The Department for Communities and Local Government published its autumn 2009 performance report, showing progress in achieving its public service agreement targets.
Source: Autumn Performance Report 2009, Cm 7770, Department for Communities and Local Government/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Dec
The government began consultation on proposals to require local authorities in England to create a scheme for responding to the petitions that they received.
Source: Listening to Communities: Consultation on draft statutory guidance on the duty to respond to petitions, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Consultation document | Guardian report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Dec
The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 was given Royal assent. The Act placed a duty on local councils to 'promote democracy' and monitor local economic conditions; made it a legal duty for them to respond to petitions; and provided for the setting up of a 'National Tenant Voice' to ensure that tenants' views were central to decision-making on social housing.
Source: Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | Explanatory notes | DCLG press release | Electoral Commission press release | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Nov
The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to place a duty on local councils to 'promote democracy' and monitor local economic conditions; make it a legal duty for them to respond to petitions; and provide for the setting-up of a 'National Tenant Voice' to ensure that tenants' views were central to decision-making on social housing.
Source: Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL], Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 13 October 2009, columns 169-267, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC research brief (1) | HOC research brief (2)
Date: 2009-Oct
The government announced (following consultation) that it intended to change the rules that required local councils to get central government permission if they wanted to create local byelaws or revoke ones that were not needed.
Source: Communities in Control: Real People, Real Power – Government Response to the Making and Enforcement of Byelaws, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report | DCLG press release
Date: 2009-Oct
A think-tank report examined the lessons that ought to be learned nationally from the Greater Manchester city region. It recommended that regional development agencies should be scrapped and their powers devolved; that City regions such as Greater Manchester should be given new powers and responsibilities; and that funding needed to be based upon 'outcomes rather than institutions'.
Source: Susana Forjan and Tom Shakespeare, Can Localism Deliver? Lessons from Manchester, Localis (020 7340 2650) and Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Summary | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Oct
A think-tank report examined proposals by the opposition Conservative party for the local state (as set out in the 2009 'Control Shift' document). Although plans for introducing new financial incentives for business growth and housing would help to put councils at the heart of economic development, the Conservatives should also focus on fundamental reform of local government finance.
Source: Chris Leslie and Liam Scott-Smith, Control Shift: Alt, Insert or Delete? A constructive analysis of Conservative proposals for local government and decentralisation, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Report | NLGN press release | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Oct
A collection of essays by a group of leading Conservative politicians discussed policy issues in local governance, including democratic accountability, financial reform, business support, and partnership working.
Source: James Hulme (ed.), A Conservative Future? New ideas on local governance, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Report | NLGN press release
Date: 2009-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the balance of power between central and local government. It said that it recognized the need to increase the power of citizens through their elected representatives to shape their communities and the services they received.
Source: Government Response to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee Report into the Balance of Power: Central and Local Government, Cm 7712, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2009-Sep
An article raised questions about the 'localist' agenda. The adoption of a more direct form of democracy might not only fail to address the decline in political engagement, but might also result in the exclusion, marginalization, and oppression of minority groups.
Source: Phil Parvin, 'Against localism: does decentralising power to communities fail minorities?', Political Quarterly, Volume 80 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Aug
A report summarized some of the key findings of a study of the overall impacts of more than twenty local government policies that were associated with the 1998 and 2001 local government White Papers.
Source: Tony Bovaird, James Downe and Steve Martin, Reforming Local Government: Impacts and interactions of central government policies from 2000 to 2006 – Final report of the meta-evaluation of the local government modernisation agenda, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Aug
An audit report said that the Department for Communities and Local Government had recently improved its financial management: but that the quality and analysis of the financial information supporting investment decisions still needed improvement. The Department could provide only notional allocations of financial information by objective, and so could not easily identify or understand the impact of funding decisions on performance and outcomes.
Source: Financial Management in the Department for Communities and Local Government, HC 293 (Session 2008-09), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Jul
The Department for Communities and Local Government published its annual report for 2008-09, showing performance against public service agreement targets.
Source: Annual Report 2009, Cm 7598, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2009-Jul
The government began consultation on proposals to promote democratic renewal and strengthen the power and responsibility of local government, by: giving councils more scope to scrutinize the spending and decisions of local service providers; exploring whether there were barriers to using existing powers, and whether there were other powers that councils should have; ensuring that councils had the powers and responsibilities they needed to tackle climate change; investigating how the powers and responsibilities of sub-regional structures should be matched by clear and accountable leadership; and exploring how to articulate, develop, and support the relationship between central and local government so that their respective functions were clear and transparent to citizens.
Source: Strengthening Local Democracy, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | DCLG press release | Speech | Inside Housing report | Local Government Chronicle report | New Start report
Date: 2009-Jul
A think-tank report (by a Liberal Democrat peer) said that local politics had declined in recent years in four main areas – finance, bureaucracy, media, and competitive elections. Genuine local democracy was in 'terminal decline'.
Source: Ros Scott, How Healthy Is Our Local Democracy?, Unlock Democracy (020 7278 4443)
Links: Report | Unlock Democracy press release
Date: 2009-Jun
A think-tank report said that urgent reforms to 're-localize' Britain were under threat because politicians had a 'miserably narrow' idea of what they were about, limited to the business of devolving decisions to local boards or local voters. There was a need for a far broader agenda for localism, including: how to give power and initiative back to frontline public service staff; how to hand more responsibility to service users for delivering broader services; how to make public services more human scale; and how to localize economic power as well as political power.
Source: David Boyle, Localism: Unravelling the Supplicant State, New Economics Foundation (020 7820 6300)
Links: Report | Local Government Chronicle report | New Start report
Date: 2009-Jun
A think-tank report examined the case for and against the more widespread introduction of directly elected mayors.
Source: Tom Shakespeare (ed.), Directly Elected Mayors: Are they appropriate for all major UK cities?, Localis (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | Localis press release
Date: 2009-Jun
The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to place a duty on local councils to 'promote democracy' and monitor local economic conditions; make it a legal duty for them to respond to petitions; and provide for the setting-up of a 'National Tenant Voice' to ensure that tenants' views were central to housing decision-making.
Source: Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL], Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 1 June 2009, columns 22-129, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC research brief (1) | HOC research brief (2)
Date: 2009-Jun
A collection of essays by Labour ministers and council leaders examined the party's record and policies on local government.
Source: James Hulme (ed.), Local Labour: New policy ideas for communities, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Report | NLGN press release
Date: 2009-Jun
A think-tank report said that political power should be held at the lowest level possible: instead of 'devolving' power, the assumption should be that power was vested in people. Only when there was good reason should power be consolidated upwards to communities, local agencies, national government, or international bodies.
Source: Richard Reeves and Philip Collins, The Liberal Republic, Demos, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Links: Report | Summary | Demos press release
Date: 2009-Jun
A manifesto called for greater powers for local councils, including: a power to provide any public service not explicitly reserved for national government; the power to set business rates; a power to make proposals for national legislation, which would have to be debated by Parliament; and greater powers over local health services.
Source: Who's In Charge? A manifesto for a new politics, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Manifesto | LGA press release | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Jun
The government published a progress report setting out progress made since the publication in July 2008 of a White Paper on local democracy.
Source: Communities Progress Report, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report | White Paper
Date: 2009-Jun
The government began consultation on proposals for more freedoms for local councils. Proposals included reducing or simplifying the requirement to create plans for central government on issues such as local transport, youth justice, and air quality; and extending the power to trade to all councils, enabling them to offer services for a fee such as building, highways, and vehicle maintenance.
Source: Proposed Changes to the Delivery of Local Authorities' and Fire and Rescue Authorities' Freedoms and Flexibilities After the Introduction of Comprehensive Area Assessment, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Consultation document | DCLG press release
Date: 2009-May
The government published its response to a report on the role of English local authorities in tackling worklessness. It said that local councils should create unemployment profiles of their communities so that they could design jobs and skills programmes to fit local labour markets.
Source: Stepping up to the Challenge: The government's response to 'Tackling Worklessness: A review of the contribution and role of English local authorities and partnerships', Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Response | DCLG press release | Houghton report
Date: 2009-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that council tax should be supplemented by a local income tax, in order to make councils in England less dependent on central government for their funding.
Source: The Balance of Power: Central and Local Government, Sixth Report (Session 2008-09), HC 33, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | London Councils press release | BBC report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2009-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that the overall performance of the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2008 against its public service agreements left it 'still some way short of full effectiveness'.
Source: Communities and Local Government's Departmental Annual Report 2008, Second Report (Session 2008-09), HC 238, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Conservative Party press release | BBC report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2009-Mar
A think-tank report said that decisions on public services across health, leisure, transport, and the local environment should be handed down to individuals and communities. The traditional centralized provision of services often disregarded the specific needs of individuals, led to massive wastage, and failed to meet the rising expectations of citizens.
Source: Nigel Keohane, People Power: How can we personalise public services?, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Summary | RSN Online report
Date: 2009-Mar
The opposition Conservative Party outlined a series of policies designed to transfer powers from the central state to local people and local institutions. They included: abolishing all regional planning and housing powers exercised by regional government; allowing local councils to benefit more from the increase in council tax revenues from new homes; allowing councils to establish their own local enterprise partnerships to take over the economic development functions and funding of the regional development agencies; and giving local authorities a new discretionary power to levy business rate discounts, allowing them to help local shops and services.
Source: Control Shift: Returning power to local communities, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Plan | Conservative Party press release | LGA press release | LGA briefing | LGIU press release | NHF press release | NLGN press release | Unlock Democracy press release | CFC press release | CPRE press release | CBI press release | IOD press release | FT report | Community Care report | Guardian report | Telegraph report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2009-Feb
The government published a summary of responses to a consultation on ways of improving accountability in local government.
Source: Communities in Control: Real People, Real Power – Government Response to the Improving Local Accountability Consultation, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Response | Consultation document
Date: 2009-Jan
A report compared the English local government system with those in seven other countries. England was found to be at the 'centralist' end of the spectrum. The report recommended a series of measures designed to make central-local relations more effective.
Source: Roger Gough, With a Little Help From Our Friends: International lessons for English local government, Localis (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | LGA press release
Date: 2009-Jan