DCLG Discussion Forum - Archive

Commission on the role of local councillors

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:45:56 +0100

Welcome to our forum. We’ve had a terrific response so far and the comments we have received confirm for me how passionately people feel about the role councillors play on behalf of the communities they represent. Please keep your comments coming.

Our question this month is: “Is it possible to be a councillor and have a life?”

How can a councillor best balance the duties that come with the role with their other commitments and responsibilities such as work, family and social life? Up and down the country new councillors will now be settling in and finding their feet after the May elections and coming to terms with what the job entails. Many will be grappling with the issue of how to fit it all in with a job, family and social life? Is it all too much to expect one person to deal with? Are employers prepared to make allowances? What is the longer term impact of such a juggling act on a councillor’s partner, children and friends?

These are big questions, which the commission is looking at and we would be very interested to hear your views, whether you are in this position yourself, or whether you have experienced the role of a councillor through a friend or family member. What sacrifices have to be made? Have you considered standing for council but were put off by practical considerations such as a lack of affordable childcare arrangements or the prospect of never seeing your partner? We would like to hear your views and experiences.

Commission on the role of local councillors

Fri, 04 May 2007 09:19:13 +0100

Our question this month is ‘what do councillors need to enable them to perform their role effectively?’

It’s a good time to ask this question. Local elections have just taken place in many parts of the country and newly elected councillors are taking their first steps in the role. What support do they need and what are they receiving? If you are one of them, tell us about your early experiences of life as an elected member. How is your work load? Are you managing the balance between your responsibilities and other commitments to work or family life? Is it as you expected, or have there been any surprises?

We’d like to hear too from people who have been councillors in the past or who are now continuing in the role: how have your skills been developed and where do you find the support you need? Then there are those of you who work with councillors, or who come into contact with them in a variety of ways. What do you need from elected members and do you find they have the skills and

Commission on Integration and Cohesion

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:45:33 +0100

You still have the chance to tell us what you think!

Welcome to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion’s forum! Thanks for visiting us. We hope you will use this forum to share your ideas and opinions with us.

The Commission on Integration and Cohesion is a team of people asked by the Government to come up with practical ideas on how people from different backgrounds might get on better. Our focus is on what can be done locally – for example, by councils, schools, places of worship, charities – to bring people together, working, relaxing and interacting as a single community. There are four weeks to go before we have to decide what to recommend to the Government in our report. This is your last chance to tell us what you think we should be saying: the forum will close on 16 May 2007. We’re looking forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions!

We’ve asked lots of organisations what they think community cohesion is all about, but we want to know what it means to you. Do you think people from different backgrounds get on well in your local area? What do you think are the barriers to good relations in your neighbourhood? What should be done to bring people together so that they feel part of the community?

Commission on the role of local councillors

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 09:47:40 +0100

Welcome to our forum. Each month, from April until September, we will be asking a different question for you to consider. The answers you give will form part of our evidence gathering. We are also drawing on a specially commissioned programme of social research, expert advice and, later in the summer, we will hold a series of events for people to attend around the country.

This month, to get the debate started, our question for you is ‘what motivates people to become councillors?’

In future months we’ll be asking about the support councillors need to enable them to perform effectively. We’ll also want to hear your ideas about how to attract under-represented people – such as younger people, women and people from black and minority ethnic communities – to stand as councillors.

We want to hear from people who are councillors, people who work with councillors, and also those who may be considering standing for election, or who have never thought about it until now. With local elections taking place in many parts of the country on 3 May this is a timely debate for us to be having.

Cave Review of social housing regulation

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:50:12 +0000

This forum is designed to give all people with an interest in the regulation of social housing the chance to discuss any issues pertinent to the Cave Review of Social Housing.

This independent review was announced on 14 December 2006 - see news release for details. It is being led by Professor Martin Cave, Director of the Centre for Management under Regulation at Warwick University. The terms of reference set out the context and scope of the review.

This review is a timely opportunity to look at how the regulatory system should be reformed to better meet the needs of tenants, reduce burdens on social housing providers and to reflect current and future Government priorities. The review will consider the range of options available for the regulation of social housing activities and will report to ministers with recommendations for change by Spring 2007.

New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme - implementation of the options exercise

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:53:56 +0000

This topic is intended for HR and pension administrators from Fire and Rescue Authorities only. The topic will run until 30 April 2007.

A New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (NFPS) is being introduced for regular, retained and volunteer firefighters recruited since 6 April 2006. Existing firefighters whether or not members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FPS) may opt to join the new scheme.

The DCLG firefighters’ pension team is currently working with the Fire and Rescue Authorities to prepare for the launch of an options exercise that will provide firefighters with the opportunity to join the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme in January 2007. Planning for the Options exercise is well advanced and option packs will be distributed by FRAs in early January. The exercise will run until the end of March 2007.

Pension and HR administrators are invited to raise and discuss issues that arise when preparing for and during the exercise.

(This topic follows a previous discussion regarding what questions HR and pension administrators expect to be raised during the implementation of the options exercise.

City Development Companies

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:03:34 +0000

City Development Companies are city or city-region wide economic development companies formed to drive economic growth and regeneration. The 2006 Local Government White Paper announced the intention of Communities and Local Government to promote the concept of city development companies for English cities and city-regions.

The Government is looking to learn from the wide variety of city development companies that exist abroad as well as from domestic experience. We believe there is much to be learned from the range of existing special purpose bodies in existence. On 12 December, the Government launched a consultation on city development companies for English cities and city-regions – available to download or order from www.communities.gov.uk/consultations

This discussion forum will run alongside the public consultation until 7 March 2007. Contributions will be considered as consultation responses.

The consultation paper asks ten specific questions. In order to allow discussion within this forum to remain focused, we are asking that postings relate to one of the four questions set out below. We also ask that all contributors follow the discussion rules of the site:

Local Government White Paper - Implementation

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:44:11 +0000

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.

New-look Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 09:36:30 +0000

This forum is designed to give all people with an interest in the Local Government Pension Scheme the chance to discuss any issues raised by the proposed changes to the LGPS and to ask the Communities and Local Government team questions.

On 23 November the Minister for Local Government and Social Cohesion Phil Woolas, MP, announced to Parliament a series of proposals for changes to the existing LGPS. These are designed to make sure that the Scheme remains viable, affordable and fair. The proposals are based upon the results from the consultation that took place over the summer (30 June – 29 September). The consultation paper and the findings can be found at www.communities.gov.uk/lgps along with proposals for the new-look Scheme.

The Minister’s statement has set in motion a three-month consultation period. As part of that consultation, this forum gives you the opportunity to:

give us your feedback;
let us know what you think about the proposals; and

Achieving Building Standards

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:11:38 +0100

The Government has recognised that there are some issues with the existing system of Building Regulation, including concerns about compliance and enforcement. In particular, the Government is interested in reviewing the effectiveness of its guidance, concerns about industry’s ability to find the right resources, and questions about whether Building Regulations are targeting the right things in the right way.

As a result we have initiated a programme of work to consider the current situation of Building Regulations and how we manage and maintain them, and to identify what we might do to improve this.

This topic will provide input to this work and will run until 13 December 2006. Below is a list of the points that we hope that this discussion will help us to address. We anticipate that many people will want to contribute to this discussion, so in order to manage the site more efficiently we will only be able to display responses which address at least one of the questions below, and which follow the discussion rules of this site.

Sites for Gypsies and Travellers

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:12:41 +0100

The current supply of authorised site accommodation for the Gypsy and Traveller communities is known to be below what is needed. Currently one in four Gypsy and Traveller caravans are on unauthorised sites, a situation which creates problems for Gypsies, Travellers and the settled community.

The Government recognises that the key to reducing unauthorised camping is to increase the supply of authorised sites. We are currently considering the issue of new site design guidance which we hope will ensure that developers of new sites, or those upgrading existing sites, are able to benefit from experience of what works well in Gypsy and Traveller site design elsewhere.

Below is a list of the points that we hope that this discussion will help us to address. We anticipate that many people will want to contribute to this discussion, so in order to manage the site more efficiently we will only be able to display responses which address at least one of the questions below, and which follow the discussion rules of this site.

New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme - options exercise

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:47:21 +0100

This topic is intended for HR and pension administrators from Fire and Rescue Authorities only. The topic will run until 30 November 2006.

A New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (NFPS) is being introduced for regular and retained firefighters recruited since 6 April 2006. Existing firefighters whether or not members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FPS) may opt to join the new scheme.

The options exercise will deal with:

options for firefighters employed before 6th April 2006, who may want to transfer to the NFPS
calculation of pensionable service to be credited to a person transferring into the NFPS

We want to ensure that firefighters are provided with full information about the options exercise and would like HR and pension administrators from Fire and Rescue Authorities to use the forum to consider and to discuss the questions they expect firefighters to raise during the options exercise.

Core Cities, Smaller Cities and Larger Towns

Thu, 18 May 2006 14:47:39 +0100

Cities and towns are crucial to the future of England. They are hubs of economic growth, but also represent some of the major challenges of social deprivation and inequalities.

The cities and towns of England are performing better than 20 years ago, but there is still room for improvement: most still lag behind their counterparts in Europe and North America on a range of indicators.

The Government is working to improve the economic performance and social cohesion of cities and towns. In 2005, the Government held a range of Summits with the eight Core Cities (Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield); and is now working with each Core City to develop an individual Business Case.

This spring and summer, the Government is holding a series of summits with Smaller Cities and Larger Towns, mainly of populations between 500 000 and 125 000; which will lead to a Menu of Enabling Measures from which local authorities will be able to choose measures suited to their own cities and towns.