As citizen demands change and cuts start to bite, NLGN’s research shows that, while the average cost of borrowing a book is around £3.50, in some areas it can be as high as £8.00, largely due to a 13m decline in the number of issues since 2005/6. While this figure does not capture the full value of all the services a library provides – such as free magazines, community space and internet use – it does highlight important changes in the ways people use these community facilities.

NLGN argues that the best way to democratise book access in future will be to make a radical shift to e-readers, online ordering and book vending machines in public places. This would make it much easier for the public to access books while freeing up library space for use by families and communities. Libraries would still hold the most popular titles and children’s books and act as a crucial community hub.

The new report, Transforming Universal Services, supported by May Gurney, also sets out the case for major reform of transport and environmental services beyond the next election. Proposals include:

• The increased use of congestion charging and adoption of road user pricing by central government
  
• City-wide cap and trade schemes for business waste using new variable charging technology, with any profit being used to reduce the business rate
  
• New green bonds allowing local people and businesses to invest in energy from waste plants and to receive a dividend from their operation

NLGN researcher Daria Kuznetsova said:

“We need a radical discussion about how public services need to change over the coming decade. Our proposals envisage a world in which citizens and businesses get far more choice about how they use and access key services. We envisage libraries that are accessible online and through vending machines in train stations. We call for businesses to refurbish old furniture and computers to avoid landfill taxes. And where citizens and businesses can help local authorities make savings, they should get a share back through council tax or business rate discounts.”

With some council budgets being cut by nearly 9% next year, a new report Power and Money highlights how some authorities are already starting to install solar panels on social housing and other council properties, thereby accessing new sources of funding through the ‘Feed-in Tariff’ and the ‘Renewable Heat Incentive’.

However, NLGN has also warned how a lack of clarity from the government on its support for schemes is hindering such development. With only 275 community properties among the 20,000 Feed-in tariff installations accredited last year, there is a danger that the vast potential for green energy solutions across the local government estate will be left largely unfulfilled.

Report author, Luke Hildyard said:

“We estimate that the Feed-in Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive could represent an estimated £12 billion investment in renewable energy. Local authorities will be able to access what could be a potentially vital source of revenue at a time of unprecedented budget cuts.”

“But by carrying out the review of the Feed-in tariff earlier than planned and delaying the renewable heat incentive, the Government has increased the risk factor for those planning to roll-out micro-generation installations locally. Renewable energy projects require costly and time-consuming planning and research, which councils may be reluctant to undertake in an uncertain environment.”

While direct financial returns are one potential benefit for councils, the NLGN report also shows how green investment can soften the blow of public sector job losses by creating new eco-friendly jobs in the private sector.

Case study examples in the report include Kirklees Council, whose Leader, Cllr Mehboob Khan, said:

“We viewed the new incentives as an opportunity to develop the local green economy, support and create jobs as well as reduce carbon and tackle fuel poverty. The projects we are developing build on previous experience and are good news for our residents.”

• Social housing accounts for disproportionate growth in fuel poverty
  
• Government urged to use energy company obligations to support fuel poor households
  
• Tenants need right to demand green deal improvements

The New Local Government Network has published a report suggesting that the government’s flagship ‘Green Deal’ programme will be in danger of failing to reach the households most in need of more energy efficient homes across the social housing sector.

The Green Deal allows households to install home energy efficiency improvements with a value of up to £6,500 at no upfront cost, with the cost paid back by the householder over a period of 25 years. But for many of the 1.4 million social homes classified as ‘hard to treat’, the efficiency measures would cost more than would be saved in reduced energy bills.

Our research, supported by British Gas, also raises concerns about whether those in fuel poverty would be helped by the scheme. A household is considered to be in fuel poverty if they need to spend more than 10per cent of their income on energy costs in order to achieve an adequate level of warmth. The most recent available figures from 2008 recorded 628,000 social homes in fuel poverty, an increase of 134,000 on the previous year. This accounts for 26 per cent of the growth in fuel poverty across England, despite the fact that social housing only makes up 18 per cent of the housing stock.

The report also finds that the current schemes sometimes fail to reach those people most in need of assistance because of a narrow focus on particular areas and demographics. NLGN argues that this funding should be directed specifically at alleviating fuel poverty and supporting those homes which the Green Deal will pass over.

Further measures are also required to ensure take up of the Green Deal. The report argues for a prominent role for social landlords in co-ordinating Green Deal measures across their estates on an area wide basis, with pilots suggesting that costs can be reduced by as much as 20 per cent per home when whole streets are improved collectively. Around 300,000 social homes have an Energy Efficiency Rating of F or G for the least efficient properties, however NLGN’s report identifies challenges in convincing tenants to sign up for the Green Deal. To encourage local authorities and RSLs to promote the scheme across their communities, the report recommends that:

• Local Authorities and RSLs should form partnerships with energy suppliers to deliver the Green Deal to both social homes and to those in the private sector
  
• Tenants in the private and social sectors should have the right to demand energy efficiency improvements from their landlord, funded by a Green Deal arrangement
  
• The proposed £6,500 limit on the Green Deal should be lifted, in order to allow the scheme to cover more expensive measures that will also deliver long-term savings on energy bills
  
• Discounts and incentives should be offered to neighbourhoods when they take up the Green Deal offer as whole streets
  
• The scope of the Green Deal be expanded to encompass microgeneration of renewable energy, enabling social homes to benefit from the Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive

Gearoid Lane, Managing Director of Communities and New Energy at British Gas:

“British Gas is committed to the Green Deal, which promises to be a transformational policy in improving the energy efficiency of Britain’s housing stock. But this report shows that the Green Deal is not a panacea – especially for the most vulnerable in our society including many in social housing for whom simple energy efficiency measures can permanently improve quality of life and help eradicate fuel poverty. We would support a revised and more flexible system of supplier obligations post-2012 that helps us to quickly and effectively target those households in partnership with local authorities and housing associations.”

The report also states that:

“The growth of fuel poverty in the social sector is outpacing that in private housing. Recent housing policy changes have the potential to exacerbate the situation, thereby heightening an already disproportionate increase in the number of fuel poor social homes. Pre-emptive action to prevent this is vital”.

The Government is urged to dramatically expand the number of public allotments by building on brownfield sites and encouraging landowners to donate unused holdings to their local community.

With 100,000 people currently on a waiting list for an allotment, the New Local Government Network (NLGN) is calling for the Government and local councils to make better use of the estimated 3,500 hectares of unused brownfield land – the equivalent size of 25 Hyde Parks – to create new community allotments. With residents in some London Boroughs having to wait up to 40 years for a plot, NLGN argues that the need for additional land is clearly vital.

NLGN also calls upon the Government to offer tax incentives for landowners to allow allotments to be built on unused sections of their property. Currently the Royal Family owns 677,000 acres of land and although some of it is already used for farming, NLGN claims that more of its unused last could be turned into allotments for the benefit of local citizens.

The think tank also suggests that should a voluntary system not work, the Government should consider a Large Private Estates Commission which could have the power to temporarily transfer unused plots of private land to the local community for agricultural use.

The number of allotments in the UK has declined from 1.4million in the 1940s to 200,000 in the present day. Recently however there has been an increase in their popularity as more people seek to grow their own produce, especially during the economic downturn. The Queen recently dedicated some of the Buckingham Palace Garden into an allotment to grow produce for the palace kitchen and Sarah Brown has begun to grow vegetables in the Downing Street garden. In 2008 the influential DEFRA Select Committee called for more allotments to be built to help tackle global food shortages.

Research also suggests that just 30 minutes gardening can burn as many calories as aerobic exercise and that those who grow their own food are more likely to eat more fruit and vegetables.

The NLGN report also calls for local councils to encourage “edible landscaping”, including the creation of more roof gardens and allowing residents to sell their produce at local markets and cooperatives. The report also calls for the expansion of schemes such as the ‘Landshare’ website which allows landowners to offer land for people to grow their own food.

Director of the NLGN, Chris Leslie said:

“It is well documented that allotments can help to keep people fit, encourage healthy eating, reduce carbon footprints and save money on food bills, so it’s a tragedy that over 100,000 people are waiting to be provided with a plot of land. Our reforms would see much more unused and unfunctional brownfield land developed into a much more picturesque landscape of working allotments.”

“Furthermore, with 1% of landowners owning 70% of land in the UK we would like to see the Government encourage them to share a small portion of it with people in their local communities, particularly those who do not have access to their own garden. The Royal Family should also be encouraged to share some of their vast 677,000 acres to allow more people to enjoy gardening and farming. I am sure that as a vocal advocate for farming and the countryside, that Prince Charles and the Duchy of Cornwall will be supportive of the idea”

“Allotments are an iconic part of the British psyche and conjure up images of ‘Dig for Victory’ signs during World War II. However they are still as relevant today as then and can be an excellent way of bringing together local communities and producing fantastic food. With everyone from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to Sarah Brown supporting home grown food, we urge the Government to make it easier for councils to give more people the opportunity to enjoy an allotment”.

The research, published in association with Serco and Kent County Council, argues that there is a close correlation between general satisfaction with an area by its local residents and with the level of satisfaction specifically on street cleanliness issues. With the Comprehensive Area Assessment introducing new indicators for public satisfaction, the think tank is urging councils to look again at how it conducts its streetscene strategy.

In particular the research found that perceptions of streetscene are highly localised and can vary substantially by individual streets. Satisfaction levels can be higher when services are delivered on a street by street basis rather than pan-ward or pan-authority. NLGN argues:

“Often, the relationship between the quality of local environments and perceptions of places as being good to live in is intuitive. However, delivering on ‘people and places’ will require a more strategic understanding of what shapes perceptions and satisfaction. We recommend that all local authorities give careful consideration to new evidence in this report suggesting that a ‘geopsychology’ of resident perceptions has widespread consequences for other service level activities and underpins the community’s sense of place.”

The report also recommends:

• Local Authorities should inform residents of the cost of fly-tipping – social, environmental, financial – and use imaginative social marketing techniques alongside tough enforcement measures to influence behaviour.
• Councils should annually reconsider how its local public funding might be better allocated to neighbourhood and community groups for ‘clean, green, safe’ issues through participatory budgeting or community kitties.
• The Audit Commission should reward authorities in the new CAA process who demonstrate a deep commitment to establishing new approaches aimed at widening citizen engagement in improving the streetscene. The reward could consist of a prize fund for those councils that used innovative technology and could show that within a set number of years they had
increased satisfaction levels and increased the rapidity of responding to local environment problems.
• Local authorities should consider auditing their entire workforce to understand the potential range of staff and contracted employees who might be able to contribute to a new streetscene oriented working approach.

The new Act gives more power to local communities and councils over their neighbourhoods, but so far its potential has not been realised. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is now required to consult local authorities on issues affecting them. Authorities will in turn consult people and organisations in their neighbourhoods, and the results of these consultations would be fed upwards in order to drive government policy.

NLGN urges local authorities to take up the opportunities the Act provides and to use it to take forward proposals including:

• Where a PCT struggles to meet its financial targets and performance objectives, and there is organisational and popular consent, the PCT and unitary local authority, or county council, should be allowed to appoint joint posts on the senior management team
  
• New powers that allow the local hypothecation of increases in local tax revenues in order to finance regeneration, capital investment and infrastructure improvements;
  
• Local branches of national public services, when working in a partnership through an LAA, should be free to adapt local rules for operational management procedures without waiting for prior approval from regional or national offices;
  
• Council leaders should become responsible for local public transport in their area with powers currently vested with unelected Traffic Commissioners devolved to leaders; and
  
• The Secretary of State within CLG should make an explicit statement recognising the importance of LAAs, and that partners who are found not to be contributing appropriately to the delivery of these agreements will be considered appropriate candidates for the transfer of functions and funding. The Secretary of State should set out guidelines for how these applications will be assessed and considered. Other relevant Government departments (such as the Department of Health) should prove that Whitehall is committed to LAAs and joined-up delivery by supporting the strengthened Sustainable Communities Act.

Author of the paper, Anthony Brand argues:

“The Act provides local authorities and the communities they serve with considerable new powers and opportunities and enables councils to do more to drive government policy, particularly powers that extend their ability to tackle local economic, social and environmental sustainability issues”.

“In turn, the Act might help to overcome the perceptions of powerlessness and disengagement that can pervade some neighbourhoods. In this way the Act certainly chimes well with the direction of other Government policy, including the Local government Bill and the recent Community Empowerment White Paper”.

• Highlights drastic figures that show most rubbish in the UK is still not recycled;
  
• Recommends a major increase of energy-from-waste incineration as best way to stave off landfill crisis;
  
• Believes the looming landfill tax burden must force a rethink to protect the council tax payer;
  
• Suggests Government should use community-based, rather financial incentives to encourage recycling, rather than household rewards and charging;

Time to Waste confirms that Government plans to scrap charging for rubbish would be a wise move, but warns that other tough decisions have to be made if the UK is to reduce the amount of waste it throws out and avoid hefty landfill burdens on council tax payers.

Citing research that currently only 31% of all household rubbish thrown out in Britain is recycled – one of the worst rates in Europe – the New Local Government Network (NLGN) has called for councils to introduce financial incentives for people to reduce the amount of waste they produce, instead of threatening them with fines. Under the alternative plan, neighbourhoods would be rewarded for reducing their waste output and increasing the amount they recycling with grants that they can spend on their local community. The money could be spent on items such as better street lighting or children’s equipment for a local park.

The report concludes that “introducing penalising charges for waste will not assist in the amount of rubbish society throws away” and highlights concerns that “charging for rubbish would be unpopular, difficult to administer and could increase fly-tipping”.

However, the report argues for bravery on new alternatives to deal with the waste challenge, in particular the need to radically increase carbon-friendly energy-from-waste incineration. The report acknowledges that energy-from-waste incineration plants can provoke instinctive unpopularity in some local communities and therefore recommends returning some of the financial benefits from energy sold back to the grid to neighbouring residents, perhaps offering a £50 discount on the energy bills of households within those areas that agree to host the new plants. The report suggests that to meet the EU target to reduce the amount of land-filled waste, 10 large-scale or 200 smaller scale plants may have to be built.

Britain currently produces around 330 million tonnes of waste each year and disposes of the majority of it into landfill. Figures show that that Britain sends 7 million tonnes more rubbish than any other European country. It is estimated that the country will run out of landfill space in around nine years, with London and the South East due to run out in four years. The NLGN report therefore argues that the Government should shift its emphasis onto creating energy-from-waste through a new generation of incineration plants.

It also argues that councils could do more to inform the public about the need to reduce the amount of waste they throw out, such as publishing how much waste it disposes of each year and how much is recycled, alongside indicating waste charges separately on council tax bills to highlight how much the council spends on it.

The report is supported by Serco and United Utilities.

NLGN Director Chris Leslie said:

“With landfill tax increasing year on year and some authorities spending millions of pounds dealing with the problem of rubbish disposal, it is clear that the Government has to adopt a new approach to this challenge. None of the options we looked at are simple but switching away from buying rubbish to creating energy from waste is the greenest, most efficient solution”.

“We also want to see households given a positive incentive to reduce the amount of rubbish they throw away, rather than being persecuted by individual fines. By offering local communities financial incentives, residents would be able to benefit their locality as well as the wider environment”.

Mike Boult, Managing Director of Serco, said:

“There will come a point where the cost of waste disposal will become so high that it will make energy from waste profitable. There is a perception in the private sector that the financial benefits will, in the long-term, enable you to get cheaper electricity…and if the council is saving on waste disposal, it could translate into council tax reductions”.