrowed any external money … is very confusing. If you want elected members to get more interested in questioning why they spent what they spent, you have got to come up with an accounting system they can understand and not have them totally dependant on officers.

Funding Parish Councils

Posted by James Drake on 30/01/2007 - 05:45

Listening to eminent speakers informing a gathering of local council (parish council) councillors and staff at the time of the Local Government White Paper 2000 there was a view that a fundamental change should take place in the way this tier of government was funded. It was suggested that the government contemplated a move away from the precepting system to a business-plan led demand process. The thought was that council should put up a costed business plan to government,not willy-nilly precept for money. The corollary to this idea was that Quality Councils would be in the first rank for funding. Given the perennial wrangle over the precept and the angst of the principal authorities there seemed to me then – and now – to be great merit in this idea. Annual hand-to-mouth money supplies is not an efficient or effective means of running an enterprise (in whatever sector) and a well thought out three year rolling business plan makes a great deal more sense. Are we likely to see such a concept coming out of the new Act for Stronger and Prosperous Communities?

STRONG AND PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES

Posted by etmfjm on 25/01/2007 - 21:52

Local elections give us the opportunity to let off steam because we tend to be moved by both local and national considerations; in other words, local elections may not be as much about electing local councillors as they are about registering a protest vote.

And, nowadays, the poor man has as much right to vote as the rich man; a woman as much right to vote as any man.

Surprisingly, perhaps, a majority of voters do not cast their vote at the local elections despite our forebears fighting long and hard to establish the right to do so. However, many would argue - with considerable justification, I think - that it is also a democratic right not to vote. And the introduction of compulsory voting would negate our freedom and our choice not to vote. But we might still ask why there appears to be so much apathy when it comes to local elections especially.

Next May, here in Cumbria, there will be local elections to the six District/ Borough councils. Our seven councils, between them, will spend almost £3/4billion next year – but only 30% of that will come from the local council taxpayers. The rest will come from government. It’s never enough for all that Cumbria and the District councillors wish to do – whatever their politics. But I suggest it is immensely hypocritical for anyone to criticise central government for its alleged wasteful expenditure without first putting its own local house in order.

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Restructuring of Local Government

Posted by Grahamg on 23/01/2007 - 14:26

Having now seen the proposed timetable for implementation, I am not sure local government will achieve the changes necessary for closer two tier working!
In fact, I believe that it is impossible!
I make this comment based on my knowledge, not only of how LA decision making takes place, but of my knowledge of the difficulties in relationships, particularly at the political level, between the two tiers.
It would be far more expedient and practical for the Minister, when the Act becomes law, to instruct LA's to form appropriate size unitary authorities.
Would I be cynical in stating that I believe that will happen anyway?
Then I can retire and become a consultant.

How do you overcome the cynicsm?

Posted by ElaineBarnes on 21/01/2007 - 09:20

In my years of being a researcher in the public sector, the sentence I hear from residents all the time is 'What's the point, they never listen!" Sometimes they are referring to their local council, other times they refer to 'the Government'. There is certainly the view that Parish Council's do not have the resources or more importantly, the authority to make decisions. So there are lot's of things here to make priorites..ensure that power is indeed devolved to local level, and listen to the views of local people, act on these views and communicate the decisions that are being made (even if the decision is no!).

local government structure.

Posted by Tambora on 20/01/2007 - 20:05

Many of the comments I have read seem to be hung up on jargon and how representatives are elected.
This is missing the point completely, what is needed is not unitary councils or mayors or regional assemblies, but good managers with drive ambition and resoucefulness.
The image of local government is poor because of rigid thinking, over emphasis on policy to the detriment of actual work done.
Councillors are poorly trained and often selected because they are prepared to stand, not because they are any good.
Bad decision making is explained away by the spurious application of Health and Safety legislation/The Human Rights Act/Data Protection Act etc etc.
The formation of cabinet government for local authorities was without doubt the most insane and corrosive act yet perpetrated on the public.
It is secretive anti democratic and unconstitutional as the executive and legislative functions of a council are completely in the hands of a chosen( usually incompetent)few.
My advice for what it is worth is to decide on a new structure,make it as open and democratic as humanly possible, put as many of the functions of local government as local, as efficiency will allow and put all officials/ teachers /social workers etc on a plain english course,followed by a course on customer relations.