HM Government

Empowering Local Communities

To get the best out of public services, it is essential that they are joined up locally around the citizen, are responsive to local circumstances and, crucially, harness the capacities of communities to identify and solve their own problems. In this way we will make public policy more sensitive to ‘place’ - not only to recognise that places are different and need different solutions, but also to unlock the energy and creativity of people on the front line.

To do this we need greater devolution and decentralisation not just to local councils, but crucially to individuals, families, community groups, and professionals working in local public services. And at the same time, it is important that national agencies continue to respond flexibly to local priorities.

Building on progress

Over the past decade, towns and cities across the country have been regenerated and revitalised after a long period of neglect. Record sums have been invested in infrastructure and services for towns, cities and communities, creating new opportunities for people to live and work in high quality, sustainable places. We have invested in local government too, with a 39% real terms increase in government grants for revenue expenditure up to 2007/08 since taking office, and as a result it is more efficient and effective than ever. £3.45 billion has been saved through smarter working by councils over the last four years. Pooling or aligning budgets across public sector bodies will help focus effort and resources on the priorities that matter most in local areas, remove duplication and make the most of available funding.

Through the Working Neighbourhoods Fund we are building on progress to provide £1.5 billion between 2008 and 2011 to some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in around 65 local authorities in England, to help tackle worklessness.⁵⁹ Land has been brought back into productive use, which has in turn improved the quality of life for local people and provided a new generation of affordable homes. The creation of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) in December last year marked a step change, by bringing together for the first time expertise on regeneration with funding for affordable housing. The Government is aiming to deliver 70,000 affordable homes a year by 2010/11,⁶⁰ although given current market conditions it is impossible to predict outputs for that year with certainty. Through our planned new framework for regeneration, to be published in summer 2009, we want to shape the way that regeneration is carried out in the future in England - ensuring physical, social, and economic regeneration are planned and delivered together.

The new Local Area Agreements - essentially contracts between Local Government, its local partners and central Government - have set a clear basis for prioritising local action and local resources, while delivering on national priorities, such as carbon reduction. We have cut the number of local targets from around 1,200 performance indicators to a maximum of 35 agreed priorities per area - cutting bureaucracy and giving a focus on what really matters.⁶¹ £5 billion of local money has been unringfenced - freed up from central controls so that it can be focussed on local and national priorities. New economic partnerships, called Multi Area Agreements, are driving action to tackle linked challenges - for example, on housing, transport and worklessness and skills - across local authority boundaries. Ten agreements have been signed and several more are in development.

But this devolution to Local Authorities and their partners is not enough. We also need to see devolution from Local Authorities and their partners to communities themselves. The ambitious proposals set out in the Government’s recent White Paper Communities in Control sets out how we will both strengthen local democracy and devolve real power and decision making to individuals and communities.⁶²

The capacity of third sector organisations to deliver excellent and innovative public services in local communities has significantly improved. Government investment in the third sector has doubled since 1997. The Compact, signed in 1998 between the Government and the third sector, sets out the code for a partnership which gives charities and social enterprises fair terms of engagement, while protecting the unique qualities of third sector organisations.

The Next Stage of Reform: citizen empowerment, new professionalism and strategic leadership

Over the next year we will:
- implement the proposals in Communities in Control. Handing real power, influence, resources and assets to individuals and communities - with a particular focus on engaging and empowering tenants and young people;
- build on the strategic leadership role of local government, working with its partners, reducing bureaucracy and freeing up front line professionals to respond to local needs;
- continue to devolve decision making to local government and their partners to build and improve on the Local Area Agreements and Multi-Area Agreements and introduce agreements with at least two city-regions where cities increasingly take control of their own economic destinies;
- invest in the capacity of the third sector as a key partner in strengthening communities and promote the role of social enterprises as a business model to achieve social change.

Local people in control

Empowering local people is particularly important during difficult economic times - engaging them in the difficult decisions which need to be taken. Local people will be given more opportunities in the coming year to get things done for themselves. The transfer of community assets, such as disused buildings, from local authority to community ownership is gaining momentum. Community ownership is helping ensure assets are used to the greatest benefit for the local community, for example as a home for local social enterprises, providing a meeting space for local groups, and giving people opportunities to learn new skills. We will help more communities to get a chance to run their own assets.

Local citizens will also be given more influence over local decision-making. For example, stronger petitioning powers will enable more people to have their voice heard and help elected representatives do their jobs better. While participatory budgeting will enable more people to engage with prioritising public expenditure in an informed manner. In addition, the Local Transport Act 2008 gives enhanced powers to local authorities in England and Wales to secure better bus services for their communities, by working in partnership with bus operators. It also paves the way for a new statutory ‘champion’ for bus passengers in England - this role will be taken on by Passenger Focus, which already represents the interests of rail users. The Act also includes deregulatory measures which will benefit the community transport sector, helping it to expand its role.

Providing relevant information to service users is not only the right thing to do, it can also help drive reform and improvement. This is why we now require council, and fire and rescue service efficiency savings over the previous financial year to be published on all council tax bills and accompanying leaflets. Providing this information and the national average for comparison will help residents scrutinise their local council’s performance. We are also further extending this by reforming the way that councils and local service providers’ performance are assessed.

The new Comprehensive Area Assessments - published in November this year - will reflect what local people themselves say about their experiences and how their expectations and priorities have been satisfied.⁶³ Results for every local area will be published on the inspectorate’s public website, so every citizen can see how well their area is doing and what is being done to make things better. The Comprehensive Area Assessments process will also ensure key information on the performance of all the services in a local area and will be published in one easily accessible place. A range of interactive maps and charts will enable scrutiny of local performance against national service indicators and allow citizens to compare performance with other local authority areas in England. In addition, pilot projects in around 15 local authority areas will develop innovative ways to keep local citizens informed about services in their area, thereby empowering communities by making available the information they need. These pilot projects could provide better local information to up to an estimated 1.5 million people.

Publishing non-personal information in a way that it can be easily reused by others can also bring about real improvements in local services. We will publish easily accessible, simple raw data on the location of all cycling accidents on http://innovate.direct.gov.uk/. Web developers can use this data to develop tools that help people plan safer cycle journeys. Since October 2008 the Highways Agency has provided live traffic data feeds to Google™ so that their online mapping service can show real-time traffic congestion on the roads, helping road users to plan their journeys to avoid congestion. The Department for Transport are also actively researching the value and practicalities of making all non-personal road accident data freely available to the general public via a website.

Social tenants in control

Social tenants will be empowered to have far more of a say over where they live, the standard of homes they occupy and what their landlord does. Choice Based Letting is giving housing applicants more say over where they live by allowing them to choose their homes.⁶⁴ By 2010 we will have Choice Based Letting in place in all local authorities, with plans to go further to progressively include low cost home ownership and properties to rent from private landlords. The new Tenants Services Authority is putting more power in the hands of tenants - giving them the information they need to judge their services, and easier ways to complain. By the end of March 2009, all housing associations that own more than 1,000 homes will be required to have a resident on any board or committee delivering a service. National Tenant Voice will be set up later this year to make sure tenants have the knowledge and expertise to influence government, the Tenants Services Authority and others.⁶⁵ We already provide funding support to council tenants who want to take on the management of their homes or to consider the options for the future of their homes, including transfer to a tenant controlled housing association. We are preparing regulations that would require local authority landlords to co-operate with the option appraisal and transfer processes.

Young People in control

Within the overall drive to empower communities we are giving a particular focus to young people. In every community we want world class places for young people to go. Projects in which young people really participate in the development, design and future running of youth services are an important investment in our community services, increasing access to and participation in positive activities.

We have committed £220 million for the Youth Capital Fund and the Youth Opportunity funds until at least 2011.⁶⁶ The funds are expanding to improve services in the most deprived areas. Taking this further, myplace is a multi - million pound government programme for improving youth facilities in response to clear demand from young people, parents and communties for more and better places for young people to go.⁶⁷ myplace will deliver £190 million of government capital investment in over three years through grants of between £1 million and £5 million. Administering this once in a generation opportunity, the BIG Lottery Fund will only support those projects which promote partnership between local authorities, third, private and public sector partners to plan, deliver and operate financially sustainable youth facilities with and for young people.

Cadet forces are also helping build stronger communities, by transforming the attitudes, experiences and opportunities of young people. Every year 130,000 12-18 year olds enjoy the benefits of the cadet experience - developing team-work, self-reliance and self-esteem. Schools that take part benefit from a decrease in truancy and bullying, increased respect and commitment to learning, and a new aspiration to succeed. We continue to expand on this with six pilot schemes in, and new partnerships between, independent and state schools in London.

Strengthening and extending local leadership and partnerships between services

Over the coming year, the responsibilities of local authorities and other local leaders will continue to need to grow. We are already giving local authorities more responsibility for regeneration, focused on helping people get back to work, and over local transport issues. By April 2009 every local authority will have worked closely with government to review and refresh their Local Area Agreement, which sets out how their performance will be assessed.⁶⁸ This will ensure the priorities and targets for each area continue to be the right ones, enabling local areas to identify and respond to new priorities emerging as a result of the economic downturn. Northumberland, for example, has responded by setting up an Economic Recovery Group consisting of the local authority and business groups.

We will build on the Multi-Area Agreement model and go further. In the 2008 Pre-Budget Report we pledged that we would announce agreements with at least two city-regions at Budget 2009. These agreements will centre on a set of new devolutionary proposals - negotiated on a tailored basis with local authorities in city-regions - to increase further their ability to drive economic growth and contribute to sustainable development.

Local leadership and the capacity of front line staff is critical in ensuring partnership working and greater devolution of responsibilities translates into genuine improvements in communities. Local and national Government will therefore continue to invest in the development of leaders and other staff. For example, we are establishing a Taskforce to look at how the frontline staff can be empowered to improve services and respond in turn to a more empowered public. Interim findings are expected by the end of 2009. Also, we will review the current provision of leadership development for public service leaders in central and local government and make recommendations for improvement in line with the Government’s public service reform objectives.

Building a robust third sector as local partners in delivering services

In the downturn, third sector organisations face specific challenges; but also have enormous potential to provide valuable services to people locally and innovate in response to tough times. Support provided by the government action plan will increase the opportunities for the third sector to bid for contracts, including through the ‘Right to Bid’ to provide welfare to work services, going live in 2009.⁶⁹ In addition, the Compact between Government and the third sector will be refreshed to improve commissioning and engagement. We are also building the capacity of community organisations led by users to support wider public service improvements, such as giving patients and carers more choice and control in health and social care.

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59. The Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Department for Communities and Local Government and Department for Work and Pensions, 2007
60. Homes for the Future: More Affordable, More Sustainable, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2007
61. An Introduction to the Local Performance Framework - Delivering Better Outcomes for Local People, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2007
62. Communities in Control: Real People, Real Power, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008
63. Comprehensive Area Assessment Framework Document, Audit Commission, 2009
64. Allocation of Accommodation: Choice Based Lettings - Code Guidance for Local Housing Authorities, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008
65. Citizens of Equal Worth: The Project Group’s Proposals for the National Tenant Voice, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2009
66. Aiming high for young people: a ten year strategy for positive activities, Department for Children, Schools & Families, 2007
67. My Place Guidance Notes, Big Lottery Fund, 2008
68. LAA Annual Review 2008/09, Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008
69. Real Help for Communities: Volunteers, Charities and Social Enterprises, Office of the Third Sector, 2009