First August 2016

No.602 August 2016 www.local.gov.uk

the magazine for local government LGA annual conference 2016

“I have always believed you can never have enough democracy�

Billy Bragg, Songwriter and Author

10

interview:

16 Business rates retention DCLG launches consultation

18 Sir James Bevan: how to fund flood prevention in the future

23 EU referendum: a view from Wales Protecting funding for regeneration

A long time in politics

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was delighted to see so many of you at our annual conference last month. To say it has been an eventful few weeks and that we had a lot to talk about in Bournemouth is an understatement.

In this edition of first, you can read about how we are responding to the new prime minister and government, and raising the issues that matter to you.

You can catch up on the latest conference news, read about the views of the political group leaders and the Welsh LGA on the EU referendum result, and get a taste of some of our latest publications – on devolution, housing and adult social care.

We also have analysis of the Government’s consultation on business rates reform, and comment articles on fiscal devolution and models of subregional governance.

This month’s interview is with Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, one of our conference speakers.

The best place to get the latest local government news is on our website (www.local.gov.uk) or by following us on Twitter (@LGAnews). And send us your letters or ideas for articles in first by emailing first@local.gov.uk Lord Porter is Chairman of the LGA

contents news

4 ADASS funding

6 Views on Brexit

survey

Health cuts 5 Cost of obesity

Car clocking

Political diversity 7 EU negotiations

A new economy

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7 23

interview

18 Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency

“My ambition, working with councils and others, is to deliver even better places”

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Editor Karen Thornton Design & print TU ink www.tuink.co.uk Advertising James Pembroke Publishing Write to first: Local Government House, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ Email first@local.gov.uk Tel editorial 020 7664 3294 Tel advertising 020 7079 9365 Photography Photofusion, Dreamstime and Ingimage unless otherwise stated Cover Andrew Baker/LGA Interview Andrew Baker/LGA Circulation 18,000 (July 2016) first is published online at www.local.gov.uk/first at least two days before the magazine. To unsubscribe email first@oscar-research.co.uk The inclusion of an advert or insert in first does not imply endorsement by the LGA of any product or service. Contributors’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the LGA.

August 2016

15 features 9 EU referendum – local issues 10 Devolution green paper / Billy Bragg 11 Armed forces 12 Housing Commission 14 Social care and integration 16 Business rates consultation

comment 23 The EU vote: what it means for Wales

24 LGA chairman and group leaders 26 Fiscal devolution

Combined authorities 27 Sub-regional models of governance 28 Preventing extremism

Sport England

29

regulars

8 Letters 29 Parliament – Children and Social Work Bill

30 Councillor – getting people to stand 31 Local by-elections

first contents | 3

MPs issue warning on health cuts

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news Social care funding crisis continues Just 8 per cent of adult social services directors in England are confident about delivering their statutory duties next year because of government budget cuts and rising demand, according to a recent survey.

Every director in England responded to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services’ annual budget survey, with only 6 per cent stating they were sure they could make planned savings next year.

The survey also revealed that the 2 per cent council tax precept for social services raised £360 million, falling far short of the cost of meeting the National Living Wage, let alone tackling the rest of the budget shortfall in care services.

To maintain care at the same level as in 2015/16, an extra £1.1 billion would be needed.

More than three in five councils have experienced home care agencies handing back contracts, or care homes closing, in the last six months, affecting thousands of people, despite most councils increasing fees to providers.

Cllr Nick Forbes, Senior Vice-Chair of the LGA, highlighted that while councils would do all they could to maintain services, there was little scope left for more efficiencies.

He said: “The growing demand of our ageing population, as well as increasing costs following the introduction of the National Living Wage, are squeezing care home and domiciliary care providers to the point of collapse.

“A lack of funding is already leading to providers pulling out of the publicly-funded care market and shifting their attention towards people who are able to fully fund their own care.”

He added: “With people living longer and with more complex health conditions, we must move away from simply trying to ensure people are able to eat, drink and get dressed.

“It cannot be solely left to local council tax payers to fix our chronically underfunded social care system. Councils, care providers, charities and the NHS are all united around the need for central government to fully fund adult social care as this is vital to ensure our loved ones enjoy the dignified and independent quality of life they deserve.”

Cllr Forbes called on the Government to bring forward £700 million of social care funding earmarked for the end of the decade to help councils protect these vital services and ease pressure on care providers and the NHS.

report by MPs has echoed the LGA’s warnings about cuts to public health and adult social care.

The Health Committee found that the reductions to public health budgets will undermine prevention work and make it harder to reduce health inequality.

In its report on the impact of last year’s spending review on health and social care, the committee also recognised that the underfunding of social care meant more people were not receiving the support they need.

Committee Chair Dr Sarah Wollaston said: “Cutting public health is a false economy, creating avoidable additional costs in the future.”

Regarding social care, she added: “Historical cuts to social care funding have now exhausted the opportunities for significant further efficiencies in this area. Increasing numbers of people with genuine social care needs are no longer receiving the care they need because of a lack of funding.

“This not only causes considerable distress to these individuals and their families but results in additional costs to the NHS.” Cllr Izzi Seccombe, LGA Portfolio Holder for Community Wellbeing, said: “The Health Committee’s findings confirm what councils have been saying all along about the severe impact of the funding cuts on health and social care.

“We have previously warned that reducing the public health budget is a short-term approach which could undermine the objectives we all share to improve the public’s health and to keep the pressure off the NHS and social care.

“We are also pleased that the committee is adding its voice to the many groups who are united around the need for government to fully fund adult social care.”

Scams awareness

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owboy roofers (pictured), fake parking ticket wardens and bogus bailiffs are among rogue traders and fraudsters being targeted by councils cracking down on scams. More than five million people in the UK were victims of scams last year, but only 5 per cent of scams are reported. Marking July’s National Scams Awareness Month, Cllr Simon Blackburn, Chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “This is about helping people realise that help is available from councils and their partner agencies. We want to encourage people to speak out and give their families or carers the information they need to take action.”

4 | first news

www.local.gov.uk

Tackling obesity costs councils millions The cost to councils of tackling obesity is set to reach more than half a billion pounds since taking over public health from the NHS. Latest figures show that from 2013/14 to 2016/17, local authorities anticipate having spent £505 million combating obesity in adults and children. Councils expect to spend a total of £127 million on obesity in this current financial year – down on the £140 million estimated last year. The drop illustrates the impact of the recent cuts by government to councils’ public health grants.

Councils use the funding to, for example, commission weight management services, exercise referral schemes, and offer free or cheaper sporting activities at leisure centres, such as discounted swimming sessions.

The spending figures also include the cost of running the Government’s national child measurement programme, which councils are responsible for.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Portfolio Holder, said: “The staggering amount of money councils are having to plough into obesity prevention work shows the sheer scale of the crisis we face.

“Councils are without doubt the best placed to tackle obesity before it becomes a problem, and the huge investment they are making shows how committed they are to dealing with the issue.

“From working with children who are obese and overweight to encouraging children to cut their consumption of sugary drinks, since taking over responsibility for public health three years ago, local authorities have been leading the way in the fight against obesity.

“Today’s obese children will be tomorrow’s obese adults, and with this comes a range of

he LGA is urging motorists to check a vehicle’s history thoroughly before buying it to avoid becoming a victim of false mileage fraud.

Latest industry figures show ‘clocking’ – where the mileage is reduced to increase a vehicle’s resale value – increased by 10 per cent from March 2015 to October 2015.

Trading standards teams at councils nationwide have been prosecuting rogue car sellers as part of a crackdown on the crime, which can hide serious mechanical problems. The LGA is calling for a proposed EU ban on companies providing ‘mileage correction’ services to be August 2016

Attack on Nice

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GA Chairman Lord Porter wrote to Phillippe Pradal, Mayor of Nice, to convey the condolences of local government following the terrorist attack in which 84 people were killed on Bastille Day. He told Mr Pradal that councils “stand in solidarity with you, shoulder to shoulder, united in your grief”.

New ministerial team at DCLG

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costly and debilitating major health conditions.”

If current trends are not reversed, the overall cost to the economy of obesity and overweight conditions could increase from between £6 billion and £8 billion in 2015 to between £10 billion and £12 billion in 2030.

The LGA has previously called on government to bring in measures to reduce sugar content in fizzy drinks, teaspoon sugar labelling to enable more informed choice, greater provision of tap water in schools and restaurants, and for councils to be given powers to ban junk food advertising near schools.

ormer Business Secretary Sajid Javid MP has been appointed Communities and Local Government Secretary, with a new team at the department including Garvin Barwell MP, Housing and Planning Minister, and Minister for the Northern Powerhouse, Andrew Percy MP. Marcus Jones MP remains Minister for Local Government. Lord Porter, LGA Chairman, said: “We look forward to working with Sajid Javid to continue innovative reforms, such as devolution and business rates retention, and to ensure we put councils and their communities at the heart of government thinking.” Lord Porter also paid tribute to former Communities Secretary Greg Clark: “Over the past year or so, we have worked together to deliver changes and secure a number of wins for local authorities.”

Call for recyclable coffee cups

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Car clocking concerns

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news in brief

retained under UK laws and brought forward from the current planned date of May 2018.

The LGA is also calling for mileage correction devices to be banned to help reduce clocking.

While knowingly selling a clocked car without disclosing it is fraud, it is not illegal to alter the odometer’s mileage.

For more on this and the other news stories on these pages, please visit www.local.gov.uk/media-releases

igh Street coffee chains must go “further and faster” in developing recyclable paper cups, the LGA has warned. It wants coffee giants to follow the lead of orange juice carton manufacturers who, working with councils, have successfully developed a system for collecting and recycling empty cartons. Most coffee cups have a plastic coating that must be separated from paper before recycling, which ordinary paper recycling systems are not set up to do. Cllr Peter Box, the LGA’s Environment Spokesman, said: “Two-and-a-half billion paper cups – enough to go around the world fiveand-a-half times – are thrown away each year, and because of the way they are designed it is extremely difficult to recycle them. Many end up in landfill sites, costing council taxpayers millions of pounds.”

first news | 5

‘Complexity made simple’

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conference news The politics of Brexit The LGA’s political group leaders welcomed confirmation that councils will have a seat at the EU exit negotiations (see p7), in a wideranging discussion of the implications of the referendum result at its annual conference.

Cllr Nick Forbes, LGA Labour Group Leader, said the vote “had exposed our divisions as a country, from north to south or probably more accurately London to the rest of the country, from rural to urban, from young to old”.

“Our challenge will be to have a debate among the local government family about what are the key issues we want to see as a result of this. And make sure that as a country we continue to be open, outward, welcoming and engaging. We all have a leadership responsibiliy to do that,” he said.

Cllr David Hodge, Leader of the LGA’s Conservative Group, said the EU vote was the “most important decision” the country had made in years, and would “undoubtedly have major implications for the governance of the UK as a whole.”

“One of the real fundamentals [is] that we in local government have a seat at that European table to make sure that what comes out of it comes down and is passed down to local

government so we can look after local people.” he added.

The referendum was “the biggest public engagement in politics for a very long time”, according to Cllr Marianne Overton, Leader of the LGA’s Independent Group.

“For some, it was the very first time they saw the point in listening to the debate and in voting”, she told delegates.

“It’s an important decision and so an electoral system where every vote counted towards the outcome. The electorate will expect those issues raised and the outcome to be taken seriously and accepted. “ Worries about the rise in racist attacks following the referendum and the lack of preparation for a leave vote were raised by Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Leader of the LGA’s Liberal Democrat Group.

He added: “Nobody would have expected, if the vote had been 2 per cent in favour of remain, for UKIP to stop campaigning to leave the EU. In the same way, you cannot expect those of us who believe in working with others for the common good to stop campaigning for us doing that, and we will continue to do so while accepting the result.”

ost-Brexit Britain is in a political crisis due in part to a lack of engagement with local people, according to LGA Vice-President Lord Adebowale.

Speaking at a plenary session at last month’s annual conference, the crossbench peer said that few issues have divided the country in recent memory to the extent of the EU referendum and the decision to leave.

He told delegates that although many people voted for reasons that were not necessarily to do with the EU, the assertion that all Brexit voters are racist or “don’t get it” was unfair and oversimplified.

He said: “We need to defend the local [voter] as not ignorant or small minded, but we need to consider the reasons for their positions and remember that the issues of those living in the East of England, for example, are very different to those of us living within the M25.”

Lord Adebowale, Chief Executive of Turning Point, said that young people he speaks to often do not know how the country is run and that this leads to alienation with the political process. “Politics at its worst is disenfranchising.

It’s isolating, when it should be engaging and educative.”

He said the job of politicians is to introduce complexity to people’s lives but in a simple way and cited the abolition of slavery, which introduced notions of morality to commerce “despite the fact it would have been cheaper and simpler to carry on with the slave trade.

People had to be persuaded.”

The number of independent politicians is growing because of the sense of distance from what politics means to people locally, and the future of politics lies in greater diversity. “The challenge will be how this diversity of thought, background, of opinion leads to united, cohesive communities fighting against the pressure to divide and the pressure to simply ask ‘are you are in or are you out?’”

And the winner is…

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avid McCollum from Lambeth Council (pictured, with his fellow finalists), was crowned the winner of this year’s Local Government Challenge. He won over voting delegates and judges with a project aimed at researching, designing and implementing a targeted and hard-hitting initiative to prevent children in care and on the edge of care becoming victims of sexual exploitation. David received £10,000 from the Bruce-Lockhart Scholarship, set up in memory of the late Lord Bruce Lockhart, former Chairman of the LGA and Leader of Kent County Council.

6 | first conference news

www.local.gov.uk

Seat for councils at EU negotiations Local government will have a seat at the EU exit negotiations, former Communities Secretary Greg Clark pledged at the LGA’s annual conference.

He also launched a consultation paper on changes to business rates intended to deliver on the Government’s commitment to local government retaining 100 per cent of locallyraised business rates by 2020.

Mr Clark said the response to leaving the EU “has to be a radically expanded role for local government”.

“When we are transferring powers from the EU to Britain I think it is essential that Whitehall is not the default destination for them,” he said.

“For years we have been urging subsidiarity on the EU. We now must apply it at home and ask first whether powers and funds can be transferred to local government.”

The LGA has argued since the referendum that local government should be involved, given the impact of EU laws and regulations on many council services, and the economic importance of EU regeneration funding.

Mr Clark also urged delegates to have their

say on business rates reform, and launched the first steps in a Fair Funding Review, which will provide councils with their fair share of funding. according to local needs under the new system.

“These next few weeks offer councils an historic opportunity to play their part in these radical reforms and to shape their financial futures for decades to come,” he said.

He added: “In these turbulent times, it is more appropriate than ever to be grateful for the stability and confidence that local government brings to our national life. Because while some Westminster politicians can give a good impression of losing their heads and blaming it on everyone else, that doesn’t wash with local government.

“One of the reasons that I’ve always been passionate about getting power out of the hands of central government and into yours is there is a practicality and a directness in local government. You focus on the job in hand.”

See p9, 10 and 24 for more on the EU and devolution, and p16 for the business rates consultation

Care Act concerns

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he Care Act 2014 could fail to deliver on its potential because of the “extraordinarily difficult financial circumstances” in health and care, the LGA’s annual conference was told.

Norman Lamb MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health, who took the Bill through Parliament, said he was committed to joined-up care around the needs of the individual, a fundamental shift to a greater focus on preventative care, and personalisation to give people some control over their lives.

But he predicted the loss of the Dilnot care cap – deferred to 2020 – because there is “no realistic prospect” of the health and care system being better funded by then.

And he expressed frustration at a system and culture that is leaving a widening funding gap in social care and leading to resources being diverted to NHS acute trusts and hospitals with deficits totalling £2.45 billion August 2016

(2015/16) at the expense of preventative and mental health services.

“This isn’t just about deficits and balance sheets, it’s about patients and people and they suffer as a result of what is happing in our health and care system,” he told delegates.

Instead, he applauded the West Midlands Combined Authority which, as part of its devolution deal, has set up a commission on mental health, which he chairs, which is looking at new and better ways of doing things.

“We are looking, for example, at how we can keep people better in employment,” said Mr Lamb.

“So many people end up out of work unnecessarily because their employers haven’t been effective enough at supporting either their mental or physical health, their wellbeing. So we are looking at whether we can introduce a fiscal incentive. Could we through the business rates, and the devolved responsibility for the business rate, offer some sort of incentive for employers to engage in the wellbeing of their staff?”

‘Economy’s weaknesses highlighted by leave vote’

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he EU referendum vote has highlighted Britain’s “shaky economic foundations”, but local councils are leading the way on creating a new, sounder economy, according to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP. Speaking at the LGA’s annual conference in July, he said: “We are meeting at a time of enormous uncertainty following the result of the EU referendum. There is a wider political uncertainty about Britain’s role in the world.

And there is economic uncertainty introduced by the shock of the leave vote itself.

“The clearest message that’s come out of all the debates so far from the vote to leave is that business as usual is not an option anymore. The shock of the leave vote has been worsened by the shaky foundations of our economy.”

He cited stalled productivity growth since 2007, low wage growth, a current account deficit “near record levels”, and rising borrowing levels by government and households, along with “grotesque” levels of inequality and deprivation, particularly in the North, and regional economic differences bigger than in any other European country.

He welcomed former Chancellor George Osborne’s abandonment of his fiscal targets and the dropping of a threatened emergency budget: further austerity would be the wrong course of action in an economy buffeted by Brexit, he said.

“Our economic policy now must be about more than just accepting the status quo.

We have to do more than just patch up the damage,” said Mr McDonnell.

“The leave vote showed how decades of under-investment have left too many people feeling abandoned by what they quite understandably view as a distant Westminster elite. I believe it’s local councils that have started to show the new path that the economy needs [to take].”

Councils have borne the brunt of cuts but have responded “with determination and creativity” to “deteriorating circumstances forced on them by austerity”, he said, citing Oldham’s work with credit unions to reduce problem debt and Preston’s programme of economic transformation, working with anchor institutions such as the local university.

“We need to skill up and spread initiatives like those,” he said.“ We need a government that trusts local authorities to find their own economic solutions for their own areas.”

first conference news | 7

letters Bristol budget engagement process

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ike all parts of the UK, Bristol faces financial challenges in the coming years. As funding goes down and costs and demand for services goes up, the pressure on council budgets will continue to grow.

As we look to plan budgets to meet this need to save, we are seeking the views of Bristol residents on how we should go about balancing the books between 2017 and 2020. To help local people get to grips with the challenges we face, the council has developed an interactive tool that sets out the services we provide and the funding they currently receive. The tool allows users to tell us where they think money should be spent or saved and shows the consequences of those choices.

While this isn’t a referendum, the contributions will be considered as we plan ahead to 2020. This year we are already planning to save around £44 million, so this engagement process focuses on 2017 and beyond and the growing issue of setting priorities.

We want to be transparent and open. As we look ahead to the future it’s important for us to understand people’s priorities and for the public to be given a good idea of the decisions that have to be made.

Marvin Rees (Lab), Mayor of Bristol

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Community cohesion

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hile the majority in Trafford voted to remain in the EU, this was not reflective of the outcome across the country. The impact of the decision will continue to unfold as we enter a period of unchartered territory over the coming weeks and months.

The council’s overarching message to its staff, residents, businesses and visitors is one of reassurance and recognition of the incumbent responsibility on all of us to provide leadership, stability and confidence both to the council and most importantly to the communities we live, work and serve in.

Our primary objective remains ensuring Trafford continues as the most successful, diverse and prosperous part of Greater Manchester at the heart of the regional economy.

The council will use all of the means available to it to work collaboratively with our partners to support our businesses who do so much to create jobs, bring stability and enable prosperity for our population.

And we will continue to make the case that the momentum which underpins devolution

and the Northern Powerhouse must continue under the new government, to ensure that our population continues to prosper.

Our communities in Trafford are special and strengthened through their diversity. The contribution that everyone plays in creating a tolerant, respectful and inclusive culture in our society is highly valued, regardless of background, nationality, ethnicity, disability, sexuality and those of faith or none. We are all united in a common purpose to celebrate our differences and champion our togetherness as one place and one borough. We will not tolerate anything that threatens harmony in our communities and will continue to be a welcoming home.

Cllr Sean Anstee (Con), Leader; Cllr Alex Williams (Con), Deputy Leader; and Theresa Grant Chief Executive, Trafford Council

Airport expansion delay

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he development of air capacity around London is of paramount importance to the economy of the UK and in particular to businesses in areas such as Buckinghamshire that benefit through close access to the main international hubs. Whilst we appreciate that these are exceptional political times for this country, Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is disappointed in the announcement that there has been a further delay in the decision on airport expansion in the South East and will be pressing for a swift decision from the new prime minister.

Andrew M. Smith, Chairman, Buckinghamshire Thames Valley LEP

What do you think? Please submit letters for publication by emailing first@local.gov.uk.

Letters may be edited and published online

www.local.gov.uk

LGA annual conference 2016

features After the referendum

Lord Porter is Chairman of the LGA

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t our annual conference I said I would do everything I could to get us a seat at the table when it came to negotiating Britain’s exit from Europe.

We worked with the then Secretary of State, Greg Clark, and he agreed that there had to be a role for local government when decisions about transferring powers from the EU to Britain were being made.

The secretary of state stuck to his word and talked to his Cabinet colleagues, who agreed to give us a seat at the negotiating table. What this looks like, we don’t know just yet. But we’ll be using the opportunity to make sure local government is front and centre in all future EU negotiations.

We all agree that the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the EU cannot default to Whitehall, and it’s now our job to make sure it doesn’t. After all, European Union laws and regulations impact on many council services such as waste, employment, health and safety, consumer protection and trading and environmental standards.

They’ll be a lot of work to do, and the group leaders and I have already met to talk August 2016

about the most immediate issues that you’ve told us need to be raised.

Firstly, the financial pressures aren’t easing so we need to make sure that the £5.3 billion that was allocated to councils from EU funds is guaranteed, despite our exit from the union. We’ll need government’s commitment to ensure that councils won’t be any worse off as a result of the negotiations.

And then there’s devolution. Over the last two years we’ve made a lot of progress.

We all agree that local is best and we want to make sure that the new government remains committed to devolving to the lowest level as powers are repatriated from Brussels.

Meanwhile, with a new prime minister – especially one that has served as a councillor – comes new opportunity.

The LGA’s political group leaders and I have written to Theresa May and key ministers offering to work with the new government in addressing some of the domestic challenges (as well as the European ones) facing the country.

For example, we believe councils have an essential role to play in delivering the new government’s agenda of opportunity for all.

Councils have led the way in supporting a

© ANDREW BAKER/LGA

Local government has been promised a seat at the EU negotiations and the LGA will be working to make sure powers repatriated from Brussels are devolved beyond Whitehall

public service reform agenda that generates greater shared prosperity and opportunity.

We know that to deliver better outcomes for our residents and provide services at lower costs, public policy needs to shift from acute to preventative services, refocus services around individuals, and redraw the boundaries between economic policy and social reform.

But if we’re to meet the growing service pressures (not least from social care) then we’re also going to need the financial flexibility to deliver. This means looking at how we can remove some of the financial controls on council tax, business rates and housing revenue account to align financial powers with accountability for service delivery.

The to-do list is long, and there will no doubt be things that come up along the way, but we’ll be working to make sure that we get the best for local government regardless.

Your contribution to these discussions will be integral so please feedback your thoughts to info@local.gov.uk. We can achieve a lot in the weeks and months ahead, we’re in a strong position and we mustn’t let this opportunity pass us by.

“We want to make sure that the new government remains committed to devolving to the lowest level as powers are repatriated from Brussels” first feature | 9

LGA annual conference 2016

What next for devolution?

The LGA has launched a green paper to stimulate debate about how to get the best out of devolution for local residents and areas

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n September 2015, 34 local devolution deals were submitted to government and there are now devolution deals in nearly a dozen areas in England, covering a population of around 25 million people.

Early deals have rightly been focused on growth and economic policy.

The LGA feels it is now time to build on this work by looking at a wider agenda for devolution and public service reform. There is agreement in local government that the dividing lines between social and economic policy need to be redrawn, and that the best way to do this is to increase the focus on place and devolving powers.

Although devolution is widely considered as a way to better deliver local ambitions, there are some frustrations at the pace of change and some concerns about devolution as a concept, the geography of devolution deals, and the imposition of directly elected mayors.

The LGA’s recently published discussion paper, ‘What next for devolution?’, is an attempt to unblock some of those frustrations and debate some of those concerns to improve outcomes and deliver savings to the public purse. It aims to encourage local debate, generate wider scrutiny of the whole devolution process, and agree some key principles to guide the ongoing power transfer process from central to local government.

From work already undertaken across the country, four big questions have emerged: • Do we have the right principles underpinning devolution?

• How can we use devolution to deliver effective public service reform?

• How can we move from functional devolution to fiscal devolution?

• How can we make sure our residents are engaged?

The paper asks what the alternatives are to the directly elected mayoral model for

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“There are some frustrations at the pace of change” devolved powers (see p27) and how local areas can achieve a clear and consistent shared vision of devolution with all government departments, regulators and agencies.

While it emphasises that services designed around communities deliver better outcomes than those driven from Whitehall and restricted by silos, it argues that reformed public services must be supported by a fair and sustainable finance system.

A key question is how to make sure residents are engaged in the devolution process at the earliest appropriate stage and their views are heard in shaping the vision for where they live.

The skills and knowledge in communities, the voluntary and community sector, businesses and town and parish councils will all play an important role in making sure devolution and service reform are a success.

Over the next few months, the LGA will be seeking views from across local government, and more widely, so that it can further develop policy proposals and its support offer to councils and combined authorities to help shape the next phase of the devolution agenda.

Have your say: to contribute to the debate, develop ideas, ask questions and read, ‘What next for devolution’ visit www.devonext.org See also p24, 26 and 27

An alternative view on English devolution “There are not many opportunities in my line of business to talk about devolution with experts in local government,” declared songwriter and author Billy Bragg at the LGA’s annual conference.

“There are very few audiences in the UK that respond enthusiastically to the prospect of a talk about devolution.”

Mr Bragg told conference he became interested in English devolution and identity when six BNP councillors were elected in his home borough of Barking and Dagenham in 2006. “I took it a little bit personally,” he said – but it got him thinking about “an inclusive sense of Englishness”.

“If it means anything, it has to be about where you are not where your grandparents are from, about the space we share rather than race, and that’s how I came to the devolution debate,” he said.

Regional – and English – identity is complicated, he suggested. English nationalism has tended to be belligerent, rather than the positive nationalism seen in Scotland. And an English parliament would amplify the power of London and the South East, making the imbalance with the other regions even greater.

But the UK remains one of the most centralised states in Europe, and real powers need to brought down to the local level, to regional assemblies with Holyrood-style powers, he argued.

“One of the things that became obvious in the EU referendum is that there are many, many people out there who don’t feel their voice is heard. That’s one of the problems we have, particularly in England,” he told delegates at the LGA’s annual conference.

“Where I live in the South West, I have one election in which I get to vote proportionately [for the European Parliament] and that’s just been taken away from me. The rest of the time, my vote goes in the bin. The Tories have been in power in West Dorset since 1886. What’s the point in me turning up to vote?

“I have come from a place in east London – Barking – where Labour has been in power since 1931, since the borough was carved out of Essex.

Don’t tell me there aren’t Tories in Barking and Dagenham because some of them are my in-laws.

“It’s just as outrageous that their vote goes in the bin in Barking and Dagenham as my vote goes in the bin in West Dorset.

www.local.gov.uk

August 2016

ALL PHOTOS ANDREW BAKER/LGA

“The question is how do we bring power down to those people in the English provinces and regions who don’t feel their voice is heard?”

He added: “The thing about the EU referendum is that it made everyone’s vote the same. That doesn’t happen very often in our democracy. When it does happen, people realise their vote does actually count and they turn up and do something about it.

“Democracy is the most important thing we have.

It’s difficult at the moment because there are people saying we should overturn the referendum because they didn’t like the result. I don’t like the result but I don’t think we should overturn it. Turning our back on democracy is very dangerous. I know it’s complicated and I know we will still run into the same problems. But I have always believed you can never have enough democracy.”

Supporting the armed forces

There are great examples of how councils are helping support serving members of the armed forces and veterans, and their families. But 29 per cent of service personnel and 41 per cent of service families don’t know anything about the armed forces community covenant schemes operating in every council area in the country, according to Mark Lancaster TD MP, Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (pictured top right).

He told the LGA’s annual conference that forces personnel should not be disadvantaged compared to other citizens in the provision of public services, such as housing, schools for their children, and health. But 38 per cent of the armed forces community do feel they have lost out as result of service life.

The Ministry of Defence, with the LGA and the charity Forces in Mind, is working on a review of how the community covenant is working, which is due to be published shortly. “While there is good news, there is evidence all of us have more to do,” Mr Lancaster told delegates.

“It’s not all about money. Some good work identified through the review doesn’t incur a cost. It doesn’t cost anything to adopt an action plan or appoint a cabinet champion. It doesn’t cost much to carry out regular policy reviews or collaborate with partners. And commitment doesn’t cost a thing. That’s something I’m proud to say we’ve seen a great deal of,” he said.

Air Vice-Marshal Ray Lock CBE, (pictured bottom left) Chief Executive of the Forces in Mind Trust, which supports ex-service personnel to lead successful civilian lives, said it wanted to establish a learning network so “really good practice” can be shared and taken up by the people “whose practice is perhaps not quite so good”.

Based on research undertaken for the review, he said there needed to be clearer expectations of what the covenant means, and it needs to be understood better by Whitehall and by members of the armed forces community.

Falklands veteran and campaigner Simon Weston CBE, (pictured bottom right) who was invited to be part of the setting up of the covenant, said he felt there were a lot of “predetermined ideas that were going ahead whether I said anything or not” and that he was window-dressing.

“A lot of service people feel they are only wanted when there is an election or something else is going on,” he said. “They don’t want preference, they want to be treated as fairly as anyone else.”

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LGA annual conference 2016

Tackling the housing crisis The LGA’s Housing Commission has launched its first report, looking at the wider benefits of allowing councils to build more homes

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he nation’s housing crisis demands action. Spiralling house prices are forcing difficult choices on families, distorting the housing mix in local areas and hampering growth.

Every local area is different and the housing challenges and their solutions are complex and vary around the country.

There is no silver bullet.

Councils want to build homes, and see homes as central to driving growth and prosperity. Local authorities are approving nine in ten planning applications, providing homes that are needed and are affordable, and that create environments where people are healthy and happy.

The LGA set up a Housing Commission last year to explore how a renewed investment in the different new homes that people need can deliver significant wider benefits for communities, and prevent future public service challenges and costs.

Over the past eight months it has heard from developers, planners, charities, health partners, housing associations and many others. Its early findings were published at the LGA’s annual conference in Bournemouth in July.

The commission’s scope has been beyond bricks and mortar. It has been looking at four key themes: how to build more homes; how to create prosperous places; how housing can boost employment; and how it can support our ageing population.

Its interim report (see right for a

summary) finds councils should be enabled to help build more homes that plug gaps in the market, particularly building the next generation of affordable homes, homes meeting the needs of those in crisis, and to support our ageing population.

Cllr Peter Box, LGA Housing Spokesman said: “Our Housing Commission aims to build on what we know works so that councils and our partners can lead the building of homes, communities and prosperity for future generations.

“Bold new action is needed in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. National and local government must come together around our joint ambition to build homes and strong, inclusive communities.

“Investment in housing has significant wider benefits and we want to build the right homes in the right places that can generate growth and jobs, help meet the needs of our ageing population, and provide the infrastructure, schools and hospitals that enable communities to thrive.

“We must be freed to make this change happen.”

The work of the commission continues and its findings and evidence will come together in a final report later this year.

This will form the basis for LGA activity with councils and our partners, alongside other priority areas such as responding to national housing reforms, improving conditions in the private rented sector, and supporting efforts to reduce homelessness.

‘Building our homes, communities and the future: preliminary findings from the LGA Housing Commission’ is available at www.local.gov.uk/ publications

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Housing Commission report - at a glance

How to build more homes The last time the country built more than the 250,000 houses a year it is estimated the nation currently needs was in 1977/78 – when councils built 44 per cent of new homes. Private developers in England have only been able to build an average of 90,000 a year since 2009/10. In 2013/14, this represented 77 per cent of all new houses. In comparison, councils were only able to build 1 per cent of all new homes in the same year.

The commission recommends: • Government should provide national backing for new local government housing delivery models building new and different types of homes, which could include new intermediate rent, rent-to-buy, modular housing, and co-housing options.

• This must coincide with a revitalisation of council house building by allowing councils to keep a greater proportion of Right to Buy receipts and to combine receipts with Homes and Community Agency funding.

How to create prosperous places Housing investment has substantial wider benefits for people and places. It has a vital role to play in improving health, creating jobs and boosting educational attainment, and enabling social cohesion.

The commission recommends: • Allowing councils to set planning fees locally so they can cover costs and continue to develop a proactive planning approach for unlocking housing growth.

• Developing powers for councils to ensure homes are built on sites where planning permission has been granted but building may have stalled.

How housing can boost employment A good mix of housing stock is critical in attracting both employers and workers to an area, and housing providers play a leading role in helping their residents to gain the skills to find jobs and progress in their careers. Four million working

www.local.gov.uk

Building homes and communities The future of housing was the theme of a key conference debate at the LGA’s annual conference in July.

people will need access to some type of affordable housing even if the country achieves full employment by 2024, new research published by the LGA reveals.

Widespread demand for affordable homes will be much higher should the country fail to train millions to take the higher skilled and higher paid jobs that are projected to be created by 2024.

The Government can support this by: • Actively devolving the key responsibilities and services to encourage economic growth, such as housing, infrastructure, skills, and employment support.

• New partnership commitments at the national and local level should be forged to increase the mix of homes alongside new approaches for supporting households that need help to find work, improve skills and increase their earnings.

How housing can support our ageing population Between 2008 and 2033 around 60 per cent of projected household growth will be made up of households with someone aged 65 or older. The aspirations and needs of older people are growing and diversifying, and there is a need to plan for the mix of housing that responds to demographic change and creates inclusive communities.

The commission recommends: • Creating a new market for homes that are attractive and suitable for older people and better able to meet health needs which, in turn, would release more family homes into the local market. A sustainable funding model needs to be established to provide more supported housing options for vulnerable people.

• The Government develop a viable funding model that enables local housing and health partners to increase the mix of quality specialised and supported housing options to rent or buy for older and vulnerable people.

August 2016

Cllr Peter Box CBE, Chair of the LGA’s Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board, told delegates that homes “help determine your family’s health, your access to work, and to your local community.”

He added: “Our homes shape our experience of life. Each and every one of us understands this on a personal level.

But as local leaders, we also understand that homes, spaces and communities make successful places. They drive growth, shape our planning as well as the delivery of services.

“Spiralling house prices are forcing families to make difficult choices, distorting places and hampering growth. With uncertainty ahead for both housebuilders and families, it’s really important to reinvigorate the role of local government.”

Natalie Elphicke OBE, Chief Executive of the Housing & Finance Institute, which helps councils increase housing supply through new partnerships and finance models, said local political leadership was key to getting new homes built.

“At the heart of stronger and sustainable communities are councils...

With community leadership, by creating housing opportunities, by showing business leadership, by managing the housing supply and by harnessing all types of housing finance markets, it is possible to build homes in all types of economic situations…

“Leadership is key. Without political leadership, without officer strength and competence, without a real focus on housing delivery and its importance for the wellbeing of communities, it simply does not get built in the way that it needs to be.”

And Tom Bloxham MBE, Group Chairman of regeneration company Urban Splash, said he wanted to encourage councils to build more houses because they have a pivotal role to play.

“The reason I say that is I believe you are extremely well-placed. You have

© ANDREW BAKER/LGA

Cllr Peter Box

Natalie Elphicke

Tom Bloxham access to land, which you either own or have influence over, and are often able to access capital more easily than private sector partners.”

He added: “We always talk about numbers, we always talk about the need to build more houses, and that’s absolutely right. But what we’ve got to remember is we are building people’s homes. And it really sickens me when people talk about units.

Actually what we are doing is something very, very important, we’re building things that people are going to have to look at and live in for hundreds of years.”

A webcast of the full conference plenary on housing is available at www.lga.public-i.tv/core/portal/home

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LGA annual conference 2016

Social care funding crisis Joining up services and making the most of public resources were among the issues raised during a debate on adult social care

Harold Bodmer As first went to press, we heard the sad news of ADASS President Harold Bodmer’s sudden passing. The issues discussed at the LGA’s annual conference were close to Harold’s heart, and the work he was doing to raise their profile was vital for the sector. We’ve kept his words in this article in tribute to that work.

Pictured: delegates at the annual conference plenary on adult social care plus speakers Stephen Dorrell, Chairman of the NHS Confederation, with Harold Bodmer, ADASS President (top left); the LGA’s Cllr Izzi Seccombe (bottom left); and Caroline Abrahams of Age UK (top right)

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he inadequacy of funding for social care and the impact of the EU referendum were among the concerns raised about health and social care in one of the main sessions at the LGA’s annual conference.

Chaired by broadcaster and presenter Cathy Newman, the plenary also saw the launch of a new health and care integration tool kit, developed in partnership by the LGA, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), NHS Confederation and NHS Clinical Commissioners The three key messages from the panellists were the need for a place-based and preventative approach to integration as the most effective means of improving health and wellbeing; joining up services; and making the best use of public resources.

Harold Bodmer, President of ADASS, was clear that better integration was not the solution to the sector’s financial woes.

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“We can’t just (solve the crisis) by changing things. We have to recognise there’s a fundamental underfunding of adult social care in this country,” he said.

“More funding needs to go in. Whether it means increased taxes or a shift in priorities, there needs to be more investment alongside radical change.”

Caroline Abrahams, Director of the charity Age UK, said it was vital the issues worrying the sector continued to be raised nationally and were not forgotten as a result of the decision to leave the EU. She said: “My real worry about Brexit is it becomes an excuse for kicking that can (i.e. the issue of funding) down the road.”

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Portfolio Holder, drew comparisons with the funding pumped into the NHS. She said: “Simon Stevens (NHS England Chief Executive) has said if there’s more money, it needs to go to social care. It needs

to be properly funded. This is how we keep the manageable costs down in the NHS. “Why don’t we want to protect social care in the same way (as the NHS)? Why is it not as important? It’s the one thing nearly everyone will have to have the support of, probably more so than the NHS.” The panel was clear that integration wasn’t about wholesale structural changes, but rather ensuring services were joined up with a focus on outcomes for the individual receiving care.

Stephen Dorrell, Chairman of the NHS Confederation, said: “If we are talking (for example) about services for children that must involve what has traditionally been the local authority children’s services, NHS services, and education. You have three completely different systems. What matters is joined-up services for children and families. It’s joining up services rather than changing the organogram.”

Cllr Seccombe added: “We need a change of mindset so people are at the heart of what we deliver and don’t have to have the same conversations several times over.”

The integration self-assessment tool kit is designed to help local health and care leaders move further and faster on achieving their vision of integration (see first 601). It will enable local areas to assess their own readiness to bring about integration, and identify what action they need to take.

The tool kit will be piloted in six areas – East Riding, Surrey, Warwick, Sutton, Rotherham and Tower Hamlets – before its full roll-out in the autumn, when it will be available to all areas as part of the LGA’s Care and Health Improvement Programme leadership offer.

‘Stepping up to the place: integration self-assessment tool’ is available free at www.local.gov.uk/publications

www.local.gov.uk

Integration ‘could save millions’ LGA-commissioned research suggests that better integration of health and social care could save £1 billion – if the right decisions are made when people leave hospital, or before they end up there

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he current system of NHSprovided health care and councilprovided social care is financially unsustainable.

For the older and disabled people who use these services most, the system is too frequently frustrating and it doesn’t guarantee the best longterm outcomes. For practitioners and professionals, the system is cumbersome and disjointed.

Work is being done at a local and national level to resolve these issues and develop a more sustainable model for the future. There is evidence to show that greater integration and providing more personalised care improves outcomes for patients and residents, and can also deliver savings.

Efficiencies are important because grant funding to councils fell by an average 40 per cent up to 2015 and will continue to fall, while the NHS Five Year Forward View predicts a £30 billion cost pressure by 2020/21.

Providing the best care for people by better integrating health and social care and helping more people to be looked after at home could save more than £1 billion in England, according to research commissioned by the LGA from consultants Newton Europe.

Health and social care workers examined thousands of anonymised case notes in five parts of England to inform the work. Areas included were Kent, Pennine Lancashire, Greenwich, Swindon and Sunderland.

They found that 45 per cent of decisions about patients’ care could be improved, and that in almost every case there was evidence of over-provision of care – which potentially could make people more dependent, rather than more independent.

For example, one in four high-cost hospital admissions (26 per cent) could have been avoided if opportunities to intervene had been taken. One of the reasons why opportunities were missed was that hospital ward staff are often unfamiliar with the full range of services available in the community.

The research also found that 59 per August 2016

“One in four high-cost hospital admissions could have been avoided” cent of long-term residential placements resulting from an acute hospital admission could be delayed or avoided. Between 25 and 40 per cent of council service users would have benefited from preventative services, which they did not receive. The greatest preventative opportunities were found to be stopping falls and tackling loneliness.

Deploying a better skill mix in teams, particularly within community services, would help to maximise resources. Registered nurses reviewing case notes identified repeated occasions where they had been carrying out tasks that could have been

delegated to healthcare assistants or, with training, to patients and carers.

Cllr David Simmonds, Chairman of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “Our report sets out the evidence for improvement in providing more integrated care and critically, the key factors required in the approach to making that change successful locally.

“In almost every case there was evidence of over-provision of care. It was found that robust, multi-disciplinary reviews, at key decision points, can have a significant impact on consistency of decision-making, whilst requiring only a relatively small investment in terms of resource.

“Savings identified would be achieved by shifting resources to support people living more independently than they do currently.

This would mean moving funds from acute to community and social settings. This could be achieved by clinical commissioning groups using the Better Care Fund.”

To view ‘Efficiency opportunities through health and social care integration: delivering more sustainable health and care’, please visit http://bit.ly/29JLQz7

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Reforming business rates Make sure you have your say on a government consultation on changes to business rates

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y the end of the decade, local government as a whole will keep more of its business rates income.

The Government will give councils new responsibilities to spend some of the money on, and a number of Whitehall grants for existing responsibilities are also likely to be phased out with councils having to pay for them out of the extra business rates income.

The LGA, other representatives of local government, local councils and interested bodies are working alongside government to implement this major change to the way local government is funded.

At the same time, the Government has begun to formally seek views about how the new system should work, with the launch of an official consultation at the LGA’s annual conference in July.

Nick Burkitt, Acting Director of Local Government Finance at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), told conference delegates the consultation is “deliberately open”, and seeks views and ideas across all aspects of the reforms.

At a packed conference discussion entitled ‘The changing shape of local government finance’, he said: “We want to try and move local authorities to be self-

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sustaining, not to be endlessly arguing about different grants and how they are distributed.

We want the sector to have more control over its affairs.

“If local authorities get to keep an extra £12.5 billion it has got to be fiscally neutral.

We have to compensate that by either taking away grants or giving new functions that local government doesn’t carry out at the moment.

“This is an opportunity for the sector to come forward with proposals. We don’t want to just announce a scheme. There is a massive opportunity for the sector to come forward with ideas.

“We have been doing an awful lot of work about what sort of questions we need to answer, and the questions are more open than you might have expected.”

The consultation identifies some of the issues central to designing the reforms.

These include how the reformed system

could recognise the diversity of local areas, provide the right level of incentive and reward to councils, and how business rates income might be shared across different tiers of local government.

Cllr Nick Forbes, Senior Vice-Chair of the LGA, told the conference session: “The core issues around business rates localisation do pose more questions than answers.

“We will need protection from a shock in the system. There must be checks and balances within the system to compensate areas with less potential to grow their business rates income.

“Existing local government need must be fully funded before we take on any additional responsibilities. That, for me, is an absolutely categorical baseline position for us to adopt.”

He added: “We should not see this as a technical reassessment of the way in which local government finances are organised.

“This is very profound and goes to the heart of what local government will do in the future. It is therefore the responsibility of all of us to feed into the various consultations and participate actively and positively within the discussions as we move forward.”

The Government says it will undertake a more technical consultation on specific workings of the reformed system in the autumn and introduce legislation to provide the framework for these reforms in early 2017.

Have your say: ‘Self-sufficient local government: 100% business rates retention’ is available at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/self-sufficient-localgovernment-100-business-rates-retention. The consultation closes on 26 September. For more information, please also visit the LGA’s business rates hub at www.local.gov.uk/business-rates

www.local.gov.uk

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Business rates retention consultation key questions Devolution of responsibilities The Government has identified a list of responsibilities or policies that could be funded through retained business rates. This list is not exhaustive and each option will not necessarily feature in the final package. The list includes revenue support grant, rural services delivery grant, Greater London Transport Authority grant, public health grant, improved Better Care Fund, independent living fund, early years, youth justice, local council tax subsidy and responsibility for supporting older people with care needs – including people who, under the current system, would be supported through attendance allowance • Which of these identified grants or responsibilities do you think are the best candidates to be funded from retained business rates?

• Are there other grants or responsibilities that you consider should be devolved instead of or alongside those identified above?

The Government considers that the move to self-sufficiency under business rates retention could take account of the different governance arrangements across local government. It suggests there is therefore an opportunity to consider funding some or all of the commitments

August 2016

in existing and future devolution deals through retained business rates.

• Do you have views on whether some or all of the commitments in existing and future devolution deals could be funded through retained business rates?

Rewarding growth and sharing risk The Government recognises the balance that needs to be struck in the new system between providing a strong incentive for growth in local areas, and considering the distribution of funding between local authorities. Decisions also need to be taken over how business rates income is shared across different tiers of local government. The Government expects to find this balance by ‘resetting’ the system on a fixed basis, to reconsider relative need and to recalculate the redistributable amounts, and is considering whether authorities should be able to keep some growth at the point of reset.

• Do you agree that we should fix reset periods for the system?

• What is the right balance in the system between rewarding growth and redistributing funding to meet changing need?

• Is the current system of tariffs and top-ups the right one for redistribution between local authorities?

Local tax flexibilities As part of the reforms, the new powers that the Government is providing are the ability for councils to reduce the business rates tax rate (the multiplier) and for combined authority mayors to levy a small increase on business rates bills to fund new infrastructure projects, provided they have the support of the business community through the local enterprise partnership.

In single tier areas, it is clear that the relevant authority would take the decision about whether to exercise the power and would meet the costs of doing so, but the Government is consulting on how this could work in other areas. It wants councils to consider how the multiplier could be increased after a period of reduction to catch up with the ‘normal’ inflationlinked multiplier.

• What are your views on which authority should be able to reduce the multiplier and how the costs should be met?

• What are your views on the flexibility levying authorities should have to set a rateable value threshold for the levy?

• What are your views on arrangements for the duration and review of levies?

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interview

ANDREW BAKER/LGA

When the

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www.local.gov.uk

© ANDREW BAKER/LGA

rain comes More money is needed to protect communities against flooding than government can provide. So we need to find other partners to help plug the funding gap, says Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency

August 2016

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even days after starting work last November as Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan was in Cumbria doing a live BBC radio interview on the worst flooding in years.

The former diplomat was expecting to have some time to learn the ropes. Instead, he spent months travelling around the country seeing first-hand the devastation caused by a succession of winter storms and flooding across Cumbria, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and North Yorkshire (see first 596), and the subsequent and on-going recovery work.

As he told the LGA’s annual conference a few weeks ago, it was a baptism not of fire but of water.

But it has left him “full of admiration” for local councils – and not just for their “inspirational” work to help, support and rebuild flood-hit communities, he tells first.

“I’ve come back after living abroad for quite a long time and I have now seen what England looks like in most of our towns and cities. And it’s a lot better than it looked 20 or 30 years ago. Towns and cities are cleaner, greener and more prosperous and a lot of that is down to the work of local authorities.”

The emergency response to the winter floods was “public service at its best,” he says.

“My experience was that where [the response] worked best – and it worked well throughout – you had local authorities who, with the Environment Agency, had already got a well-rehearsed flood protection plan.

They had drawn it up, exercised it, and knew who was going to do what and when. And when the rain fell, it kicked in. Major lesson for me – make sure that everybody has a good plan and that we exercise it.”

Taking the long view, working in partnership, and finding additional sources of funding for flood risk management are key to better protecting communities in the future, he says.

Work undertaken for the National Flood Resilience Review, due to report later this year, has confirmed that the Environment Agency’s flood risk maps, which draw a line around areas at up to a one-in-a-1,000 year risk of flooding, are “still a good basis to judge which bits of the country are at flood risk, even anticipating greater flood risk as a result of climate change”.

“Conclusion, if you’re inside that line, you need to have a plan and you need to be prepared,” says Sir James.

Asked if there is a consistent and longterm approach to flood defence funding to support such planning, he notes that, “unusually”, there is – at least in the medium term. Government has committed to a £2.3 billion, six-year programme of investment in new flood infrastructure to 2021; to maintaining spending on existing flood defences in real terms to 2020; and the resilience review will have “some genuinely long-term thinking about the overall trend in flood risk and how we as a country mitigate that risk”.

But he ducks a question about whether new funding for flood defences should be devolved to local areas – something the LGA has been calling for, so councils can work with communities and businesses to ensure money is directed towards projects that best reflect local needs.

“That’s obviously one for local authorities and central government,” he says.

But he adds: “We are going to need

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“You cannot solve all the housing issues we have in this country exclusively by building houses outside any area of flood risk” more money in future to ensure our communities are as resilient to flooding as we want because the flood risk is increasing.

I don’t think that money will all, or even primarily, come from public sources, whether it’s central government or councils.

“We’re going to find it by going out and finding other partners who can help leverage the amount. Businesses, water companies, local community groups, international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) – we already have partnerships to fund flood defence schemes with all of those categories. But we’re going to need to do more to reach out to all those people to maximise the amount available.”

Many businesses have a direct, selfinterest in good flood prevention, he argues – citing the part-funding of a coastal defence flood wall by a major sewage and water company because it also protects the company’s sewage system.

But others are interested in contributing because they want to enhance their own reputations, have corporate responsibility programmes – or just want to be able to keep operating when the rain fails.

“If you look at most English towns and cities, you’ve got business districts often right in the centre, often part of urban regeneration. That’s a good thing, but they are at flood risk themselves because they are along the river or canal. So businesses, just in order to operate, have an interest in contributing financially to enhanced flood protection,” he says.

With the winter floods damage bill expected to top £5 billion, the LGA has been lobbying for changes to building regulations so that new homes are built with mandatory

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anti-flood requirements, such as raised electrical sockets, fuse boxes, controls and wiring above floor level; ventilation brick covers; sealed floors; and raised damp-proof courses.

Sir James says “planning is a really important part of that encouragement to developers to put in the kind of flood protection measures that you’ve talked about”.

But overall, he feels the planning system and the Environment Agency’s ‘yes, if’ approach to new developments is working well.

Planning authorities have a statutory duty to consult the agency on major developments, and 98 per cent of planning decisions it is aware of are in line with its recommendations.

“It gets back to what is one of the biggest challenges for our country? It is to balance the imperative for sustainable growth – because we all want jobs, housing, and prosperity – with the need to protect and preferably enhance our environment,” says Sir James.

“One of my commitments is that the Environment Agency is not just here to protect the environment, it is here to help promote sustainable growth. You cannot solve all the housing issues that we have in this country exclusively by building houses outside any area of flood risk.

“So the question becomes what do you need to do in order to reduce the risk.

Hence ‘yes, if’. If you, the developer, want to do this, then our advice to you, the planning authority, is that the developer needs to do x,y and z in order to mitigate that risk in a way that we feel comfortable with. And mitigate the risk not just against the occupants of that new build but risks elsewhere. Because what we don’t want www.local.gov.uk

© ANDREW BAKER/LGA

is development that increases flood risk to people in other parts of the country.”

He may feel the agency doesn’t need additional planning powers, but what about councils?

“That’s a matter for councils,” he says.

“National government sets the planning framework because you have to have some kind of strategic approach for a country; the specific decisions about development are for councils, with advice from the Environment Agency. That seems to me to be exactly right because ultimately councils are democratically accountable to their voters for those decisions and they know far more about the needs of a local area than central government does in Whitehall or the agency does sitting here.

“So I think the system itself is well designed but there is scope for even closer day-to-day working to ensure it delivers the best possible outcomes.”

When it comes to the EU referendum and what will now happen to the European regulation on the environment and waste management that impacts the work of both the Environment Agency and councils, Sir James is as circumspect as he is on devolving floods funding to councils.

“It’s our duty in the Environment Agency to help deliver a Brexit that works for the people of our country – and if possible to deliver post-Brexit arrangements for the environment that are not just as good as the current ones, but better. How we do that is going to be a matter for the [new] government and I can’t prejudge that,” he says.

But he adds: “I don’t think that the EU referendum vote was a vote for a dirty country. People want to live in green and clean and prosperous environments, so that hasn’t changed.

“Nor has the mission of the Environment Agency changed: our mission is to create a better place for people and wildlife. What has changed is the context in which we are going to deliver that, which will now be outside the EU. “My ambition, working with central government, councils and others, is to see if we can’t aim to deliver even better places.”

“We are going to need more money to ensure our communities are as resilient to flooding as we want”

August 2016

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Our online guide for new councillors Being elected as a councillor is only the beginning. To help you get the best start, the LGA has designed an online resource to provide you with the key information that you need to know as a new councillor.

As well as exploring some of the main issues and challenges facing local government today, you can find: • the ‘Councillors’ Guide’ in an easily accessible format • a quick reference tool • hints and tips from experienced councillors • links to other useful information.

Support also comes in the form of our Community Leadership Programme, which is part of ‘Highlighting Political Leadership’, the LGA’s development offer for councillors. The Community Leadership Programme offers a choice of different learning methods. The resources range from e-learning modules and self-guided workbooks to training events.

Find out more at:

www.local.gov.uk/ councillors-guide-2016/17

comment Making Brexit work for Wales Cllr Bob Wellington is Leader of the Welsh LGA

DUNCAN NICOL ROBERTSON

The EU referendum result marked a seismic change in UK public policy, and time will be needed to fully digest all the implications. What we know from the outset is there are serious consequences for Welsh councils, both as the largest employer in Wales and as deliverers of local public services.

Councils have strong links with Europe, not least when it comes to the use of structural funds, workforce rights and legislation across

August 2016

key areas like food safety and air pollution.

While we are signalling an end to our membership of the EU it is vital that promises made during the referendum by the Leave campaign to protect regeneration funding in Wales are honoured.

It is also imperative that we do not jettison those positive elements of European legislation, particularly on the environment, which are at the heart of service delivery. Much of the framework of legislation which protects our daily lives has stemmed from this source.

The safety standards for our food, air quality, pollution controls and the goods that we buy online or from the high street have been designed with UK input but passed in Brussels. There is an extremely important task to undertake over the next period, to ensure that the protections offered to the Welsh

“It is imperative that we do not jettison those positive elements of European legislation, particularly on the environment, which are at the heart of service delivery� public by our councils are not undermined, by removing from the UK the fundamentals of European legislation which provide so much unseen public protection activity at the local level.

As a responsible employer, local government also has a duty to highlight potential difficulties for our workforce. For example, any prolonged collapse of the stock market will signal huge problems for the ÂŁ13 billion Local Government Pension Scheme in Wales which is fully funded and based on market investment.

The WLGA recognises that it is still early days and there is much to reflect upon.

However, with a new UK prime minister now in office, we can start to expect more clarity on the timetable for negotiating with the EU. Imperative for Welsh councils now is to ensure as much stability as possible; Theresa May must of course get on with the job of invoking Article 50, but there must be necessary guarantees and funding in place first.

More public sector cuts in an emergency budget would cause huge problems in the public sector, so our message to the new prime minister is clear: there is no need for a hasty departure and Welsh councils must be given public spending assurances before the two-year Brexit process is triggered.

As the exit negotiations begin, councils must play a leading role. The Welsh LGA is united with the LGA in sending the message that councils must be involved from the outset in deciding how EU laws affecting local services are replaced and given the power to run them the way we think is best for our communities. Local government must have a seat at the negotiating table.

Above all, we accept the judgement of the Welsh and UK electorate, and Welsh councils will now seek to work with all levels of government to deliver the best possible outcome for our communities in Wales.

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group leaders’ comments Building local and affordable housing

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’d like to start by congratulating the new Prime Minister Theresa May. She has made a series of speeches outlining her priorities, including those on housing. Hopefully, this will see a welcome departure from the destruction of social housing that we’ve witnessed over the past six years.

For all the talk of ‘getting Britain building again’, Cameron’s government oversaw the lowest level of house building in peace-time history. This must change. House building cannot be left to big developers and their luxury apartments alone. For millions of people in Britain, owning their own home is too far

out of reach. That’s why Labour councils have been working diligently to find innovative ways to fund their own local and affordable house building schemes. But we need to go further and we cannot do this without the proper funding from central government.

Councils need to be able to borrow to build – to tackle the housing crisis, to keep their local economies flourishing and to create new skilled jobs. I look forward to working with government to fight for this funding and to ensure that everyone has a roof over their head and the chance to own their own home. We will

“Councils need to be able to borrow to build – to tackle the housing crisis, keep their local economies flourishing and create new skilled jobs”

Cllr Nick Forbes is Leader of the LGA’s Labour Group

also continue to fight for better regulation of the private rented market. And we need to tackle the scandal of homelessness and those left in temporary accommodation.

Councils need the resources to meet their existing duty of care in homelessness cases, and the Government must support and work with councils to do this and to find lasting solutions to tacking these problems.

As local councillors, it’s our duty to stand up for our communities and fight for their best interests: we will be making that known to the new prime minister and her team at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

chairman’s comment

Delivering more on devolution

Lord Porter is Chairman of the LGA

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s the country starts to consider a future outside the European Union, the role of local government has never been so important.

Our residents are unsure about what comes next and they’re asking questions about what this all means for them and their families. As politicians in Westminster start to consider arrangements for the future, we’re making sure that powers aren’t simply transferred from Brussels to Whitehall (see p9). As we’ve always said, if it’s better for local people, then the power should rest with local people.

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If we’re to move forward then we need to ask ourselves what comes next for devolution and how we can speed up the pace of change and deliver more benefits for our residents.

Many of you will have already seen our devolution green paper that was launched at our annual conference in July. It doesn’t provide all the answers but instead encourages local debate around the whole devolution process.

The paper sets out some ideas and a series of big questions about the future of devolution and how we can better involve communities in the discussion.

We’ve made a lot of progress in the last few years, and we’ve rightly focused on growth and economic policy, but now it’s

time to build on this and look at a wider agenda for devolution and public sector reform.

We need to start mapping out the next phase of devolution, thinking about whether the principles are still right, start looking at how we can use devolution to deliver effective public sector reform, and start moving beyond functional devolution to fiscal devolution.

These are the important questions we need to consider if we are to get past the here and now of deal making. We’re eager to hear from you, so please grab a copy of ‘What next for devolution?’ (online at www.local.gov.uk/publications) and get involved in the conversation.

“We need to ask ourselves what comes next for devolution and how we can deliver more benefits for our residents” www.local.gov.uk

group leaders’ comments

Cllr David Hodge is Leader of the LGA’s Conservative Group

Cllr Marianne Overton MBE is Leader of the LGA’s Independent Group

Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson is Leader of the LGA’s Liberal Democrat Group

A ‘one nation’ vision for the country

From Europe to electoral reform

Getting a good deal from Brexit

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would like to warmly congratulate Theresa May on her election as Conservative Party Leader and appointment as Prime Minister.

A former councillor, Theresa is well known to many Conservative councillors from her time as Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government and Party Chairman.

In her speech outside Downing Street, Theresa outlined a ‘one nation’ vision for the country in which, regardless of your background, you will be helped to go as far as your talents will take you. She also emphasised the need to give people more control over their own lives.

This is a vision that Conservative councillors fully share and we are already putting into practice: the agreement of devolution deals around the country means that decisions across a whole range of policy areas are increasingly being made in local communities rather than in Whitehall.

Greg Clark was instrumental in pushing this agenda over the past 14 months and following the reshuffle I would like to thank him, Brandon Lewis, James Wharton, Mark Francois and Baroness Williams for all that they have has done for us.

I warmly congratulate Sajid Javid on becoming our new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and look forward to working with him and his new ministerial team of Marcus Jones, Gavin Barwell, Andrew Percy and Lord Bourne to further the devolution agenda over the coming months.

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week is a very long time in politics, and since the LGA’s annual conference we now have a new prime minister and cabinet, without a general election.

The acceptance speech of the second female British prime minister gave recognition of the problems of ordinary people and called for unity, a step on from “we’re all in it together”.

The EU referendum has been followed by change and our members were quick to help clarify what is needed in our submission to the prime minister.

One of Greg Clarke’s final acts as Communities and Local Government Secretary was to respond positively to our calls for a seat at the EU negotiating table and to launch the consultation on how the remaining 50 per cent of business rates might be distributed between councils.

The LGA launched a discussion paper on devolution. The Independent Group has argued against new combined authorities covering very large areas with an elected mayor. Will new Chancellor Philip Hammond and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, be able to listen? The Independent Group launched its consultation document on electoral reform, echoing concerns raised in Parliament this week. Annual conference sessions covered current areas of particular interest to our group: housing and planning, and mental health and prevention. A big thank you to all our members who led sessions.

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“Regardless of your background, you will be helped to go as far as your talents will take you”

“The Independent Group launched its consultation on electoral reform”

“Saying the Leave campaign’s promises can now be dropped will mean that trust in politicians may fall even further”

t was great to catch up with colleagues at the recent LGA conference. As a Lib Dem Group, we were also pleased to welcome guest speakers Baroness Bakewell, Lord Oates and Norman Lamb MP. This was also our first opportunity to meet following the EU referendum vote and to discuss the way forward.

We all need to work to make sure that our communities get the best deal possible – making good use of the seat local government has been given at the table during any Brexit negotiation.

One of the things that I find most frightening about the whole of this is that there appeared to have been little advance preparation from the Government on what to do now.

The moves being made to say that the promises made by the Leave campaign can now be quietly dropped will I think mean that trust in politicians may fall even further.

If people drive around in a bus promising that £350 million a week will come back to the UK so cuts to services can be reversed then this has to be delivered.

Lib Dems will keep working hard for our communities, in particular to ensure community cohesion post-referendum.

The by-election wins and 17,000-plus new members who have joined us since the referendum show that we will have a key role to play in the road ahead.

For more information about the LGA’s political groups, see www.local.gov.uk

August 2016

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Business rates and fiscal devolution Ed Cox is Director of IPPR North

When it comes to devolution, whether the glass is half full or half empty seems to depend upon where you live.

Even in the cities, though, many would agree that what we have seen to date has been more ‘administrative decentralisation’ than proper devolution. With tight central controls on public spending, the prospect of more fiscal freedom until recently seemed out of scope. That was until the Chancellor’s surprise announcement last October of his intention to allow for the full devolution of business rates.

Now we have the government consultation document, the intention to give councils a

stronger incentive to support economic growth is clear and it is welcome too. The big question, though, is how the total pot of business rates collected nationally will be distributed between different local authorities.

The consultation makes two important suggestions on this matter. First, the amount of funding that every local authority will get in the first year of the new scheme will be determined by its need for funding (‘funding need’). Second, in subsequent years, every local authority will be able to keep every extra pound of business rates that it collects.

Our analysis shows that this approach will cause the scheme to fail on its own terms. Richer councils will have a much stronger incentive to grow their economies than poorer councils.

Over time, this would also lead to greater concentrations of public investment and resources in richer areas of the country.

IPPR has proposed an alternative system – the ‘growth first’ scheme – which gives all

local authorities an equal incentive to increase their retained income, irrespective of whether they are rich or poor. Under ‘growth first’, the increase in an authority’s funding would be calculated by multiplying its economic growth rate by its funding need, not by the amount of business rates it collects. This would guarantee a strong economic growth incentive for the local authorities that most need it.

If the drive for devolution is to take a fiscal turn, both government and councils will need to pursue more radical paths.

Consultation key to devo-success Cllr Simon Henig (Lab) is Leader of Durham County Council and former Chair of the North East Combined Authority

In October 2015, the North East Combined Authority (NECA) signed a proposed devolution agreement with government aimed at transforming the economic fortunes of the region and bringing new opportunities to residents and businesses.

It was a significant moment which paved the way for major changes to how key decisions would be made about investment, funding, business support, transport, training and skills, housing and economic development.

But although this was the first formal step

taken by NECA towards devolution, it by no means represented the start of our journey.

Work had begun many months previously.

The combined authority had been established in April 2014 by Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland. This in itself was a major milestone and followed extensive work and public consultation.

By January 2015, we had finalised and

“The devolution deal paved the way for major changes to how key decisions would be made” 26 | first comment

agreed our outline devolution proposals, which set out our 12 priorities, and consultation began on these in March 2015. The consultation analysis showed strong support for devolution to the North East as well as broad agreement with the 12 proposed priorities.

There followed an intense period of discussion, negotiation and planning prior to NECA publishing its Statement of Intent and submitting devolution proposals in early September 2015.

Since the signing of the proposed agreement in October 2015, work has intensified, and there has been further consultation by both the combined authority and local councils with residents and stakeholders at each stage in the process.

Consultation in November 2015 and in January 2016 focused on the proposed devolution agreement, with responses being used to feed back into our discussions with government.

It is clear that the road to devolution is long and a huge amount of work is involved at every step of the way. But ensuring key partners and stakeholders are engaged and involved in the process is crucial to achieving success. www.local.gov.uk

Devolution and local governance: more radical thinking needed Robin Hambleton is Professor of City Leadership at the University of the West of England, Bristol, and Director of Urban Answers

Councillors across England are working very hard to create new arrangements for devolved governance.

But central government is sending out confusing messages.

On the one hand, it has failed to provide clear, measurable objectives for devolution, preferring to develop various ‘devolution deals’ behind closed doors. Detailed criteria for assessing proposals have not been made explicit.

On the other, the Government appears to have a fixed view on the leadership arrangements for combined authorities. All the deals agreed so far, with the exception of Cornwall, include a directly elected mayor.

Earlier this year, the LGA invited me to examine international experience with different models of sub-national governance. Launched at the LGA’s annual conference in Bournemouth in July, ‘English devolution: learning lessons from international models of sub-national governance’, provides a number of suggestions that can, perhaps, widen the conversation.

The report sets out six clear principles for

good sub-national governance: civic leadership; effective decision-making; transparency and efficiency; accountability; public involvement; and business engagement.

By drawing on analysis of successful city region governance models around the world, the report provides profiles of four models that have won praise internationally. These are Auckland Council, New Zealand; the UK’s Greater London Authority (GLA); Portland Metro, in Oregon, USA; and Stuttgart City Region, Germany (pictured below).

Elected mayors The examples have been chosen to illustrate very different ways of governing large areas. And the six principles of good governance are used to provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of these different models.

Two of the examples – Auckland and London – have directly elected mayors, two do not.

In 2010, the New Zealand government abolished eight local authorities in Auckland and created a large unitary, led by a directly elected mayor and 20 councillors. In addition, there are now 21 elected local boards that have responsibility for decision-making about local services.

The GLA was created in 2000 and is a strategic metropolitan authority. It has a directly elected mayor and a London Assembly comprising 25 assembly members. It is a second tier of government and the London boroughs continue to provide most local

government services.

Created in 1978, Portland Metro is, rather like the GLA, a metropolitan level of government operating above existing municipalities. Voters elect a president and six councillors to run the Metro, and they also elect a Metro auditor to hold the Metro politicians to account. The president appoints members to committees and commissions but does not have any powers independent of the council.

The Association of the Region of Stuttgart is different again. Introduced in 1994, the directly elected regional assembly has 87 members.

They are elected using proportional representation, and the assembly chooses the chair. As with the Portland Metro, this person has very little independent executive power.

The international evidence shows that different cities and city regions in different countries have adopted different models of leadership. In particular, the research shows that directly elected mayors should not be seen as the only option for providing leadership of sub-national governance in England.

On the contrary, if devolution is to mean anything, elected local councillors should be free to design and develop alternative forms of governance for combined authorities.

Welcoming such flexibility would open up creative opportunities and a variety of ways of refreshing local governance could emerge.

Given the complexity of the issues, the need to think through options, hear different voices and design robust models of governance for combined authorities, it would be wise to give more time to the institutional design process – and to considering moving the city region mayoral elections back from May 2017 to May 2018.

See www.local.gov.uk/devolution for short and full-length research versions of ‘English devolution: learning lessons from international models of subnational governance’

August 2016

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Preventing radicalisation Ben Wallace MP is Minister for Security at the Home Office

At a time when the threat facing the UK is serious and growing, councils should be enormously proud of their tireless work to protect vulnerable people from radicalisation.

Daesh propaganda is pervasive, while groups on the far-right subvert the internet to spread hatred. These groups target and manipulate vulnerable people, using methods similar to the grooming of children online.

And as we have seen, the consequences can be devastating.

The Prevent duty – now a year old – is being implemented with care. I know many councils were already doing good work in this area long before it was introduced – seeing

it as a natural extension of their safeguarding responsibilities.

Support from local authorities has allowed training for more than 184,000 frontline staff last year from over 2,790 institutions, ranging from schools and colleges to councils and faith institutions.

We have helped councils with this essential work by providing financial support and training.

In areas where the risk is greatest, we have added significant funding for projects and dedicated staff.

As ever, there is more to do. Which is why we will publish advice to local councils shortly, based on learning from the last year, with extensive practical information and examples

of best practice. We want you to share with us your experiences as collaboratively we can progress the Prevent agenda. You can be confident that I’ll champion the work of those on the front line and work to dispel the myths surrounding Prevent – in Parliament, through media and in our cities, towns and villages.

As long as the threat exists, we must continue to work together and work harder, talk to more people, and engage with all communities in order to defeat it. We are stronger and safer when we are united against extremists and terrorists.

Thank you for your dedication to this vital work in the national interest and for the common good.

“Many councils were already doing good work before the Prevent duty was introduced, seeing it as an extension of their safeguarding responsibilities”

Sport’s moment is now Jennie Price is Chief Executive of Sport England

Physical activity can be a powerful force for good. Whether playing five-a-side football weekly or riding bikes with the children, getting active can improve people’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

These are key issues for government. With this firmly in mind, our new strategy, ‘Towards an active nation’, delivers against health, social and economic outcomes. We know councils across the country are focused on these outcomes too.

One in four of us do less than 30 minutes physical activity a week and one in six deaths are caused by inactivity – costing £7.4 billion nationally and locally. This has to change.

It isn’t easy. Changing behaviour is complex and requires time and money.

That’s why we’ve committed to tripling the amount we invest in helping people to whom sport and physical activity is either a distant thought, or not even on their radar.

We’re also focused on groups who are typically less active – women, disabled people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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It’s vital that we treat people as potential customers and put their needs first.

We can’t do this alone. We need a range of partners, such as councils, who understand how to reach inactive people. We’ve trialled this type of collaboration through our Get Healthy, Get Active programme since 2013. Over 30 pilots have been delivered, with more than 36,000 inactive people taking part.

Other key elements of our new approach include dedicated funding to get children active from the age of five, including familybased activities and training for at least two teachers in every English secondary school

to help them better meet the needs of all children; piloting new ways of working locally by investing in up to ten places in England – a mix of urban and rural areas; and continuing to invest in facilities, especially multisport hubs.

We’re excited about the future and hope you share our vision for a more active nation.

I look forward to working with you.

For more information please visit www.sportengland.org

www.local.gov.uk

parliament Children and safeguarding

While the EU referendum result and Theresa May’s new government continued to dominate the headlines, important legislation and other policy work was progressing through Parliament up to the summer recess.

One such piece of work was the Children and Social Work Bill, which was in Committee in the Lords. The Bill covers areas including safeguarding, support for care leavers, and a new regulator for social work; and allows local authorities to be exempted from children’s social care regulations in order to pilot new, innovative approaches.

The LGA briefed Peers on several clauses of concern to councils. For example, the LGA raised concerns about the proposed Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, which will identify serious child safeguarding cases in England which raise issues that are complex or of national importance, and will be able to review such cases.

The Bill, as it stands, proposes a national panel that the LGA feels is too closely controlled by the Secretary of State, which risks politicising the serious case review process.

If reviews are to identify the root cause of safeguarding failings, they must be fully independent of government control to ensure they are able to consider whether changes are required at both national and local level, without fear or favour.

Additionally, the new social work regulator must have guaranteed independence in order to balance the needs of the public, August 2016

government requirements, the interests of the profession, and the organisational requirements of employers, who will have overall management responsibilities.

A more flexible approach in the Bill to multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and local learning reviews, as set out in the Wood Review of local safeguarding children boards, is a positive step. However, for the new system to be effective in protecting children, it must involve all relevant partners (including schools), and be fully funded.

For example, there are concerns that an amendment to the Bill places too great an emphasis on the actions of individual practitioners in determining the cause of failures, and lacks the vital focus on the impact of the systems they are working in.

The systems-approach was designed, in part, to move away from a blame culture and instead provide practical recommendations to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

Failings and poor practice in relation to child protection must always be identified, challenged and addressed, but we must be clear that practice reviews are not inquiries into who is culpable for a child coming to harm.

Freedom to innovate can be a powerful tool in improving outcomes for children and young people, particularly in a climate of rising demand and reduced resources.

However, any decision to exempt an authority from social care legislation must be clearly shown to be in the best interests of local children and young people.

The LGA is particularly concerned that the Bill allows for the Secretary of State to relax duties on local authorities that are subject to central government intervention without any form of local democratic scrutiny. These could include significant duties in relation to the direct care and support of children and young people. It is important that these duties are not watered down or removed in a council area without the oversight of locally elected politicians.

Legislative updates

T

he Bus Services Bill gives Londonstyle powers to franchise local bus services to mayoral combined authorities.

However, non-mayoral combined authorities will require the Secretary of State’s approval for franchising. At the Bill’s Committee Stage in the Lords, the LGA pressed for this condition to be removed, as it is counter to the principles of devolution. The decision to gain responsibility for bus franchising should be taken locally, based on robust evidence, and taking into account the needs of passengers, local residents and other circumstances, such as the performance of local bus markets.

Cllr Richard Watts, Vice-Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, gave evidence to the Education Select Committtee’s inquiry on multiacademy trusts. He emphasised that councils are among the country’s most effective education leaders: only 15 per cent of the largest multi-academy trusts perform above the national average when it comes to how much progress pupils make, compared with 44 per cent of councils. While the LGA was pleased the Government listened to its call to revise its policy on forced academisation for all schools, greater clarity is needed as to the circumstances under which councils’ ability to maintain schools will be considered underperforming or unviable (and therefore result in their schools becoming academies).

The Lords Committee scrutinising the effectiveness of the Licensing Act 2003 heard from Cllr Tony Page, LGA Licensing Spokesperson, as well as council representatives. Cllr Page raised the issue of amending the Act to include a public health objective. The Committee also discussed the need for the Government to expand its approach to alcohol beyond a narrow emphasis on crime and disorder, as well as the lack of funding for the Act which has led to local government subsidising its implementation by £10.3 million a year.

For more on the Children and Social Work Bill, please visit www.local.gov.uk/ legislation

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councillor Encouraging people to stand The LGA’s Be a Councillor campaign is all about promoting the role of councillor to talented people, in the hope they will stand for election.

We can offer support to councils who are planning to run their own Be a Councillor campaigns. Lancashire County Council is the latest to do this – see Deputy Leader Cllr David Borrow’s article, right, and visit www.beacouncillor.co.uk/lancashire.

Next May, all 84 county council seats in Lancashire are up for grabs, and those elected will represent a population of more than 1.2 million. They will need to understand the issues and concerns residents face, and have the skills, passion, energy understanding and commitment to take action.

The Be a Councillor website provides information and advice on what councillors do, how much time the role can take, how to go about getting elected and find out more information. Lancashire’s campaign site includes additional information on the county and its electoral boundaries, and blogs and videos from serving councillors about how they came to stand and what they find rewarding about the role.

For more information about Be a Councillor and how we can help you localise a campaign for your council, please email Helen Rankin at helen.rankin@local.gov.uk or phone 020 7664 3068 to find out about the resources available, from advice and off-the-shelf products to bespoke packages with unique websites and short films. More information is available on www.beacouncillor.co.uk and on Twitter @beacouncillor.

Cllr David Borrow (Lab) is Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council We’ve been working with the LGA to make sure that the resources and information we develop will specifically appeal to Lancastrians, who are thinking about standing for election to the county council next year.

Before people stand as a candidate, it’s important to help them to imagine being in the role.

The key message of this project is that you can make a difference by being a councillor, and that you probably already have the skills to do it.

There’s a long tradition of innovation in Lancashire, which continues to this day. New approaches are especially important at this time: like all councils, we face challenging times and are looking at new ways of delivering our services.

It’s good for democracy to encourage talented people to stand for election, as it benefits the people that we serve.

However, it’s no longer the case that we can rely on the same methods as previous years. We need to reach out in new ways

to reach new people.

As we know, social media is an increasingly important way for people to find out information. Councils need to use modern and innovative methods to reach out to potential candidates, regardless of their political affiliation.

For example, we’ve got a short online film that helps people to find out more about the day-to-day duties, in the words of some of our councillors themselves.

We’ve also developed a new website with more details about the role. Information sessions will be held in the autumn to help people who are interested in standing as a candidate.

Social media helps us to tell people about the project and how they can find out more, using many of the most popular apps.

The aim is to strip away some of the myths that people have about councillors, show them what it involves, and let them know about the type of support they’ll get as a new councillor.

As well as encouraging candidates in Lancashire, we hope that Be a Councillor will help other councils to develop their own work, encourage more people to stand and bring new people into politics.

The Councillor feature in the last month’s first was mistakenly bylined as from Ed Cox instead of Ed Hammond. We appologise for any confusion or offence caused.

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www.local.gov.uk

local by-elections Bexley, St. Michaels CON HELD 3.9% over Lab

elections Lib Dems take five The headlines belong to the Liberal Democrats following five gains made in recent by-elections.

These feature a brace of victories against the defending Conservatives, the same number in former Independent-held seats and finally a case of seizing the moment when UKIP failed to defend.

However, these results should not be interpreted as a clear sign that the tide is turning in favour of the Liberal Democrats without a more considered analysis.

Mole Valley’s Leatherhead North provided the first of the Conservative defeats. The Liberal Democrats had held on to the seat even during the bad years of 2011 and 2012 only to lose it in 2014 by just six votes.

Boosted by the higher turnout produced by the General Election, the Conservative hold strengthened in 2015. Roughly half of the Liberal Democrat advance came at the expense of the Conservatives but support for other parties also waned.

Voters in North Norfolk’s Astley ward make a habit of switching to the Liberal Democrats in by-elections. The ward was first established in 2003, when it was won by an Independent.

Two months later the Liberal Democrats captured it unexpectedly and retained the ward until 2011 when it was won by the Conservatives.

The seat stayed Conservative in 2015 while the Liberal Democrats did not contest.

The incumbent’s resignation prompted another by-election, however, and the voters have shown both their displeasure with the Conservatives and long-standing appeal for Liberal Democrat by-election candidates.

The outcome in Wiltshire’s Trowbridge Grove may also not be what it appears at first glance. The by-election was caused by the death of Jeff Osborn, a long-standing local councillor in the area. He first stood and won this particular seat as a Liberal Democrat in 2009 but following a rift with the party he August 2016

Professors Colin Rallings (right) and Michael Thrasher are Directors of Plymouth University’s Elections Centre

contested it as an Independent in 2013. At this election his only opponent was a Conservative with the Liberal Democrats choosing not to contest, and the by-election sees the ward revert to type.

Having lost all their representation in Cornwall at the last General Election, the Liberal Democrats must now re-build and two victories there will be welcome. Voters in St Teath and St Breward faced a choice of three Independents but plumped instead for local farmer Dominic Fairman.

The gain in Newquay Treviglas needs to be set in the context of the 2013 election which was narrowly won by UKIP, the first of two rounds of local council elections when the party made large gains. UKIP’s winning margin over the Conservatives was just 29 votes with the Liberal Democrats only 48 votes adrift. The defending party’s failure to field a candidate in effect created a clean slate but there is no doubt that the Liberal Democrats exploited the situation best of all.

The only other seat to change hands was Selby’s Byram and Brotherton ward.

Again, UKIP, which had won a quarter of the votes cast in 2015, did not contest the by-election vacancy caused by the death of sitting councillor Jack Crawford. This accounts for most of the change in vote share but Labour’s too declined marginally, a critical factor in a contest eventually decided by just 27 votes.

Please visit www.local.gov.uk/first for additional data on all recent by-election results

Bradford, Wibsey LAB HELD 23.2% over UKIP Conwy, Mostyn LAB HELD 6.3% over Con

Turnout 34.5%

Turnout 23%

Turnout 26.7%

Cornwall, Newquay Treviglas LIB DEM GAIN FROM UKIP 32.8% over Con Turnout 26.3% Cornwall, St. Teath & St. Breward LIB DEM GAIN FROM IND 27.3% over Ind Turnout 42.8% Eden, Appleby IND HELD 47.2% over Con

Turnout 24.1%

Gwynedd, Marchog IND HELD 30.7% over Lab

Turnout 23.3%

Gwynedd, Y Felinheli PLAID CYMRU HELD 85.2% over Con

Turnout 41.7%

Islington, Barnsbury LAB HELD 33.9% over Lib Dem

Turnout 25.5%

Mole Valley, Leatherhead North LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 34.3% over Con Turnout 31.1% Newham, Forest Gate North LAB HELD 21.4% over Green Turnout 21.4% North Norfolk, Astley LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 15.5% over Con Turnout 42.7% Selby, Byram & Brotherton CON GAIN FROM LAB 4.8% over Lab Turnout 23.6% Thanet, Newington UKIP HELD 1.9% over Lab

Turnout 23%

Vale of Glamorgan, Rhoose IND HELD 3.8% over Con Turnout 39.8% Wiltshire, Trowbridge Grove LIB DEM GAIN FROM IND 24.5% over Con Turnout 27.4%

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