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- Kelly ushers in an era of trust between central and local government
Kelly ushers in an era of trust between central and local government
| Published | 5 July 2006 |
|---|
Central and local government must now move into an era of mutual trust, says Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly.
Central and local government must now move into an era of mutual trust, says Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly.
In her keynote speech to the LGA Conference in Bournemouth, Ms Kelly announced the direction she wants to head in the build up to the Local Government White Paper, which will be published in the autumn. Ms Kelly outlined a shift from the 'top down State' to the 'trusting state', from 'earned autonomy' to 'presumed autonomy', from a process-driven system to a people-driven one.
She said:
"I start in this post as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government convinced this is a very exciting moment for the way we govern ourselves. We are at a tipping point for our democracy where, working together, we can usher in a new and unprecedented era of devolution.
"These are the key points I want to see. Firstly, citizens who are informed, engaged and, wherever possible, have choice over the services they use and the way they use them.
"Next, neighbourhoods should be able to get things done in their areas with empowered communities, able to run local community centres or facilities if they so wish and can do it well. I want to see self-confident local authorities playing a key strategic and scrutiny role with respect to public services and other activity in their area.
"And lastly, I want to see a set of government departments that realise that their job is to set clear frameworks for delivery and reporting, not to interfere and micro-manage.
"Our vision for local government is rooted in realism - the best councils are already showing what works."
Ms Kelly also used the LGA Conference to publish a new report - Mapping the Local Government Performance Reporting Landscape - about burdens on local government. It says that 80% of the performance reporting produced by councils is information required by Whitehall and only 20% is for direct local benefit. This has got to change.
She added:
"I'm clear that we need much less red tape getting in the way of councils responding to their citizens. This means a dramatic reduction so today I can announce that I am setting up a practitioner group to reduce burdens on local government. This Lifting Burdens Task Force will draw its membership from local practitioners and I am delighted that Michael Frater, Chief Executive of Telford and the Wrekin, has agreed to be its Chair. It will tell us which requirements cause the most aggravation on the ground and which add the least value - and then to agree packages of burden reduction with central government through the Central Local Partnership.
"Of course, I want to go further and faster towards the vision that I've set out. But it won't be achieved, unless local authorities - and communities themselves - make contributions too.
"I believe that we can build on the progress made so far, take on the challenge. But we'll need to work together."
Notes to editors
1. For a full copy of Ruth Kelly's speech, please visit Speech to LGA conference
2. The "Mapping the Local Government Performance Landscape" report was prepared for Communities and Local Government by PricewaterhouseCoopers. It examines the nature and scale of the performance reporting arrangements placed on local government by Government and includes perceptions from the four councils involved in the study: Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Telford and Wrekin Council, Kent County Council, and Sevenoaks District Council. The report is available on Communities and Local Government website at: Mapping the Local Government Performance Reporting Landscape
3. The Lifting Burdens Task Force will identify where requirements made by central government on local government could be reduced and agree a package of burden reduction and its implementation. The government intends the membership to be a mix of Directors from a selection of local authorities. The precise scope of the group will be for its members to shape but the government expects it to look at a full range of requirements including reporting and monitoring information, indicators and self-assessments. The government expects the Task Force to publish an initial report by the end of the year.
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