A report (by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury) provided an assessment of how 12 government departments were decentralizing power, and put forward 'personal' recommendations for next steps.
Source: Greg Clark MP, Decentralisation: An assessment of progress, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Dec
A think-tank report examined the role of housing associations as actors in, and catalysts for, a 'vibrant and transformative' localism. It said that the localism agenda would fail unless the 'disconnect' between central government and local institutions such as housing associations was overcome.
Source: Pete Duncan and Sally Thomas, Acting on Localism: The role of housing associations in driving a community agenda, ResPublica
Links: Report | Summary | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that local elected officials were increasingly unrepresentative of young people and their needs, for example over housing. The Localism Act was was intended to give more power to local residents: but all it was doing was handing more power to older people. Unless the age profile of the people who engaged with local democracy changed rapidly, the real effect of localism would be damaging to the young generation.
Source: Jeremy Leach and David Kingman, How the Localism Act Hands Power to Older Generations, Intergenerational Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
An article compared and contrasted local government reforms in seven European countries (including the United Kingdom).
Source: Hellmut Wollmann, 'Local government reforms in (seven) European countries: between convergent and divergent, conflicting and complementary developments', Local Government Studies, Volume 38 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
The Department for Communities and Local Government published its annual report for 2011–12. The report provides an overview of the Department's performance, structured around the five coalition priorities set out in its business plan.
Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2011–12, HC 50, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO
Links: Report | DCLG press release
Date: 2012-Jul
A commission report called for a dedicated England Office, with its own Secretary of State. This would place England on a level footing with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, each of which already had a government department focused on their needs. A stronger voice for England within parliament would help to ensure better support for enterprising English local councils.
Source: Commission on the Future of Local Government, Commission on the Future of Local Government
Links: Report | Summary | Commission press release | NAVCA press release | Charity Times report
Date: 2012-Jul
The coalition government announced that it had agreed to devolve new powers to England's eight largest ('core') cities, in order to help them invest in local growth, jobs, and skills.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 5 July 2012, columns 63-65WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | DCLG press release | DPM press release | CBI press release | CCG press release | Centre for Cities press release | Labour Party press release | LGA press release | SERC blog post | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the key policy announcements of the coalition government's first year that affected local governance. The reforms indicated an ideological agenda that had the potential to deliver a radically different form of local governance. But they were 'far from coherent', and the potential for radical change was heavily constrained by (among other things) budget cuts.
Source: Vivien Lowndes and Lawrence Pratchett, 'Local governance under the coalition government: austerity, localism and the "Big Society"', Local Government Studies, Volume 38 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A report highlighted potential flaws in the government's localism agenda. Although many in the voluntary sector were keen to see more engagement between public service providers and local community organizations, the government's determination to create competitive markets for public services – and a failure to understand collective and community approaches to public service provision – could seriously undermine this relationship.
Source: Localism: Threat or Opportunity?, Trades Union Congress
Links: Report | TUC press release | NCIA press release
Date: 2012-Jul
Date: 2012-Jun
A think-tank report said that Scotland's 32 local authorities and 14 health boards should be replaced by a smaller number of local authorities integrating the powers of all these bodies. The new local authorities should have greater fiscal powers to help ensure that they were responsible for a greater proportion of their own expenditure. Local authorities should consider devolving greater responsibilities to community councils in order to better involve the local community and encourage participation.
Source: Ben Thomson, Geoff Mawdsley, and Alison Payne, Renewing Local Government, Reform Scotland
Links: Report | Reform Scotland press release | Cosla press release | BBC report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-May
The Welsh Government published a White Paper on proposals designed to make improvements in relation to local democracy. It included plans to improve access to information about town and community councils, enhance the operation of the local government ethical framework, strengthen the scrutiny function of local government, and ensure that councillors received improved levels of training and development.
Source: Promoting Local Democracy, Welsh Government
Links: White Paper | Statement
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined local democracy, civic engagement, political participation, and community. It said that local democracy was a 'vibrant terrain' of innovation, civic engagement and participation, and dynamic community activity.
Source: Hugh Atkinson, Local Democracy, Civic Engagement and Community: From New Labour to the Big Society, Manchester University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
The consumer rights watchdog examined the attitudes of regular users of services towards greater localism, and the appetite for greater participation in both local decision-making and service delivery. There was a strong desire among citizens to influence local services: but there were obstacles to this becoming a reality.
Source: Liz Coll, Hands Up and Hands On: Understanding the new opportunities for localism and community empowerment, Consumer Focus
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined the structure of local government in European Union countries from a public law perspective. It evaluated the impact of European integration on the structure of local government at national level, and said that it was possible to view local government as the 'fourth level' of the EU multi-layered constitution.
Source: Carlo Panara and Michael Varney (eds.), Local Government in Europe: The fourth level in the EU multi-layered system of governance, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
The report was published of an independent Commission that examined the experience of directly elected city mayors in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America. It said that mayors could save large sums of public money by rationalizing city-wide spending by public and private bodies. It also said the government should consider giving mayors wider powers over transport, welfare, and skills – something that might require these powers to extend over a region, and not just a city.
Source: Elected Mayors and City Leadership, Warwick Commission (University of Warwick)
Links: Report | Commission press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Apr
Researchers examined international evidence about the impacts of decentralization of government. The impacts in areas such as the efficiency and accessibility of local services and local growth appeared 'ambiguous and inconclusive'. Greater fiscal – more than political – decentralization was associated with lower income inequality between regions.
Source: John Tomaney, Andy Pike, Gianpiero Torrisi, Vassilis Tselios, and Andres Rodriguez-Pose, Decentralisation Outcomes: A review of evidence and analysis of international data, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Report
Notes: Publication of this report was delayed by the coalition government.
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined whether the different powers and resources at the disposal of local and regional governments across Europe delivered greater satisfaction with political institutions and led to greater life satisfaction. Fiscal, and some forms of political, decentralization were found to have a positive and significant effect on the overall subjective well-being of individuals. However, fiscal decentralization had a different effect on the perception of institutions according to whether sub-national expenditure or revenues were considered. Similarly, the effect of political decentralization on the level of satisfaction with institutions also varied according to whether the capacity of local governments to influence national politics or to exert authority over their own citizens were considered.
Source: Luis Diaz-Serrano and Andres Rodriguez-Pose, 'Decentralization, subjective well-being, and the perception of institutions', Kyklos: International Review for Social Sciences, Volume 65 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
See also: Luis Diaz-Serrano and Andres Rodriguez-Pose, Decentralization, Happiness and the Perception of Institutions, Working Paper 2011/07, Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies
Date: 2012-Apr
A think-tank report examined the merits and limitations of directly elected mayors in English cities.
Source: Tom Gash and Sam Sims (eds.), What Can Elected Mayors Do for Our Cities?, Institute for Government
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book examined the dynamics of democratic reform processes in European local government, including new forms of democracy influenced by notions of governance, participation, e-governance, and empowering civil society.
Source: Linze Schaap and Harry Daemen (eds.), Renewal in European Local Democracies: Puzzles, dilemmas and options, Springer
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined change in local democracy through an analysis of the views of local councillors in Britain. There were differences between councillors in their attitudes to the different versions of democracy (representative, participatory, market, and network), although they mostly supported a traditional local representative system. Councillors continued to act in a manner that was 'out of step with the thrust of reform'.
Source: David Sweeting and Colin Copus, 'Whatever happened to local democracy?', Policy & Politics, Volume 40 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A think-tank report said local government faced the risk of ever greater 'community disconnection and anger' in the wake of public spending cuts. It called for strong local leadership, greater central government support for localism, and significant investment in community solutions such as social enterprise schemes.
Source: Graeme Walker and Simon Parker, Anticipating the Future Citizen, New Local Government Network
Date: 2012-Feb
The coalition government announced (following consultation) that elected city mayors in England would have their own bespoke powers tailored to local needs, rather than being subject to a 'one size fits all' approach: the government would negotiate separate arrangements with each city.
Source: What Can a Mayor Do for Your City? Government Response to the Mayoral Consultation, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Response to consultation | Hansard | DCLG press release
Date: 2012-Jan