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Communities and neighbourhoods

Launch of the Community Empowerment Action Plan

Date of speech	19 October 2007
Location	Church House, London
Event summary	National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO) Conference

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Draft text of the speech - may differ from the delivered version.

Thank you for that kind introduction. It's a pleasure to be here with the NCVO.

Let me start by paying tribute to NCVO's more than eighty years of tireless campaigning, the efforts of your more than 5000 member organisations, and the hard work of their 13 million volunteers who do so much to bring opportunity to the deprived, security to the vulnerable, and new life to run-down towns and villages up and down the country.

I also want to welcome other representatives here today - the Community Sector Coalition, Community Development Foundation and others - who likewise give so many people and groups the confidence to take control of their own future.

Britain would be a poorer place by far without you all.

Finally I want to welcome the many representatives of local government, not least of course Paul Coen. And I applaud the spirit of cooperation that underpins this conference.

The voluntary and community sectors and local government, with their shared ambitions for local communities, should be natural allies. But I recognise the tensions that have arisen in the past. Arguments over influence and legitimacy. Disputes about access to public resources.

Today's event, and the concordat you are launching today, represent a big change: a move to a mature way of working that sees you not jostling for position, nor trying to drown out each other's voices, but recognising that no-one has a monopoly on legitimacy, that you work best when you complement each other, and that you owe it to the people you serve to pull in the same direction.

In that spirit I want to take the opportunity to enlist you all in what I believe is the most fundamental and most exciting change to the way government works that we have seen for years: and today I'm delighted to be launching an action plan, backed by £35m of funding over three years, that turns the rhetoric into reality.  I'll be saying more about this later.

But first, let me set the scene.

All my life and all my career, grounded in the streets and estates of Salford, I have believed that bringing government closer to people is not just the right thing to do: it's the best way to make public services reflect their needs.

There is no public service that cannot be improved by involving local people; no challenge that cannot be met by harnessing their ingenuity and commitment; no neighbourhood that cannot be made stronger, safer and more prosperous by giving them the confidence and opportunities to take care of the things they value. Clean streets. Green parks. Homes that are warm and safe.

And in fact with some of the biggest challenges we face today, from climate change to obesity, involving local people is a vital part of the solution: because we will never get to the bottom of them without everyone making little changes in their everyday life.

These arguments have been discussed, defined and refined for several years in all kinds of events, think-tanks and conferences. The idea of devolving much more power to a local level - what you might "call the new localism" - have steadily been building up a head of steam and today they are no longer on the fringes of debate, but right at the heart of this Government's agenda.

The Prime Minister has made clear that devolution right to the doorstep needs to be part and parcel of a "reinvention of the way we govern". And as you know, it's no accident that he set out his vision at the NCVO, because you are a vital part of the "new politics" that he envisaged:

"the challenges that this country faces now and for the future cannot be solved, cannot be met by top-down solutions simply by saying, as people often did in the past, that the man in Whitehall knows best....[ ] Britain needs a new type of politics which embraces everyone in the nation and not just a select few […], a politics that is built on engaging with people and not excluding them."

Last year's Local Government White Paper was the first big sign of a government having the confidence to let go of the central levers of control. It heralded a cut in red tape for town halls, new discretion to direct funding, a significant reduction in central monitoring - all of which Government is now delivering.

But more power to the town halls was always meant to go hand in hand with a new accountability to local people. The White Paper said that as local authorities look less to Whitehall for their legitimacy and direction, they should look more to the communities they serve.

I believe this is a huge opportunity for communities and town halls alike.

For communities - to shape the services they rely on: to take control over the future of their area: to get things done about what matters to them.

For town halls - to improve the services they provide: to make policy that better reflects local concerns: to enlist people in making their community proud. In fact, it's because the potential benefits are so great, that community empowerment is going to be at the heart of the National Strategy for improving local government performance.

I am confident it can be done - because it is being done in many places, with local authorities leading the way.

It is councils themselves who have had the imagination and the courage to get people involved. An LGA survey showed really encouraging results - nine in ten councils are holding neighbourhood forums, or using focus groups. Many are exploring how the internet can give them a new connection with the people they serve. And some are going well beyond the tried and tested methods, and trying out innovative ways to truly listen.

Take "participatory budgeting". First pioneered in Porto Alegre, Brazil, it means giving people a direct say in how local money is spent - letting them choose whether to prioritise improving housing, cleaning the streets or investing in community wardens, or whatever else the local issue might be.

Here in the UK, places like Newcastle and Bradford have tried it. While it doesn't mean everyone gets what they want, it does bring transparency to how difficult decisions are made. It helps bring people together, and leads some to play a bigger part in the community, perhaps even to stand as a school governor, magistrate or councillor.

We've also seen local authorities lead the way with "asset transfer": that means letting local communities take over the management or control of public assets such as parks, old schools, even disused chapels.

Barry Quirk, the Chief Executive of Lewisham Council led a review which showed just how powerful an effect putting local people in control could have - like the story of the market in Heywood, Rochdale. Threatened with closure in 2002. Now bustling, and generating so much profit from its meeting rooms that the board can offer grants to other local groups.

Or some local authorities, like Portsmouth City Council, have decided to help more people get involved by publishing a "directory" of things they can do - from sitting on a neighbourhood forum, to getting involved in the tenants' association, to getting involved in patient liaison, helping people get the most out of their local NHS. In Portsmouth, today more than twice as many people feel they can have their say as do nationally and satisfaction with local services has gone from 77 per cent to 83 per cent.

Participatory budgeting - asset transfer - joining up the dots to make it easier for people to get involved. Just three great examples of what can be done - and three great examples to learn from.

This is just the kind of thing I want to see, and believe communities deserve, not in some places, but everywhere.

That's why, one month on from the Prime Minister's speech, I'm very pleased to be publishing a plan of action setting out the concrete measures that my department will be taking to make it happen.

And because real devolution to local people is not something that Whitehall alone can achieve, I'm delighted not just that this is a joint publication with the Local Government Association, but that key partners like NCVO, the Community Sector Coalition, the Community Development Foundation and others have signed up in support.

So what next?

I think we've been talking for quite long enough. It's time to get down to business.

The Action Plan sets out a series of twenty-three different practical actions that my department and its partners are committing to. Some look at what more we need to do support local authorities, to give them the space to lead locally: some are for Whitehall to sort out at a national level.

I'm not going to go through them as a list, because as things get moving over the coming months there will be plenty of opportunities to keep you up to date with progress.

But I do want to pick out a handful of points that I believe are particularly relevant for people in this audience.

First, asset transfer. I've mentioned Barry Quirk's review already. Following that review, we have already seen new projects get off the ground in 20 local authority areas. Local authorities are exploring with their third sector partners what is possible in a way they simply weren't before, thinking about the potential for iconic places like an old town-centre court house, a redundant library, and even an abandoned pier to be part of community life again.

But the action plan makes clear that we want to go further still. Workshops this winter are going to help more places and groups understand how they can make a success of it. Next spring we will be joining with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and others to publish new guidance for local authorities on asset management and dealing with risk. And we will also support partners in more areas to demonstrate how it can be done well.

Or take participatory budgeting. Where places like Sunderland and Bradford have led they way, I want to encourage more places to follow. I see no reason why, in five years' time, there shouldn't be a community kitty in every local authority. We're supporting the work of the independent "Participatory Budgeting Unit" - who help local authorities understand what they can do, how they can do it, and what the benefits could be. And very shortly Government will be announcing pilots in more local authorities to join the 10 areas that are already demonstrating the potential of the approach.

Third, I want to boost funding to community centres, development trusts, and other neighbourhood organisations, which are coming to be known as "community anchors" - places that can be home to a wide range of different groups, sometimes too small to survive in isolation, but fulfilling a vital role. A community anchor can give a sustainable future to everything from a toddlers' club, to a lesbian and gay youth group, to an adult skills workshop, to a social club for the elderly.

It can support active citizens and emerging community groups. It can help local people to express their views on local services, and influence local decisions.

Places like the Goodwin Trust in Hull or the Burton Street Project in Sheffield are some of the best-known examples of how it can work - but why shouldn't every place, whether rural or urban, have their own? And over the next three years we will be looking hard at how to support them.

Fourth, I'm very pleased to be working together with the Local Government Association as we explore how we can make local petitions a more effective trigger for local action. Petitions can be a great way for people to voice concerns about local issues, whether it's cleaning up graffiti, sorting out traffic problems or making sure everyone is treated with respect on the local estate. With nearly three in ten councils already making sure that petitions are really listened to and not just passed over, there is a lot of good practice to learn from and spread more widely.

Fifth, and bringing together work on all these strands and more, I am proud to announce a new network of 18 local authorities who are leading the way. This is about shining a spotlight on the places that can inspire others: showing that they don't need new legislation, just a little more imagination, and effective investment in community development support, to connect with local people and reap the benefits. We are working with the Improvement and Development Agency to develop a programme which ensures that this best practice can be shared amongst local authorities, both regionally and across the country.

There are 2 members of the network in every region so that the benefits can be spread far and wide - from Cumbria to Portsmouth, Plymouth to Great Yarmouth.

And some of the examples are great:

In Portsmouth, local people were involved in commissioning a replacement road bridge - the Copnor Bridge - that went on to win awards.

Brighton has been one of places that has used youth advisors - making sure young people have their say about local services and building links between different generation.

And once dogged by crime and grime, Perry Common in Birmingham has been transformed thanks to the efforts of local people

It's because sharing stories can be a true inspiration that I'm also very pleased to support a new website - called peopleandparticipation.net - hosted by Involve, that helps individuals and groups up and down the country share their examples of what has worked in their community.

Finally, let me make clear that just as we are looking to local government to involve people more locally, I recognise that there is much more for Whitehall to do at a national level. This isn't do as I say, but do as I do.

We've already had several "citizens juries" on healthcare, education, and tackling gun crime. It's a way of making sure policy takes account of people's concerns. As the action plan makes clear, my own department will be carrying out its own juries soon.

Nationally, we are also looking at petitions. We are one of Europe's biggest petition-writers, and petitions on the 10 Downing Street website have attracted almost 5 million signatures in just one year. But we want to look at whether it should be easier to petition parliament - and perhaps make petitions a more consistent trigger for parliamentary debate.

And for the future, because empowerment works best when people have a bigger say not just over recycling or parks but the whole range of services that are important to them, we are looking at ways to give people a stronger voice in everything from planning, to the police, to the health service.

All in all, this is an ambitious plan.

It means big changes in the way government does things.

But the potential is huge. Five years from now we could see a big difference.

Public services less bound by central oversight, more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people who rely on them.

Democracy everywhere less a monologue, more a conversation, informed and enriched by a diverse range of voices.

And more and more people feeling not sidelined or powerless in the face of change, but with the confidence to say "this is my community, and I'm proud of it."

With your commitment I believe we can get there - and I look forward to working with you in the months ahead.