A think-tank report set out an innovative model of 'federal' county government designed to streamline bureaucracy and present a unified public face - at the same time as ensuring that power lay at a very local level and was 'delegated up' where necessary.
Source: Tim Palmer and Glyn Gaskarth, No More Tiers: Reforming shire government, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Dec
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill was published. The Bill was designed to: strengthen local leadership and democracy (through 4-year terms for leaders, the option of all-out elections every 4 years, and new powers for overview and scrutiny committees); empower communities (through stronger community governance arrangements, and a revised duty on local authorities to involve local people in tailoring local services and policies); and strengthen local partnerships (by putting local area agreements on a statutory footing, with named partners under a duty to co-operate in agreeing local targets and have regard to them in the delivery of services). It made provision for the abolition of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, and of Patients' Forums: in their place, it imposed a duty on local authorities to make contractual arrangements for the involvement of people in the commissioning, provision, and scrutiny of health services and social services.
Source: Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | DCLG press release | LGA press release
Date: 2006-Dec
A report was published of deliberative workshops (held during July and August 2006) which explored the views of a cross-section of the general public with regard to some of the issues being considered by the Lyons Inquiry into local government.
Source: Lyons Inquiry Public Deliberation Events: Report, Lyons Inquiry into Local Government (020 7270 5214)
Links: Report | Summary | Lyons Inquiry press release
Date: 2006-Nov
A report highlighted the extent to which politics at a local level had declined. In most constituencies the level of campaigning in the 2005 General Election was at a 'derisory' level.
Source: Local Politics: A Case for Treatment?, Unlock Democracy c/o New Politics Network (020 7278 4443)
Links: Report | Unlock Democracy press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report examined how the three main political parties selected local councillors, and suggested ways in which they could recruit from a broader cross-section of society. The existing trend was for a bias towards white, middle-aged, male candidates.
Source: Paul Wheeler, Political Recruitment: How local parties recruit councillors, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Date: 2006-Oct
The government published a White Paper on local government in England. 1,200 performance targets and indicators would be reduced to 200 indicators and 35 targets. All council leaders would need to be elected for a four-year term, either as a directly-elected mayor, or via the direct election of a mayor and cabinet, or by being selected by the council. Councils would no longer be required to hold referendums before introducing directly-elected mayors. Councils would get the power to bring in bylaws, with fixed penalties, without central government approval.
Source: Strong and Prosperous Communities, White Paper Cm 6939, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: White Paper Part 1 | White Paper Part 2 | Summary | Hansard | DCLG press release | Downing Street press release | LGA press release | Acevo press release | CDF press release | CIPFA press release | NAVCA press release | Work Foundation press release | LGIU press release | CRC press release | CLES press release | NCVO press release | TCPA press release | CBI press release | Community Care report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report by a 'socially conservative' group of Conservative Party MPs said that the new code of conduct for local councillors had drastically curtailed councillors right to free speech and their ability to represent the views of their electors. The Standards Board for England (the body responsible for promoting high ethical standards in local government) said that the report might reflect 'misinterpretations' of the code.
Source: Owen Paterson MP and Gerald Howarth MP, A Question of Standards: Prescott s town hall madness, Cornerstone Group (mail@cornerstonegroup.org.uk) | Press release 19 September 2006, Standards Board for England (020 7378 5175)
Links: Report | Cornerstone press release | Standards Board press release
Date: 2006-Sep
A report examined the factors which helped promote successful reorganizations in local government. It said that authorities should use a reorganization as an opportunity to transform working practices.
Source: Pushing the Boundaries: Making a success of local government reorganisation, Deloitte & Touche LLP (020 7303 6410)
Links: Report | Deloitte and Touche press release
Date: 2006-Sep
A report said that local authorities should take over the planning and commissioning of local health services. Councils were better at managing tight budgets, involving local people, and communicating decisions to communities; and they played a key role in other services such as social care and schools.
Source: Jon Glasby, Judith Smith and Helen Dickinson, Creating NHS Local: A new relationship between PCTs and local government, Health Services Management Centre/University of Birmingham (0121 414 7050)
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2006-Sep
A think-tank report contained essays by Labour government ministers examining the potential for a localist approach to issues such as National Health Service reform, electoral reform, multiculturalism, regeneration, and financial exclusion.
Source: Labour and Localism, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Summary |NLGN press release
Date: 2006-Sep
The government announced (following consultation) an extended package of freedoms and flexibilities for local authorities in recognition of improved performance.
Source: Press release 13 September 2006, Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 3000)
Links: DCLG press release | Consultation responses
Date: 2006-Sep
A report described a baseline study for a potential long-term evaluation of the 'freedoms and flexibilities' introduced to give greater autonomy to English local authorities.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Evaluation of Freedoms and Flexibilities in Local Government: Baseline study, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Date: 2006-Sep
An article examined how the government had reconfigured its regulation of English local authorities by moving from direct oversight to using an indirect independent agency (the Audit Commission) as a vehicle of governance.
Source: Josie Kelly, 'Central regulation of English local authorities: an example of meta-governance?', Public Administration, Volume 84 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Aug
The government announced (following consultation) new key powers for the Greater London Authority, including lead roles for the Mayor of London on housing and adult skills; a strengthened role over planning; and additional strategic powers in a wide range of policy areas including waste, culture and sport, health, climate change, and appointments to the boards of the functional bodies. The plans were welcomed by the Mayor, but described as "flawed and inconsistent" by the London Assembly.
Source: The Greater London Authority: The Government s Final Proposals for Additional Powers and Responsibilities for the Mayor and Assembly, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236) | Press release 13 July 2006, Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 3000) | Press release 13 July 2006, London Assembly (020 7983 4100) Links: Report | Consultation responses | Hansard | DCLG press release | GLA press release | DfES press release | Shelter press release | Personnel Today report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
The Department for Communities and Local Government (which replaced the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in May 2006) published its annual report for 2005-06.
Source: Annual Report 2006, Cm 6816, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
A new book provided a comprehensive review of the operation of politics in local government - including the impact of national and local political parties on the behaviour of party groups in local authorities; the way party groups interacted with each other; the changing role of local political leadership; and the relationship of local politicians with senior council officers.
Source: Stephen Leach, The Changing Role of Local Politics in Britain, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jul
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government responded to a letter from the Prime Minister setting out priorities for her department at the time of her appointment in May 2006.
Source: Letter from Ruth Kelly MP (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), 12 July 2006
Links: Text of letter
Date: 2006-Jul
A think-tank report called for a fundamental rethink of policy-making in favour of giving more responsibilities to locally elected representatives. There were over 5,000 quangos with limited democratic accountability, which had failed to deliver adequate services in key areas such as social housing, policing, and skills training. Furthermore, this reliance on quangos was increasing, with moves to create larger, less local units in areas such as policing and healthcare.
Source: Jo Dungey, Whitehall to Town Hall: Strengthening democratic choice, Local Government Information Unit, available from Central Books (0845 458 9910)
Links: LGIU press release
Date: 2006-Jun
A report provided an overview of the 'free communes' experiments in Scandinavian countries in the late 1980s, in order to identify possible lessons for current policy in England. It said that granting relatively limited exemptions from central regulation on a temporary basis to a sample of local councils was an effective way of stimulating innovation and testing out new approaches at low cost and limited risk.
Source: Steve Martin, Suzannah Lux and John Loughlin, The Free Communes Experiments: Lessons for policy in England, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jun
A report by an all-party group of MPs examined how local councils should fit within the structure of new neighbourhood arrangements. It recommended an increase in the number of first-tier authorities; more neighbourhood councils in urban areas; more services to be devolved to neighbourhood units; an increased power of scrutiny for first-tier authorities, and more involvement by them in the decisions made by principal authorities; and local councils to be able to spend money under a 'power of well being' provision.
Source: Civic Engagement and Neighbourhood Governance - Which Structures Work?, All Party Parliamentary Group on Community Governance, available from National Association of Local Councils (020 7290 0309)
Links: Report | NALC press release
Date: 2006-Jun
A think-tank report said that that the government should reinvigorate forms of community governance by promoting a new ?neighbourhood council? scheme, and by introducing participatory budgeting pathfinders ? where members of the local community were directly involved with how money was spent.
Source: Ed Cox, Empowering Neighbourhoods: Going beyond the double devolution deal, Local Government Information Unit (020 7554 2800)
Links: LGIU press release
Date: 2006-May
The government announced the creation of a new Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), replacing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It included a remit to promote community cohesion (previously under the Home Office) and equality (previously split between various departments), as well as responsibility for housing, urban regeneration, planning, and local government. The Women and Equality Unit moved to the DCLG, which also became the sponsor department for the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The Prime Minister wrote to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (following a Cabinet reshuffle), setting out policy priorities for her Department.
Source: Press release 5 May 2006, 10 Downing Street (020 7270 1234) | Letter from Tony Blair MP (Prime Minister) to Ruth Kelly MP (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), 9 May 2006
Links: Downing St press release | PM letter
Date: 2006-May
An inquiry into the future role and financing of local government said that the public needed to end its obsession with 'postcode lotteries', and accept greater variation in local services. It said that the growth of government targets had significantly reduced the scope for local choice, while producing a "large and expensive" regulatory machinery, leading to confusion over who was responsible for what.
Source: National Prosperity, Local Choice and Civic Engagement: A new partnership between central and local government for the 21st century, Lyons Inquiry into Local Government (020 7270 5214)
Links: Report | Inquiry press release | APA press release | FSB press release | FT report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-May
A think-tank report offered arguments for a 'double devolution' of powers - from central government to local, and from local government to very local areas. A series of accompanying essays addressed the structural, professional, and cultural changes that would be required to deliver a transformation of government.
Source: Geoff Mulgan and Fran Bury (eds.), Double Devolution: The renewal of local government, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-May
A report set out a radical vision for how power should be removed from Whitehall and put into the hands of local people, voluntary organizations, and local councils - including greater freedom to set taxation, and clear powers over transport, infrastructure, planning, economic development, and skills.
Source: Closer to People and Places: A new vision for local government, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Report | LGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-May
A think-tank report examined some of the most important future demands on the local state. It said that incremental proposals for strengthening local government, or a desire to play safe by central government, were unlikely to survive the wave of social and economic change.
Source: Pacing Lyons: Forecasting the shape of local governance, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Apr
A report examined what society was likely to be like in 2015, and the implications for local governance. The ability of central government to respond to change relied on a significant shift in the way in which local government and governance were structured - so that specific outcomes, local variations, differences, needs and aspirations could be identified and met. It identified ten core functions for local governance.
Source: All Our Futures: The challenges for local governance in 2015, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Apr
A report examined how mayoral governance had made a difference locally, covering a range of areas from the impact of mayors on public engagement to their ability to attract inward investment and promote economic development. It also considered the future of the model, and what lessons might be applied to a system of directly elected cabinets.
Source: Kiran Dhillon (ed.), Mayors Making a Difference, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: NLGN press release | Foreword
Date: 2006-Mar
A government minister set out a vision for devolving power from the state and local authorities to individuals and community groups. He suggested that if satisfaction ratings for a local services fell below a certain level, that should trigger a 're-tendering' of the service.
Source: Speech by David Miliband MP (Minister of Communities and Local Government), 21 February 2006
Links: Text of speech | NCVO press release | LGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Feb
A Member of Parliament brought in a Bill which would require local authorities to hold a referendum on an issue of local importance if more than 10 per cent of the electorate requested it.
Source: Local Government Referendums Bill, Bob Russell MP, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2006-Feb
An official report proposed abolishing allowances for local councillors in Scotland, replacing them with a new remuneration package including: an annual salary for basic councillors of 15,452 set nationally; higher salaries for a limited number of senior councillors, set by councils within a national framework; and salaries for council leaders ranging from 30,905 to 51,508 set nationally.
Source: Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee, Review of Remuneration Arrangements for Local Authority Councillors, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: Report | SE press release
Date: 2006-Jan