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London Councils Summit 2008

Date of speech	12 July 2008
Location	The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London
Event summary	London Councils Summit 2008: To 2010 and beyond

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

I've met many of you at one time or another, but it's a pleasure to address all of London's boroughs at once today.

First of all, I want to congratulate you.

London is a city of contrasts like no other: inner city and suburb; every nationality and language you can think of; some of Britain's greatest concentrations of power and wealth, and some of the most deprived neighbourhoods anywhere in the country.

All you have to is walk from EC1 to E1 - from Bank to Bethnal Green - to see the range of challenges that London's councils face.

Despite these challenges, London councils do really well. Six of you got the highest possible ratings from the Audit Commission this year. 94 per cent were rated good or excellent. And Lambeth was the country's most improved authority. That's a dramatic turnaround from a decade ago.

In many areas of policy, other councils as well as policymakers in Whitehall look to your example. Whether it's Southwark tackling gun and knife crime, Merton facing up to climate change, or Islington delivering better traffic repairs at lower costs.

So first of all my message is that I want to acknowledge that success; the hard work that has helped you come so far; and your commitment to delivering for Londoners.

It's that success, that energy that gives you such a strong basis to look ahead to the new challenges.

Politicians and public servants in Whitehall and in Local Government are living in changing times.

The challenges we deal with today are different from fifty and I think even fifteen years ago. It is a different pace from five years ago.

Look at the patterns of migration. More people come to this country to work. With the enlargement of the European Union, they come from new places. More are choosing to stay for a couple of years, then return, than make Britain their permanent home. Here in London migrancy across boroughs poses a challenge as much as across borders.

Climate change was the preserve of a few a few years ago, and now I can't think of anything more mainstream, with most ordinary people ready and willing to do their bit if only they have the opportunities and the support of Government. Internationally and nationally I think we're in the right place, but more can be done locally - from Combined Heat and Power to recycling, and this is a big space for local Government to occupy. And there are also other great challenges facing local Government, including tackling childhood obesity, and alcohol abuse.

The economy has been transformed. The nature of manufacturing is fundamentally different. People and capital are more mobile, and there is an ever greater premium on skills and knowledge. Nowhere is this more so than London's financial and business service - I recently made a visit to Tower Hamlets, where the National Skills Academy for Financial Services, right next to Canary Wharf, is doing incredible work, so people can aspire to work in the financial sector in a way they couldn't have dreamed of before.

On top of these changes, people's expectation of public services have shifted. People are used to 24/7 services from the private sector, tailored to their individual needs, and have the same expectation from local government.

If local government is going to take a leading role in meeting these challenges - as I believe it can - then it needs to change too.

Government has started laying the foundations for those changes. Changes that could help local government become bolder, better connected, and more representative.

Since the 2006 White Paper on Strong and Prosperous communities, the framework you operate in has changed beyond recognition, giving you new opportunities to do local things that local people want you to do.

Today, we have a new White Paper - Communities in control: real power, real power - setting out how Whitehall is committed to supporting councils in putting more power in the hands of their residents. Because the evidence shows that giving people a greater say helps them feel more satisfied, gets services working harder for them, and helps revitalise local democracy.

And the White Paper also looks at ways to promote the role of councillors. Despite the high profile of local government in London, and the front page headlines generated by the mayoral race, turnout in May's elections was just 40 per cent nationally and 45 per cent in London: so despite the huge personalities involved, more than half of Londoners didn't vote in the mayoral election. And we still have far too few people coming forward to be the leaders for tomorrow's communities.

The challenge now is for councils to make the most of these opportunities. I believe London can and should be in the vanguard.

The 2006 White Paper was the culmination of a debate about local democracy that was largely driven and defined by councils themselves.

You asked for greater flexibility, greater discretion over funding, more space to lead.

Some doubted whether we could deliver, but here we are with new Local Area Agreements. Based around up to 35 targets drawn from a much slimmer list of indicators than before. With the long-term certainty of the first ever 3-year funding settlement.

Now it's up to you to make the most of it.

I'm encouraged by the shape of London's Local Area Agreements so far:

From Westminster's focus on improving resident satisfaction to Kingston's emphasis on reducing its ecological footprint, boroughs are not just committing to performance targets which the Government wants to see. But performance targets which specifically address some of the key challenges facing London and their particular local communities - from tackling worklessness and child poverty to reducing violent crime and anti-social behaviour.

The ball it in your court to turn those commitments into practical change that people can see, and feel, and touch.

But as well as excelling individually I think there is scope for London's councils to deliver for their residents by working together more closely.

There are many challenges that don't respect borough boundaries. Housing, driving up education and skills, tackling worklessness and child poverty.

And in some places councils could make most headway by working together.

I've been inspired by the Multi Area Agreements that have taken shape elsewhere in the country, and I'm about to sign off some on Monday, from Dorset and South Hampshire to the Tees Valley.

Now I'm not suggesting that Multi Area Agreements are necessarily the answer here in London.

But strong partnerships certainly are. There has been a long tradition of strong pan-London partnership working among boroughs through London Councils and its predecessors. London Councils has been, for instance, at the forefront of the promotion of local Bills in Parliament to address London's specific problems, such as parking or environmental protection - sometimes paving the way for national legislation. And I know boroughs are working, under Merrick's leadership, through Capital Ambition, which is very important.

But we need to see more joined up working at local level, particularly among neighbouring boroughs. That's why I welcome the kind of concerted working we have seen in the West London Alliance for ten years now.

Or the debate, and teamworking, across the five Olympic boroughs. They have the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy in the East and all of London, and these Olympic boroughs have a significant stake in this.

I want to say more about the mayor in London.

It is important to have strong leadership for London. And there is no doubt the Mayoralty has enhanced London's reputation as a world city. Clearly we are now entering a new era for London government, and I know Boris Johnson spoke to you earlier today about his plans to work with boroughs.

I want to emphasise that the Government will continue to work with the Mayor to address London's challenges. And I will be interested to see how the development of the City Charter between the Mayor and boroughs unfolds.

If the first way London can be in the vanguard is through bolder leadership, the second is through connecting with local people.

I was delighted to launch our White Paper Communities in control earlier this week. It is not often you get to do something in politics that you've wanted to do for 25 years. Local Government is in my DNA - for eight years I was a Local Government Officer and then a councillor, and I'm married to a local Government officer - I want to empower local Government.

I've never believed democracy is just about turning up once very four years to put a cross in a box, and then waiting for some altruistic people to come forward to improve the local community. It should be all around us, every day, like oxygen.

Nor do I believe that politics should be an art practiced by an elite few on behalf of the poor and dispossessed.

The best solutions to the problems in any neighbourhood come from the people at the sharp end of delivering policy.

That's why I want to see local government everywhere involving local people in the decisions that make a difference to their lives. Not just the soft things like what flowers do you want in the hanging baskets or what colour the doors should be painted, but the big things.

Where exactly do we see ourselves, as a borough, in five years' time? How much of our budget should we spend on leisure centres, and which ones? What do we want to see the police doing down our streets? And giving people a bigger say on priorities. People recognise they can't get 100 per cent of what they want, but they want a proper debate and a proper argument about it.

Equally I want to see local government getting better at giving people the opportunity to get hands-on in making their community a better place.

Whether it's through building a stronger relationship with charities and social enterprises, or handing over under-used assets to community groups.

Many London councils are already on that.

Earlier this week I was at Cambridge House in Southwark, a 'community anchor' organisation that offers a home to a whole range of groups and organisations. I was pleased to learn that 14 different boroughs now work with Cambridge House to provide advocacy services to those with mental health, drawing on the expertise and commitment of a social enterprise.

Lambeth and Lewisham took part in the first wave of demonstrations for 'asset transfer', exploring the resources they had on their books - from old pubs to community centres - and asking whether they might not be better loved and better used if they were managed by and owned by community groups.

I'm also pleased to see that Redbridge has launched a fantastic and groundbreaking new website, Redbridge-i, making it far easier for people to find information about public services when and where they need it. That kind of transparency and information is the first step to giving people the power to demand services that work better for them.

This is a great start. But what a difference there could be if these examples were recreated all over the city, from North to South.

I'm not naïve. I can be accused of being too optimistic, but I know this will not change overnight.

Please read the White Paper, come back with ideas, and let's continue this dialogue.

The third way I believe local democracy needs to change is by becoming more representative.

Politics shouldn't be a dirty word.

Today too many people think that politics is something you do for yourself and not for the community.

And perhaps that in part explains the difficulty we have getting more people standing as councillors.

Nationwide only 3 in 10 councillors are women. The average age is well over 50. And there are about half as many councillors from a BME background as you would expect.

That's not good enough for any of us. I recognise we are no representative in Parliament either, not by a long stretch. And it's important to address that. The best governments need to be representative. It's how you make sure that people's concerns are properly addressed.

It's also a question of talent. If you've just got the same old faces standing you're missing out on a wealth of expertise and enthusiasm.

That's why we are making some big changes.

From getting rid of antiquated barriers that stopped council officers of a certain level getting involved in any political activity, to introducing a new duty on councils to promote democracy.

We will be discussing with local authorities how to make the new duty work but I'm pleased that some London councils are already finding great ways to make politics more accessible and understandable to young people.

Take young mayors. In boroughs such as Lewisham and Tower Hamlets the young mayor, elected by schoolkids, has a real opportunity to influence the way the council does things. Some have their own delegated budget. That's why we have young advisers and internships with councillors. We're not going to have the local Government we want without bringing younger talent forward.

And I'm delighted to welcome London councils' 'be a councillor' campaign.

I'm pleased that we've got 50 or so possible candidates here today.

It's two years to the next elections here in London, and I certainly hope to see some of your names on a ballot paper then.

If London councils can make the most of the opportunities over the next few years - and show the bolder, more representative, more connected leadership that people are looking for - then I believe you can stay ahead of the pack, and keep making a real difference for the people you serve.

I'll be listening, learning and working with you over the next few months to put into reality the ambitions of the White Paper.