The role of local government in the Big Society

Posted by Cllr Merrick Cockell, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on August 6th, 2010

There has been a lot written about the idea of the Big Society in recent months. And many have interpreted the concept as a threat to local government.

Handing power to local communities means by-passing the town hall, people argue. Other people have argued that devolving power and responsibilities to individuals and communities will not be compatible with reducing the government deficit.

And it’s true that many in local government are uncomfortable with the idea of handing over powers to local people. Some feel that democratic accountability is being compromised, or that they will lose control of services.

I think that local government has a central role to play in the Big Society. It is a role which might challenge some of our existing ideas of local democracy. Councillors will have to re-define their role and see themselves not as spokesmen for the Council.

The primary role of councillors must be accountability to the community for local public services whether delivered directly, commissioned or scrutinised. Councillors will need to move right into the centre of our communities, exercising democratic accountability for all local public services whether they are delivered by the council, police, health service or job centres.

We have to shift from seeing these as “our” services to seeing them as services that we have to hold to account for quality and cost on behalf of those we represent.

We will also need to be willing to learn from other organisations. Councillors who have represented their wards for many years, or even decades, may feel they know all there is to know about the needs of residents. But there is always more we can learn from small voluntary organisations which are run and governed by the very people who use their services.

In some ways the Big Society will provide a wider and more challenging role to local government. Councillors will need to be engaged with all the services delivered in their area. They will need to listen to the views of residents and be willing to devolve appropriate decision-making to residents. But they will also need to ensure that they carry out their democratic functions on behalf of residents, challenging and scrutinising all public services delivered in an area to ensure residents receive an excellent and good value service.


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Comments

  • Guest

    I think there’s concern in some quarters that the big society will ultimately result in a shift from services that are accountable to all, to one that is held accountable by a vocal minority.


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