Localism and the Localism Act:An overview

East Midlands CouncilsAlan Waters, Learning & Development

ManagerLGIU

Building the Big Society throughthe Localism Act

Decentralisation – giving away power to individuals, professionals and communities

Big Society - people, neighbourhoods and communities have more power and responsibility and use it to

create better services and outcomes

Right to BidRight to Challenge

Right to Build &

neighbourhood planning

We have been here before?

Localism Act

• Introduced on 13th December 2010

• Passed final Commons stage 7th November 2011 and Royal Assent 15th November with key implementation April 2012 onwards

Headline areas of impact

• Powers to call referendum (Council Tax)• Power of General Competence• ‘Community Rights’ (Planning, Services, Assets)• Council / social housing tenancies and rents• Councils (governance)• FinanceIn short - touches on all areas of local

authority activity

A plain English guide to the Localism Act

Familiar language

• ‘local’; ‘localism’; ‘choice’; ‘community’; ‘accountability’; ‘freedom’; ‘decentralisation’;

BUTA wide range of views about what this

means in practice for local government; elected members and the ‘communities’ they represent.

What’s in a word? -‘community’

Different meanings under different parts of the Act (and the wider localism agenda)•Community Right to Challenge•Neighbourhood Planning•Community Right to Bid•Applications for Free Schools•Academy conversions.

Localism: What sort of hand is local government holding?

Different views of ‘Localism’

“ I think it is reasonable that councils shouldn’t use their new found freedom to saddle up the horses, arm their citizens and invade France. Apart from that, the world will be your oyster”.

Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government. Local Government Association Conference, July 2010.

Localism: What sort of hand is local government holding?

Different Views of ‘Localism’

‘The Localism Act is conditioned by the dominant centralist culture of central government… it could as well have been called the Centralism Act’

George Jones & John Stewart ‘The World will be your Oyster’

Reflections on ‘The Localism Act 2011’

Henry VIII Clauses• These allow a Minister

to use regulations to create new laws which have the same force as Acts of Parliament but which don’t undergo the same rigorous process.

• Localism Bill peppered with HVIII clauses.

Freedoms: General Power of Competence

• Framed as though local authorities can act as an individual (i.e. anything not expressly illegal)

• Duties still exist around e.g. competition, equalities; ‘reasonableness’ and Human Rights

• Secretary of State reserves the power to make orders preventing specific activities using the power

• E.g. no abolition or variation of any tax.

Restrictions: Council Tax Referendums

Requirement for local authorities to hold a referendum if they seek to set a level of council tax that this above the threshold considered ‘excessive’ by reference to regulations made by the Secretary of StateA centralising mechanism for the SoS to set the amount of council tax.

Devolving contentious issues

• Welfare Reform changes• Housing reforms• Budget reductions

Just the beginning

• Within the possibilities and constraints of the legislation elected members must map out their own political direction:

• There is no ‘blue print’ but central government will try to influence what happens on the ground.

It takes three to Tango?

• Must be seen as part of an even larger landscape encompassing

- Welfare Reform - Open public Services White Paper - Health Service & Police reforms - Reform of Local Government Finance - Public expenditure cuts - National Planning FrameworkA number of which have strong ‘localist’

characteristics

Localism is more than the Localism Act

Understanding the bigger picture

Localism and finance

Finance: ‘self funding’ – driving growth

• Reform of the funding of local government (from 2013) predicated on individual local authorities driving growth

- Community Infrastructure levy - New homes bonus - Reform of Business Rates - Discretionary RSG Stability of the system to fund services?

Open Public Services White Paper: ‘Right to Choice’

• Presumption toward choice in the provision of services

• Services at lowest possible level:– Individual services £ follows the individual– Neighbourhood services– Commissioned services

• Includes minimum standards, consumer champions and performance

Does the future of Local Government look like this?

A new role for elected members?

Government policy in one phrase (or two)• “This means replacing top-down monopolies

with open networks…so that governments at all levels become increasingly funders, regulators and commissioners…instead of attempting to run services.”

• …• “In place of a one-size-fits-all approach…we are

making sure that the taxpayer’s money follows the decisions that each individual makes, so that priority is given to what the individual believes is in their own best interest.”

• Open Public Services 2012 – 29th March 2012

Role of members

• Currently have influence over direct services or contracts and partnerships

• Delivery models, within financial constraints, currently broadly shaped by councillors

Current accountabilityDirect service

Partnership agreementContracted service

Members

Future accountability?Service 4(national charity)

Service 2(local

voluntary)

Service 3(local firm)

Service 1(national

firm)User

National Trustees

Local board / trustee

Sole Owner

Members?

Regulator?

Indicators?

Shareholders

Role of Members in the future?

• Future potential for myriad of diverse type and scale of providers –

• Local government to act as a backstop?• Residents have contractual relationship with

providers?• Is this still in essence the same type of

constituency work as before?• Become “citizen champions” and commissioners

– “Compare the council .com?”

New skills & new roles for councillors?

• As a ‘commissioner’ of services • Contractor• Partnership builder and co-ordinator• Scrutinizer • ‘Facilitator’• Community champion and advocate• Monitor of ‘council contracts’ with local

citizens.Review of member training needs and

support