NLGN welcomes ‘new era’ for localism

December 13, 2010

NLGN today welcomed the publication of the Localism and Decentralisation Bill as a radical first step to devolving power from the centre.

Commenting on the legislation, NLGN Director Simon Parker said that the Bill represented a very positive direction of travel from the government and was the most important piece of legislation for local authorities in a generation. However, he also warned that councils’ focus would understandably be on implementing deeply challenging spending cuts and a central issue would be whether the bill’s reforms help achieve that objective.

Commenting on the bill as a whole, Simon Parker said:

“This bill represents the most important piece of legislation for local government in a generation. New powers for communities to take the lead on planning and have a greater role in service provision, combined with a wave of directly-elected mayors, should be a powerful force for local renewal. This new legislation will bring an era of radical change and innovation, driven by the burning platform of unprecedented cuts. I know councils will do their best to rise to the challenge, particularly if the government devolves more financial freedom.”

On elected mayors, Simon Parker said:

“We support the move towards establishing more directly-elected mayors with additional powers. As the prime advocate for the mayoral model, NLGN believes that a single high-profile figurehead who is easily identifiable and has a direct democratic mandate can help foster a stronger sense of connection for citizens and help take civic engagement to a new level. NLGN’s research suggests that around twice as many people can identify their directly elected mayor as can identify council leaders. We also hope that the government empowers the new city mayors with additional powers over transport, policing and economic development.”

On the General Power of Competence:

“The new powers are very welcome and we could see local authorities developing a new range of services and generating additional income, but we hope that the government will use the Localism Bill to abolish the concept of ultra vires and allow local authorities to act freely within the constraints of specific legislation. It is crucial that the Government does not replicate the errors of past reforms and pre-judge what local democratic decisions are acceptable. We also hope that the legislation provides for additional flexibility on revenue raising powers. This could be contained to revenue neutral adjustment or wider freedoms could be given to local authorities.”

On the introduction of local referendums:

“Any process that encourages consultation with local people over decision making is to be encouraged but we worry about the unintended consequences of these reforms. Councils already have established provisions to respond to petitions and are directly accountable to their communities through elections. Evidence from the United States also shows that this type of local referendum can potentially suppress minority rights and allow powerful vested interests disproportionate influence, as well as leading to gridlock in decision making. We would prefer to see a ‘community proposal’, arguing for a right for citizens to force an item onto the agenda for discussion at a full council meeting if 5% of the local population had signed a petition on the subject.”

On reforms to the planning system:

“The new measures are likely to bring greater democratic oversight to decision-making on nationally-important infrastructure, whilst providing communities themselves with greater ability to shape their local neighbourhoods. However, it will be important that the new system does not introduce delay or uncertainty into the system as the Government is relying heavily on private sector investment to fund infrastructure. NLGN will also be keen to see how local communities can input effectively into national planning decisions especially on linear schemes such as High Speed Rail.”

“It is exciting that neighbourhoods are to be granted greater discretion on planning approvals. There should of course continue to be a fundamental role for local democracy to ensure that the voices of those who may have an interest in a decision but do not live in a specific neighbourhood can express their views and this will require careful attention. NLGN believes that LEPs provide a natural geography for making strategic decisions on housing growth and supporting infrastructure and it will be important that the new ‘duty to co-operate’ has teeth.”

On reforms to the housing system:

“While the idea of the New Homes Bonus has many attractive benefits, we would like to see Regional Spacial Strategies phased out with a minimum house building target retained in the interim. We support the emphasis on giving locally democratically elected leaders a central role in over housing provision but urge the government to look closely at how local authorities will link together over different boundaries to ensure that developments are built based on strategic needs”

On the new ‘right to bid’ to run local services:

“The proposal to give communities a new ‘right to bid’ for local services could be a driver for the Government’s ‘Big Society’ vision. However, it will have to be designed very carefully to ensure that councils are allowed to reflect the needs of their community as a whole and are able to re-design services to find efficiencies and meet new demands. This new ‘right’ should be applied across the whole of Government including Whitehall departments and agencies. NLGN would like to see a situation where communities and localities could bid to run services currently organised and/or run through Whitehall departments.”


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