Lgafirst#591

No.591 September 2015 www.local.gov.uk

the magazine for local government

Interview:

“The job of councillors is to ask the awkward questions�

Louise Casey, Director General, Troubled Families

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Party conferences Tim Farron on Lib Dem fightback

Culture and sport Try-in to make a difference

Children and young people Rotherham: one year on

CARE ACT 2014: ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE 24 September, London The Care Act is the most wide-ranging set of changes to adult social care law in decades.

Councils and their partners need to make its aspirations a reality by reshaping how social care is delivered to our growing and ageing population. The event will explore local leadership and implementation and highlight innovative solutions.

Speakers include: Ray James, President, ADASS HelĂŠna Herklots, Chief Executive, Carers UK Andrew Webster, Director of Health and Care Integration, LGA

For more information or to book visit www.local.gov.uk/events

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Looking ahead

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here did the summer go? Before we know it, many of us will be off to Bournemouth, Doncaster, Brighton or Manchester for our respective party conferences and Parliament will be in full swing with the Spending Review rushing towards us.

In this month’s first, you can find out what the LGA will be up to at the conferences, hear from Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron, and get a first look at the figures that will underpin our Spending Review submission. Meanwhile, just over a year after the Alexis Jay report on child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, you can read about what has been happening since and the impact of the findings on the town in a moving piece from Leader Cllr Chris Read. The LGA is helping the council recruit local people to stand as candidates in Rotherham’s elections next year, with the relaunch of its ‘Be A Councillor’ campaign.

Louise Casey, whose report led to government intervention in Rotherham, exhorts elected members to “ask the awkward questions” in our interview.

However, she has nothing but praise for the way local councils have risen to the challenge of supporting troubled families, noting that they are “good at this stuff”.

Councils are also good at exploiting sporting events to promote economic regeneration and public health – so rugby fans should enjoy our World Cup feature.

Cllr Gary Porter is Chairman of the LGA

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S upporting veterans

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interview

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S pending Review preview

New LGA chief executive

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Director General,

Troubled Families

“Local authorities need to have confidence about the fact that they are good at this stuff [troubled families]”

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Editor Karen Thornton Design & print TU ink www.tuink.co.uk Advertising Ottway Media Solutions Write to first: Local Government House, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ Email first@local.gov.uk Tel editorial 020 7664 3294 Tel advertising 07917 681135 Photography Photofusion and Ingimage unless otherwise stated Cover and interview Chris Sharp Circulation 18,400 (September 2015) 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.

September 2015

features

6 Annual party conferences 7 Tim Farron,

Lib Dem Leader 8 Housing and planning 11 Social care and funding 12 Rugby World Cup 14 LGA governance changes 15 Be A Councillor campaign

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Rotherham: one year on LGA chairman and group leaders Councillors’ say on devolution Coming out of special measures

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regulars

28 Letters and sound bites 30 Parliament 31 Elections

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news in brief Skills shortage hits housebuilding

news

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‘Unfair’ care cost rules hit war veterans All injured war veterans must be protected from having to use their pensions to pay for their care costs, the LGA has said.

Under current rules, veterans who were injured in service on or before 5 April 2005 receive a War Disablement Pension which is treated like an income and counts towards care costs. Those injured after this date fall under a separate government scheme and receive a lump sum from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme that cannot be taken into account.

This anomaly means veterans are receiving different amounts of funded care depending on when they were injured in the line of duty – even if they have the same injuries. The LGA wants government to provide extra funding to ensure all veterans are treated fairly and none have to hand over their weekly pension to fund care costs.

Cllr Gary Porter, LGA Chairman, said: “It is unfair that government guidelines mean that our brave ex-servicemen and women are asked to contribute different amounts towards

their care costs depending solely on when they were injured.

“Councils want the thousands of war veterans affected to be treated fairly and given the dignified care they deserve. No war veteran should ever be penalised by having to use the pension they have been awarded for dedicated service and sacrifice to pay for their care – and for the few it affects, this really is the most unjust discrepancy in a system there to support them.

“Some councils have looked at ways to subsidise the cost for veterans faced with having to hand over their weekly pension to fund care costs. However, pressures on council budgets and a social care funding gap growing at around £700 million a year means this is something many are finding increasingly impossible to keep up.”

All UK councils have signed up to the voluntary Armed Forces Community Covenant, which commits them to helping forces personnel and their families integrate into their communities.

growing construction skills shortage threatens the Government’s pledge to build 275,000 affordable homes by 2020, according to LGA analysis. It is calling on government to work with the construction industry, councils and education providers to develop a national ‘Skills to Build’ strategy, delivered locally.

Devolving careers advice, post-16 and adult skills budgets and powers to local areas, it would allow councils, schools, colleges and employers to work together to help unemployed residents and young people develop the vital skills to build. Cllr Peter Box, Chair of the LGA’s Housing Board, said: “For too long we’ve trained too many hairdressers and not enough bricklayers. Too few apprentices are getting the construction skills to build the homes and roads our local communities need and developers are struggling to recruit skilled labour.”

Reduce council tax for carers

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npaid carers should be given council tax reductions. The LGA wants the Government to fund the setting up of a council tax discount scheme, with those who provide at least an hour of unpaid care a week (currently costing £17 on average) entitled to a discount of £100 a year. A fully subscribed discount fund of £25 million would support at least 250,000 hours of unpaid care per week, saving up to £220 million a year.

Money returned to scammed residents

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armarthenshire’s Trading Standards team has handed over £800 back to elderly people who had been scammed by fraudsters, after a national operation to identify and close down fraudulent PO Box addresses set up for bogus prize draws. Cllr Jim Jones, Executive Board Member for Public Protection (pictured, right), said: “We were delighted to be in a position to give these people their money back. Many had no idea they had been scammed, and if it was not for the work of our Trading Standards staff, who have been working with the National Trading Standards Scams Team, they may have been targeted again and again by fraudsters. One resident had sent £30 in the hope of winning a large cash prize – she was really happy to receive her money back.”

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www.local.gov.uk

Unfunded policies could cost councils billions Councils will be faced with £10.1 billion of cost pressures by 2020, LGA analysis ahead of the Government’s Spending Review reveals.

It projects councils will have £3.6 billion worth of ‘business as usual’ pressures by the end of the decade. Other government policies to be implemented over the next five years, including the National Living Wage and a reduction in social housing rents, will add a further £6.6 billion by 2020.

The LGA will use the figures to urge the Government to ensure its Spending Review, to be held on 25 November, fully assesses the impact of the unfunded cost burdens facing councils over the next five years.

Ensuring the Spending Review is about “spending smarter, not only about spending less” is vital in order to balance the nation’s books while improving public services and local economies, the LGA will argue.

The LGA’s submission to the Treasury, due out as first went to press, will focus on proposals to help councils drive efficiencies, transform business rates, create a partnership between central and local government to deliver targeted skills and employment initiatives, and prioritise the radical devolution of power within England.

It will call for more than £60 billion of central government spending to devolved

Blooming marvellous

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n array of colourful roadside floral displays in County Durham have attracted acclaim from residents and visitors and provided perfect habitats for bees and butterflies. Various species, including poppies, cornflowers and oxeye daisies, have been planted on roundabouts and verges as part of Durham County Council’s wildflower planting scheme. Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Local Partnerships (pictured, left, with Oliver Sherratt, Head of Direct Services), said: “We are delighted with feedback received from residents, visitors and commuters who have passed on their compliments at how attractive the wildflowers are. The planting programme not only adds a welcome splash of colour, but is also great for wildlife too.”

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during the Spending Review period.

“We need the decisions in the Spending Review to be guided by the fundamental principle that local people will know best how to use public spending on services in their area. It needs to ensure that the benefits of devolution can be extended to residents and businesses in all parts of the country,” the submission will say.

The LGA is also calling on government to give councils the opportunity to carry out long-term financial planning by providing fouryear local government finance settlements, and to unlock the ability of councils to ramp up housebuilding.

It will say: “Councils consistently rank greater certainty over funding allocations as a top priority to help them deliver local services more efficiently and more effectively.”

The LGA will be making a separate submission specifically in relation to adult social care.

See www.local.gov.uk. See the next edition of first for more on the Spending Review

news in brief Free school opening dates

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ouncils are calling for any decision to postpone the opening of a new free school to be made before national offer day in a bid to ensure families aren’t left devastated and valuable school places are freed up for other children. The LGA believes that parents, schools and councils must know by mid-April, rather than late August, if a school will be ready to open. Currently, all school admissions are co-ordinated by councils except for the first year of a new free school when parents have to apply to them directly.

Public health funding cuts

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utting public health budgets will adversely affect local government’s ability to promote health and wellbeing and reduce demand for hospital, health and social care services, the LGA has warned. Responding to a Department of Health consultation on public health in-year savings of £200 million, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Giving councils the ability to make a real impact on the health of local people was a positive step, but local government can only continue its important work – such as tackling obesity – if we are adequately resourced to do so.”

New top executive for LGA

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ark Lloyd has been appointed the LGA’s new Chief Executive, following interviews with the LGA’s political leadership. Mr Lloyd, currently Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire County Council, will take over from Carolyn Downs who is moving to Brent Council. LGA Chairman Cllr Gary Porter said: “Mark proved himself to be a standout candidate and I look forward to working with him.” Mr Lloyd said: “It will be my privilege to draw upon my experience of running councils to help the LGA achieve objectives that matter to our member councils across the whole country.”

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features

Debating devolution at the party conferences The LGA will be lobbying national politicians to bring power close to residents

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he autumn party conferences kicking off later this month are an important milestone in the political calendar for the LGA. These regular annual gatherings, at which politicians, the media and civil society come together to share ideas, debate policies and announce their plans for the year ahead, are an opportunity for us to promote both the work of local government and the LGA’s latest policy recommendations. The latter include ‘A Shared Commitment’, which outlines a shared partnership model between local and national government ahead of November’s Spending Review.

Conferences also provide a platform

for our chairman and councillors to speak at debates and roundtables held by private, public and charitable organisations; meet key political influencers; and share the work councils do to improve people’s lives.

This year’s conferences are the first since the general and local elections in May. With devolution high on the political agenda, the LGA is hosting debates at the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat conferences at which the LGA’s group leaders, MPs, peers and other civic leaders will explore how as a country we can restructure the current system of decision-making to bring power closer to residents and enable all areas to support economic growth. The debates will

be an opportunity for those with an interest in local government to set out why it is now more important than ever that the devolution agenda reaches all parts of the country.

In addition to our own devolution debates, LGA councillors from all four of its political groups will also speak on a wide range of informative and agenda-setting debates across the conferences, including at UKIP’s.

This year our councillors are speaking at events being held on housing, the future of health and social care, devolution, children’s services, apprenticeships, sustainable transport and much more. These engagements will help councillors connect with important stakeholders, while showcasing the wide range of public services local government delivers for people.

With the Government working on the Spending Review and Parliament set to debate transformative legislation and policy, it has arguably never been more crucial for the LGA to make the case for local government.

Party conferences allow us to do just that, with our councillors shaping the political debate on behalf of the sector and taking our wide ranging recommendations on the Spending Review straight to influential national politicians and stakeholders.

For more information about the LGA’s work, see www.local.gov.uk/ parliament

LGA events at the party conferences Liberal Democrats, Bournemouth

Labour, Brighton

Conservatives, Manchester

Liberal Democrat Group LGA Evening Reception Sunday 20 September 9.30 pm to 11.00 pm Deauville Suite, Trouville Hotel

The ALC Reception Sunday 27 September 8.30 pm to 10.30 pm Cambridge Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel

Devolution debate Monday 5 October 5.45 pm to 7.00 pm Cobden Room 3, Manchester Central

Devolution debate Monday 21 September 6.15 pm to 7.15 pm Hardy Suite, Hermitage Hotel

Devolution debate Monday 28 September 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm Stanmer Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel

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Conservative Group LGA Evening Reception Monday 5 October 9.30 pm to 11.00 pm Petersfield Suite, Midland Hotel

www.local.gov.uk

Liberal Democrats are getting ready for their first post-election conference in Bournemouth

Local government leading Lib Dem fightback

Tim Farron MP is Leader of the Liberal Democrats

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s we develop our plans for the future, I want the Liberal Democrat vision for change to be rooted in local communities. I have been a councillor myself – on South Ribble Borough, South Lakeland District and Lancashire County Councils – and know what a key role local government has to play.

We know that the electorate gave us a kicking this May, so as we rebuild I am calling on the advice of some of the best campaigners that the party has, including highly experienced Liberal Democrats from local government.

And Lib Dems in the House of Lords –

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over 100 strong – will have a key role to play.

At this year’s LGA annual conference, Baroness Sal Brinton made clear how valued the LGA is, and we look forward to working with you in future.

I am delighted there will be a strong LGA presence from Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson and the team at our annual conference, including the LGA’s fringe meeting on devolution. A long-standing liberal cause, we want to see genuine devolution of power to our local communities across the UK – and it should not be just about big cities or dependent on having a directly elected mayor, as Cornwall has proven.

Another key issue for conference will be housing. The crisis in affordable housing and housing supply isn’t one that is going to go away any day soon. The LGA knows this – which is why it is so right in making housing a key part of its lobbying on the Spending Review.

So we will be debating Lib Dem housing plans – including opposing the extension of Right to Buy to housing association properties and re-affirming our opposition to councils being forced to sell off valuable housing stock to fund this scheme, something we opposed

while in government. The Government’s plans risk ‘social cleansing’ in high-value areas and will cost £5.8 billion that does not build a single extra home for families that need them.

We want councils to have more flexibility to borrow to build affordable housing, and encouraged to take responsibility for housing delivery, including directly commissioning or developing homes of all tenures. Our housing motion will call for greater powers to tackle ‘buy to leave empty’ investments and new planning conditions so local communities benefit from increased housing supply.

And I am pleased to see that Lib Dem councillors have tabled a motion opposing the Government’s in-year cuts to public health budgets. Giving local authorities responsibility over public health was a key Lib Dem achievement in government. It is absolutely the right place for it to sit, bringing together issues that affect people’s health and wellbeing – housing, the local environment, education and social care.

And that is why there will also be a call for more action over air quality, working with local authorities to set up ultra-low emission zones where needed in our towns and cities.

Then there is energy and climate change.

Just a few months after the Lib Dems left office, the Conservatives have scrapped subsidies for the two cheapest forms of clean energy. They have slashed the energy efficiency budget, abolished rules on zero carbon housing and introduced a tax on clean energy. We will oppose these changes and remind people that when in government we stopped the Conservatives from axing these measures.

We will take our ideas, our values and our liberal messages to every corner of Britain. The Liberal Democrats have more than 1,800 councillors across the UK, and local by-election results since May have, as I write, seen seven gains and four holds. Our local government base is a crucial part of the Lib Dem fightback and as we rebuild will be more important than ever.

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Mind the gap Plans to cut social housing rents will reduce the number of new homes councils can afford to build, the LGA has warned

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he need for more housing is recognised by councils up and down the country. As well as being developers in their own right, many are also finding innovative ways to work with housing associations and developers to get more homes built.

But while local authorities may be best placed to meet the challenge, they are sometimes fighting against other agendas that hamper their ability to invest in homes and encourage a responsible mix of housing to be built in their areas.

Analysis by the LGA of the Government’s recent proposal to reduce rents paid by tenants in social housing in England by 1 per cent a year has put the total cost to councils at £2.6 billion over the next four years.

The measure would see the rent reduction come into force from 2016/17 to 2019/20, with the £2.6 billion being the equivalent cost of building almost 19,000 new homes.

The annual funding gap after the four years will stand at £1 billion a year from 2020/21 onwards, which will represent 60 per cent of local government’s total housing maintenance budget.

Given that around 70 per cent of council tenants receive housing benefit, any rent decrease will not impact those people directly, but instead will be reflected in the Department of Work and Pensions’ budget, while local councils will have to cope with the additional financial burden.

Council leaders are calling for the flexibility and powers to manage their own housing stock to meet the needs of local communities and employers over the long term.

As Cllr Gary Porter, LGA Chairman, has pointed out: “Many councils have already agreed long-term housing investment plans based on the future rent levels announced in March’s Budget.

“It is vital that these costs are considered by the Government as part of the wider debate of council funding to avoid the capacity of councils and housing associations to invest in this much-needed housing being put at risk. For instance councils should be able to keep all the receipts from the sales of their own housing stock.

“If we are to see the crucially needed numbers of homes built, councils must have a lead role in housebuilding and be allowed

“Councils should be able to keep all the receipts from the sales of their own housing stock” Cllr Gary Porter, LGA Chairman

www.local.gov.uk

Councils doing their bit

to reinvest in the homes and infrastructure that they are best placed to help deliver.”

Councils are also conscious that the needs of everyone in the communities they serve are met by the range of new homes built, and that affordable housing is not compromised in a bid to see more development.

A warning has gone out from the sector about the effect of an exemption that allows developments of fewer than 10 units (five in rural areas), and empty buildings, to avoid having to contribute towards affordable housing allocations.

A recent LGA survey of planning officers found that 77 per cent believed the exemption would result in a decrease in new affordable homes in their areas, while 66 per cent said the change was having a negative impact on planning applications already in the system.

As first went to press, the guidance had been overturned by the High Court as a result of a legal challenge – but the

Department for Communities and Local Government was expected to appeal against the ruling.

The LGA is asking government for a more flexible system to be introduced so that Section 106 obligations can be asked for from developers of smaller sites if the needs of local communities warrant them.

This change in guidance would allow councils to reflect local market conditions and agree contributions with developers at an early stage, ensuring that viability concerns are addressed and lengthy negotiations avoided.

Cllr Porter commented: “Councils support measures to increase home ownership, but where the needs of local communities warrant contributions from developers, councils should be able to reflect local market conditions.

Developments should include an adequate supply of affordable housing appropriate to their size and local need.”

The public sector has a duty to do its bit to free up resources for housing and other uses and the LGA, in partnership with the Cabinet Office, is leading the way on ensuring surplus public land and property is put to good use.

The One Public Estate programme aims to encourage even more councils to share buildings and services, reduce running costs and release land in order to boost development.

The 32 councils that are currently on the programme own 28 per cent of council land and property assets in England. They expect to deliver an additional 9,000 homes, 20,000 jobs, raise £129 million in capital receipts from land sales and cut running costs by £77 million over five years.

The names of a new batch of councils making up the third phase of One Public Estate will be announced in the autumn.

Successes to date include City of York Council entering into a partnership with Network Rail to jointly release city centre land for the development of 1,100 new homes and 80,000 square metres in York’s central business district.

Leeds City Council has also been working in partnership with Leeds Community Health on joint use of their land and property to underpin delivery of integrated health and social care services across the city.

For more information see www.local.gov.uk/onepublicestate

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building blocks, but can be a daunting task given the inevitable uncertainties of planning far into the future. Working with and testing options directly with developers and land promoters before choices are made is crucial to making sure schemes deliver. Landowners and developers aren’t the enemy, they are partners.

Access to finance

Planning for the future Many local authorities and developers are working hard to get stalled local housing and regeneration developments moving again. They know that effective leadership and collaboration are the key to this, writes Alice Lester

Alice Lester is Programme Manager at the Planning Advisory Service

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he Government’s productivity plan, announced over the summer, made it clear that further planning reforms are coming. But the need for councils to make decisions in the interests of local communities and to deliver sustainable development remains paramount.

Although the economy is recovering from the recession, some developments have slowed down or stopped, including urban regeneration schemes providing new facilities and jobs, and housing sites that make up part of an area’s housing land supply. Requests are being made to renegotiate unimplemented planning permissions and obligations.

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Where housing is not coming forward as anticipated, or councils don’t have a fiveyear land supply, there is a risk that speculative planning applications will be made to build in places which may not be locally supported or included in a plan.

So what can be done? How can planning be used in a positive way to address these issues?

Effective leadership, management and collaborative working are critical to identifying ways to deliver appropriate development.

A positive approach involving the public and private sectors alongside local communities can help build a clear understanding of the real issues, challenges and opportunities, and help all to find solutions.

Having strong evidence and good planning policy in place are important

Planning tools such as planning performance agreements (PPAs) can help establish a joint working approach and are a mechanism to resolve issues before applications get submitted. PPAs also provide a route to secure resources to cover officer time and help ensure projects get the necessary resources.

Where landowners aren’t bringing forward proposals, local development orders (LDOs) may be a way for a local authority to be proactive and set out the nature and form of development that would be acceptable. The Planning Advisory Service’s (PAS) website has information on PPAs and LDOs (see www.pas.gov.uk).

One of the biggest reasons for projects stalling has been access to finance. Where banks won’t lend and landowners or developers do not have sufficient resources, schemes will stall.

This is where public and private sectors need to come together. Various investment programmes administered by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and growth packages delivered via local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) provide opportunities for the public sector to be proactive.

And the HCA’s Advisory Team for Large Applications can help councils by drawing in skills and experience to build capacity and help schemes progress. The PAS also provides free support to local planning authorities, focusing on plan making, performance, and improvement and leadership, rather than on specific site development issues.

Even in times of constrained public funding, new initiatives come forward to support places that have ambition. Tracking and navigating through the maze of possible opportunities and thinking ahead takes both time and dedication, and is often not seen as part of the pure ‘planning’ process. It is, however, fundamental, especially for the most significant strategic projects upon which future long-term strategies rely. Those places that show commitment, long-term vision and corporate leadership will be far better placed to open doors to future funding opportunities.

Issues such as brownfield sites, resourcing, stalled sites and place making will be discussed at the Planning Advisory Service’s free autumn conference at Aston University, Birmingham, 30 September to 1 October. See www.pas.gov.uk/events

www.local.gov.uk

Caring costs The Spending Review could not be coming at a more crucial time for social care services.

The LGA will be pressing the Government to use savings from deferred reforms to put the current care system on sounder foundations

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n the next couple of months, councillors will be anticipating the outcomes of the Spending Review – a review that could not be more significant for the issues we are facing right now in adult social care.

We are all aware that social care services are consuming a growing proportion of council budgets, and this inevitably has repercussions for all local government services when we start to look at how we balance the books when money is tight.

In recent weeks, the LGA publicly asked the Government to prioritise the immediate needs of the social care system over a second phase of reforms, including a cap on care costs, planned under the Care Act 2014 – and the Government took heed.

This has never been about our commitment to these vital reforms, but the social care system is based on increasingly shaky foundations that need to be fixed. Otherwise, the risk is that quality and access to care will deteriorate for those who need our services.

The LGA estimates that the funding gap in social care is increasing by at least £700 million a year. Until the system is stable enough to go ahead with the reforms, the money that would have been spent on them must now be put back into the system.

While we are under no illusion that this will solve the problem, it will be a more effective use of money to put it towards getting the basic system on a more sustainable footing. On top of this, we will keep pushing for additional pressures – like providing increased support for the NHS over the winter – to be fully funded.

We have a shared ambition for a social care system which delivers better, more coordinated and personalised care for people.

But we need it to be properly funded and for decisions about how this money is spent to be locally determined. This means taking integration of social care and health services further, partly through expanding the Better Care Fund, as well as using money in a way that will help us to keep people healthy and out of hospital.

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We know that across the social care and health sector, and central government, the interdependencies between a strong social care system and the NHS have been acknowledged. Yet while the Government has pledged to invest money in the NHS, there has been no commitment to do the same for social care – a completely false economy, which will only help people at the point that they need acute care. In the LGA’s Spending Review submission, we will be calling for this issue to be recognised by reiterating our calls for a prevention fund, which will benefit both

Cllr Izzi Seccombe is Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board

health and social care in the longer term.

Councils are well placed to know the needs of their local area and residents best.

In the run-up to the Spending Review, we will be clear with central government about what needs to happen to stop social care from falling over. We want to work with government on the proposals we put forward to create a system which will be there to protect people now and in the future. We know that the next couple of years will be tough, but unless we address this challenge now, the future for social care will continue to grow bleaker.

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Try-in to make a difference The councils hosting this month’s Rugby World Cup are using the event to promote economic regeneration, sport, culture and tourism, and a lasting legacy for the game

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ugby fever is set to sweep the nation when the sport’s world cup kicks off in earnest this month, with councils playing a pivotal role.

Thousands of fans from all 20 competing nations will be rubbing shoulders with locals in areas across the country, from Newcastle to Exeter and Milton Keynes to Manchester, with local authorities quick to get their heads in the scrum.

Of the 11 host cities, there are 13 local authority areas including three London

boroughs. However, the tournament is also being hosted in places less associated with the union game’s oval-shaped ball, including in Brighton, Birmingham and Leeds.

Plans have been underway since England and Cardiff won the bid to stage this year’s tournament. Rugby World Cup 2015 organisers believe it could generate nearly £1 billion for the UK economy.

This includes councils’ investment in infrastructure, sports facilities and hosting cultural and communal events to hook in both the expected 466,000 visitors during the six-week tournament and residents alike.

Dedicated official ‘Fanzones’ in each host area, capable of catering from between 2,000 to more than 10,000 people, will also provide free outdoor screenings of the action.

Brighton & Hove City Council, hosting the only seaside venue, is building on the growing appetite for the game.

Council Leader Cllr Warren Morgan said: “We’ve already seen the Brighton Community Stadium transform from a football venue to rugby when the England U20 versus France U20 Six Nations finale took place in March, with enthusiastic support from resident and visitor spectators alike. The match was attended by 12,000 people, a record crowd for U20s rugby in England. This is a chance to build on the city’s reputation for hosting large scale sporting events.”

He added: “The local economy will be boosted significantly by additional visitors to the city during the tournament weekend; many will not have visited Brighton & Hove before. The tourism legacy is expected to be in the form of repeat visitors who come for the matches and come back to see more of the city. The coverage on national and international media will also boost the reputation of Brighton & Hove as a sporting city and a cultural and tourist destination.”

The area’s two local rugby clubs and the council’s sports development team will be encouraging people to try out the game and get involved, including offering activities such as rugby tasters and family fun days.

Similar events are taking place at the home of English rugby in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, home to the

Pictured left: a musician performing at Richmond’s TRY-IT festival Bottom: Rugby Borough Council marks 100 days until the Rugby World Cup

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www.local.gov.uk

STEPHEN D LAWRENCE

iconic Twickenham stadium. Richmond’s TRY-IT festival builds on the area’s association with the game, and includes rugby yoga, a screening of England’s victorious 2003 Rugby World Cup final, a retro sports day, Spirit of Rugby exhibition and the launch of a geocache ‘rugby ball’ programme – billed as a digital treasure hunt covering the borough’s parks and spaces. The festival also explores what else Richmond has to offer with more than 150 other events including attempts to break a world record, an open air cinema and a music and drama festival.

Local businesses are being encouraged to get international spectators to spend in their stores after the council expanded its residents’ card to include visitors. Those who download the Visit Richmond Card will be able to access hundreds of local, independent offers and discounts, including rugby-themed specific offers or ‘flash’ sales, while volunteers will man ‘pop-up’ tourist information stalls to help visitors on match days and promote the wider borough.

Exeter City Council, home to the smallest World Cup venue and hosting three matches, is nevertheless thinking big and long term.

Sandy Park stadium’s capacity was increased by nearly 2,000 to 12,500 and a new hybrid playing surface was installed to meet requirements, while transport investment included the opening of a new railway station which was five years in the planning.

On a grassroots level, schools have been supplied with a free series of children’s

Top: the Tag Rugby team from Balfour Primary School, Brighton. Above: Exeter Cathederal

books called ‘My First Rugby Ball’, focused on teaching youngsters the basic rules and values of rugby, which have been supported by activity-based training sessions.

The magic of the Rugby World Cup is not just confined to the host areas, as neighbouring authorities and others look to capitalise upon the interest.

Rugby Borough Council is playing up to its obvious connection as the birthplace

“The tourism legacy is expected to be in the form of repeat visitors who come for the matches and come back to see more of the city” Cllr Warren Morgan, Leader, Brighton & Hove Council

September 2015

of the game by committing to a £1million investment in the town before, during and after the tournament. Developments include a Rugby Village featuring a Fanzone on match days; a revamp for the town’s rugby pathway of fame, which commemorates rugby’s significant players and moments; a new artistic commission based on the game that will be premiered locally; a schools education programme; and a £150,000 investment in environmental improvements in the town centre.

Whichever team’s captain holds aloft the William Webb-Ellis trophy at Twickenham on 31 October, councils across the country can be confident that they have laid the foundations for future generations of rugby players and enthusiasts, while tackling some other big issues along the way.

first feature | 13

Governance changes The LGA is reviewing how it is governed, with portfolio holders taking over from boards in a new pilot scheme

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ike many of its member councils, the LGA has been reviewing its governance arrangements – with the aim of making them more efficient while maintaining high levels of member and member council involvement.

So from this month, it is piloting a new portfolio holder-style model in two policy areas which, if successful, could replace its remaining policy boards.

The last review of LGA governance in 2014 saw the creation of the new City Regions and People and Places Boards, along with eight policy boards. However, a peer review of the LGA in January found that stakeholders wanted “a more flexible governance arrangement that better

community wellbeing

reflects the changing nature of local government, and is quicker in bringing about decisions and focus on priorities…

A number of stakeholders, including some board members, told us that a more radical approach is needed and structures should be less rigid.”

A member-led task and finish group set up to look at governance issues identified both strengths and weaknesses in the current system. It found the boards broadly cover every policy area, are crossparty, largely well understood, involve a large number of members and member councils, and have some real achievements to their names. However, they are resourcehungry, costly to administer, and involve

“The City Regions, People and Places, and Improvement Boards will remain in their current form”

improvement

resources

14 | first feature

fewer than half of LGA member councils, and there can be significant duplication between some boards.

The group recommended a new portfolio model based on three core principles – more efficient, less costly and high levels of involvement by members and member councils.

The City Regions, People and Places and Improvement Boards will remain in their current form, with Improvement taking on responsibility for all improvement activity.

Policy brief The portfolio model is being piloted in an initial two areas – community wellbeing and resources – and the pilots will be reviewed in six months. Under the new arrangements, the current board chair will be replaced by a portfolio holder supported by three vice/ deputies and a further team of members, each with responsibility for a designated policy area or a regional brief. Overall, the number of members assigned to each portfolio will be comparable to the number currently appointed to each board.

Members will be appointed according to political proportionality as with current board chairs and members.

For each portfolio, twice yearly forums, open to all councillors with lead responsibility in that area, will be held around the country. These may be linked to a relevant conference where one exists or to the LGA’s annual conference, and will allow the LGA’s broader membership to contribute to the development of policy and campaigns.

The LGA’s Leadership Board will ‘commission’ policy work and LGA Executive will be responsible for holding portfolio holders to account.

The task group was clear that the new portfolios should be clear and easily understood by all; avoid inherent duplication; focus on pro-active policy making and high level ‘big’ campaigns; and concentrate on issues with a political consensus where the LGA can make a difference.

Subject to the outcome of the pilot, the remaining seven policy boards could potentially be replaced by a portfolio holder in the future. www.local.gov.uk

The LGA is working with Rotherham to help recruit a new generation of local councillors

Be a councillor

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ocal government is only as vibrant, effective and relevant as the people elected to run it.

In these challenging times, we need the best quality councillors for our local communities. To do that, we have to go out and actively find new talent.

The LGA’s Be A Councillor campaign, launched in 2009, has worked closely with councils, elected members and political parties to encourage people from all walks of life to become councillors.

Now, a new pilot programme with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is the first where the LGA has worked closely with a council to focus activity in a local area.

The pilot aims to ensure that the largest number of capable and engaged prospective candidates from Rotherham’s population of more than 250,000 put themselves forward ahead of the council’s all-out elections in May 2016.

The LGA is working closely with the council to ensure that potential candidates – who might be selected by the political parties or choose to stand as independents – are well-prepared for the significant role that councillors will need to play in an improved council.

Research in the town has shown that while most people are concerned about issues in the area, a small proportion – just one in ten – had thought about standing as a councillor. Of those put off, a quarter said that they didn’t know how to go about standing. The LGA wants to make the process more accessible to potential candidates, and help inform the public about what it takes to be a councillor.

Over the summer, councillors from the region have staffed events in the town and local shopping centre to answer

September 2015

people’s questions and encourage them to consider standing.

The LGA has also developed an online interactive learning programme, which helps potential candidates understand the day-to-day role of a councillor and what would be required of them if they were elected in 2016. Those who have signed up to the programme and worked through an e-learning module on the Be A Councillor website will this month attend a learning and development course.

It’s structured to help develop their understanding of what a good councillor is, what behavioural and attitudinal responsibilities go alongside that, and how they might reasonably reconcile the demands of a political party and exercising their authority and influence in the public interest.

Cllr Peter Fleming, LGA Deputy Chairman, said: “Decisions made by councillors affect the lives of everyone in the area in countless ways. As Rotherham has all-out elections in 2016, this is the right time to encourage people who want to stand up for their local

community to consider becoming a councillor.

“By focusing the Be A Councillor campaign on a specific area, we can work with the local council, community groups, businesses and the media to reach out to people who might not have ever considered standing for election.

“The people of Rotherham have a lot to be proud of, and the authority is changing for the better. We hope to encourage people who want to make a difference to come forward. No other role gives you a chance to make such a huge difference to the quality of life of people in your local area.”

For more information visit www.beacouncillor.co.uk/rotherham

The Be A Rotherham Councillor programme covers: • Local and personal leadership – the emotional and time demands of being a councillor, what councillors do (and don’t do), and the relationship between councillors and paid officers.

• Connecting with people – the nature of personal responsibility, the demands on councillors to account for what they do and how they do it, public

and media expectations around personal responsibility if things go wrong, working in teams and with paid staff, and the principles of public life and the national code of conduct.

• Political understanding – the ability to work across group boundaries and to follow established procedures.

first feature | 15

interview Children’s champion A year after the Alexis Jay report revealed the scale of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, Louise Casey warns no-one should underestimate the challenge faced by the council

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www.local.gov.uk

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lmost seven months have passed since the Government published its review into failures within Rotherham Council over the abuse of at least 1,400 children in the town over a 12-year period.

The independent report’s author, Louise Casey, was quick to conclude the council was “not fit for purpose” and incapable of improving “without sustained intervention”.

As a result, the Government took the step of appointing five commissioners – Sir Derek Myers, Stella Manzie, Malcolm Newsam, Mary Ney and Julie Kenny – to take control of the local authority in February.

Casey believes the council is making progress but, with the team of commissioners set to remain in charge until 2019, the 50-yearold government trouble-shooter is clear the process will take time.

“What happened in Rotherham brings all of public service into disrepute and Alexis Jay’s report would have been a pretty big wake-up call for the whole country,” she told first.

“You couldn’t ask for a better set of commissioners in Rotherham. Alongside the current leader and a combination of other factors, the council is slowly getting back on its feet.

“I don’t think, however, anyone should underestimate the scale of the challenge it faces. Things don’t change overnight and people need to be patient and caring about the path they are now on.

“I think the town needs to be given the space to rebuild itself in its own right.

Democracy needs to be rebuilt and rebuilt effectively and we shouldn’t undermine that in any way. We shouldn’t force the pace of change. We should trust the people leading the organisation and give them the space to get on with it.”

Rebuilding democracy in Rotherham continues with a round of all-out local elections in May 2016, which have set the scene for the relaunch of the LGA’s Be A Councillor campaign in the town (see p15).

It is the first of a series of more localised Be A Councillor campaigns to be run by the LGA across the country and is designed to find a new generation of councillors from Rotherham’s 250,000 strong population to represent their local community.

Casey said: “It is a great campaign by the LGA and will hopefully make a big difference.

There is some really good work being done in Rotherham, such as tester days being held to give people a sense of the roles and responsibilities of being a councillor. I think this is really important.

September 2015

PHOTOS BY CHRIS SHARP

“Local authorities need to have confidence about the fact that they are good at this stuff [troubled families]”

“We need really good people in public service and I think there will be a lot of people thinking about stepping up.”

Alongside the council and police, Ofsted’s failings were also highlighted following the Rotherham sex abuse scandal. The Communities and Local Government Select Committee branded its reviews of children’s services in the town “ineffective” while the LGA has since led calls for an independent review into the inspectorate.

Casey pulls no punches in demanding an improved relationship between Ofsted and councils and an end to a culture where public services “gear up” for Ofsted inspections.

She said: “I know there is constant mood music between local authorities and Ofsted and it needs to come to an end. It needs to be sorted out and it isn’t helpful for any of us.

“We have to trust inspectorates and we have to trust local authorities and that relationship has to be right.

“In Rotherham we found people gearing up for Ofsted and managing after it had gone and that is no way to run anything.

Local authority members and officers are responsible for services to vulnerable people and children in their boroughs. They need to do that all year round.”

Casey has been much-heralded within government for the way she has headed up the £448 million Troubled Families programme for the past three years.

The Government recently announced that the first phase of the programme has seen 116,654 of the most troubled families, suffering social problems such as truancy, youth crime and long-term unemployment, “turned around” since 2012.

This means children back in school for a year, crime and anti-social behaviour cut across the whole family or an adult back in work for three months or more.

It said this success has been spread across the whole of the country, with nearly 4,000 families turned around in Birmingham, over 2,500 in Kent, 2,300 in Manchester and 1,300 in Bristol.

Casey has nothing but praise for the work of local councils in driving the success of the programme and helping give the children of those families the possibility of a brighter and better future.

“What the programme did was target families proactively, it knocked on doors of people rather than waiting for people to turn up at centres,” she said. “It liberated a lot of

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“What happened in Rotherham brings all of public service into disrepute”

staff around the country who had always wanted to get to these families. It focused on action as opposed to assessments.

“The more we can do to help people at the earliest stage, the better it is for children. We need to fix a family so the children don’t need to be taken into care and push them towards being a more resilient unit which can support themselves into school and into work.

“Local authorities need to have confidence about the fact that they are good at this stuff. I started out on this route a long time ago and I go around the country now and am so proud of being part of something that is much bigger than the Troubled Families team, me or any part of government.

“There is a movement out there run by local government which is allowing them to make huge gains with these families. We knocked on an open door; councils asked for this and have driven it. It wasn’t central government coming along and saying ‘you’re going to run a Troubled Families programme’.

“Local government made the decision to deliver the Troubled Families programme and they nailed it – 99 per cent of the Prime Minister’s commitment made across every single political persuasion of every local authority.

“We made the right decision to root this programme through local government, we made the right decision to ask colleagues

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in local government to pull it together and deliver it, to stick with them through the three years and to expand the programme by giving them additional resources.

“It will show that you can reform public services but you can’t do it on nothing.”

Proactive approach The new Government used its first Queen’s Speech to announce an extension to the scheme. The second phase of the programme will look to work with up to 400,000 families by the end of this Parliament, targeting those with a wider range of problems including debt, drug and alcohol addiction, and mental and physical health problems.

“We have learnt a lot,” Casey said. “There are things we can get better with the next programme. We haven’t cracked data sharing with health; we will have another go. What’s the point in me trying to gloss over that and say we have some joint guidance coming out? We haven’t solved it for colleagues in local government.”

The Troubled Families programme has built on the innovative work councils were already doing to coordinate the work of schools, social services, job centres and health centres.

It is estimated that the 120,000 families targeted in the first phase of the programme cost the public purse around £9 billion a year, £8 billion of which is reactive, with

up to 20 local agencies often working with the same family.

Casey is adamant a proactive approach – rather than public services simply reacting when families appear on the radar of police, social workers or health services – is the blueprint for real public sector transformation.

This will drive a “revolution” in public services, of tackling root causes instead of addressing the symptoms, reducing demand in the long term and the associated costs.

She said: “I have worked outside Whitehall and worked inside Whitehall and I think the ‘done to’ culture is probably still prevalent but hopefully less than it used to be. What is needed is honesty both ways, no game playing.

“Whitehall has to take it on the chin that it sometimes has to do things differently to the way it thinks it should be done. That takes mature officials and mature politicians. You certainly have that in [Communities Secretary] Greg Clark who is a huge advocate of local government and has proved it already.”

Despite other recent high profile child sexual exploitation cases in Rochdale, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Casey is convinced local government is not complacent about the increasing challenge of protecting children. www.local.gov.uk

“Stones were left unturned in Rotherham.

It is down to local authority members to lead the process of turning those stones over even if it is an uncomfortable process”

Her message to all councillors is clear – don’t be afraid to ask tough questions.

She said: “This country really cares about children and has a fundamental desire to protect vulnerable people. On the whole I don’t see people in public service who are complacent, who think they are great and that there is nothing they can learn.

“I see people struggling in very difficult economic times, trying to find different and new ways of not just keeping the show on the road but trying to improve things.

“Councillors often get quite long and very complicated papers and it strikes me that they need to feel it is ok to ask questions.

“Their job is to ask the awkward questions.

I think the more complicated areas are and the more high profile and contentious they become, the more all human beings think twice about asking questions.

“That is the moment a local authority member, who is elected by people, needs to ask the question. Stones were left unturned in Rotherham. It is down to local authority members to lead the process of turning those stones over even if it is an uncomfortable process.

“Be brave and trust your instincts.”

Who would you like to see interviewed in first magazine?

Email first@local.gov.uk with any suggestions

September 2015

first interview | 19

comment Rotherham one year on Cllr Chris Read (Lab) is Leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

My partner and I were camping when the text messages started. We had been waiting for months for the publication of Professor Alexis Jay’s report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. Now its release was imminent.

“Report couldn’t be any worse,” one message read.

Our town changed that day. How could it not? Proud Rotherham people read those opening words of the report again and again in disbelief: “No one knows the true scale of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham over the years. Our conservative estimate is that approximately 1,400 children were sexually exploited over the full inquiry period.”

Our statistics at the time indicated that almost every country in the world had registered a visit to the council’s website over those few days.

Councillors had wanted to establish the truth about child sexual exploitation in Rotherham and had therefore commissioned the Alexis Jay review. It had been clear from media reports that there had been serious failures in the past, and even as attitudes within the council changed and extra resources were put in place – improvements that Prof Jay acknowledged in her report – it stood to reason that we couldn’t correct the mistakes of the past without first understanding what had gone wrong.

But it would take more than a report to understand all that. Faced with the grimmest of realities the town of Rotherham grieved, argued and hurt. Ofsted arrived and reversed their earlier prognosis of steady progress. Louise Casey found denial, but that only tells part of the story.

September 2015

“Rotherham may well have been the most extreme example, but it certainly hasn’t been unique” The child sexual exploitation scandal was the symptom of systems that failed, good intentions that fell pitifully short, an organisation that looked inwards, of confidence lost, and a culture as much of fear as of bullying.

Rotherham may well have been the most extreme example, but it certainly hasn’t been unique. If across local government we fail to hear the voices of girls and young women, it shouldn’t be a surprise that some areas still aren’t sure whether they really do have a CSE problem.

So the Jay Report was an important milestone, but it was just one step on our journey.

As I write, South Yorkshire Police’s Operation Clover has seen 16 arrests and nearly 100 charges brought against seven of those people. The National Crime Agency continues to make inquiries pertaining to much of the material seen by Professor Jay. Our multi-agency CSE team has been rebuilt, and our children’s services leadership

team replaced almost entirely. We are working with Barnardo’s and other partners, funded in part by the Government and KPMG Trust, to secure a modern replacement for the well-regarded Risky Business outreach service. Our new taxi licensing regime will be one of the toughest in the country.

And perhaps more importantly than all of that, we are engaging at last with many of the women and their families who were let down for so long.

Rotherham might just be home to the most remarkable, resilient people in the country. For much of my lifetime, I’ve felt that they’ve had a rough deal. From the ashes of the disaster, we are building them something better.

Cllr Chris Read became Leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in March 2015, six months after the publication of the Jay report.

See www.rotherham.gov.uk

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group leaders’ comments Work together to achieve devo-max

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s we return from our summer holidays and look forward to the start of the new political year, securing progress on the devolution agenda will be one of the key priorities for local government over the next 12 months.

I am proud of what the previous government delivered over the past five years, including the Localism Act and the General Power of Competence, the abolition of 4,700 performance targets and the Audit Commission that enforced many of them, and the introduction of city deals and growth deals.

The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, which is progressing through Parliament, takes this agenda to the next stage, and I strongly welcome the signals from both HM Treasury and the Department for Communities and Local Government that wide-ranging powers will be devolved to local areas.

Greg Clark, our new Secretary of State, has a well-deserved reputation as a localist and those of us who heard him speak at the LGA Annual Conference in July know that he is serious about delivering on this agenda.

However, in his speech, Greg also presented a clear challenge to local government to overcome the fragmentation and local disputes that all too often in the past held back decentralisation.

As Greg made clear, he will never impose an agreement, nor can one tier impose its will on another. To achieve a viable devolution settlement in an area consensus will need to be achieved by all those involved.

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

I believe that these are exciting times for local government as we have the chance to come together to achieve real change for the communities that we serve.

So as we get back to work let us ensure that we grab the opportunities that are being offered to us and which we have for so long argued for.

The future of devolution is in our hands.

“Securing progress on devolution will be one of the key priorities for local government over the next 12 months”

chairman’s comment

The best deal possible for councils

Cllr Gary Porter is Chairman of the LGA

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he parliamentary summer months are often referred to as the ‘silly season’, as editors and press officers scramble to find the slightest story to fill the traditionally quiet period. But July and August have been as busy as ever for the LGA. We have been working hard to engage the Government on two issues of particular national interest, which look set to affect many, if not all councils, over the years to come.

Our concerns for the sustainability of adult social care funding led to the decision by the Government to postpone the implementation of the care cap. We

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also requested for this money to be put back into the care system, and were reassured by the Prime Minister who acknowledged our view that ‘delaying the cap and using that money to help with social care is the right answer’.

We are pleased that the Government has listened, and that when the time comes for the Treasury to stump up the cash, we have David Cameron on our side. A firm commitment to reinstate the funding will put adult social care on a sound footing, ready to implement the cap at a later date.

The second major recognition this month comes from Greg Clark, Secretary of State, following the escalating migrant crisis in Calais that has spilled over into English counties. Greg has helpfully reassured councils

that any reasonable additional costs incurred will be met by the Government.

Councils have shown great resolve in stepping up to provide extra assistance, and I’m pleased Greg has listened to their concerns around unplanned demand and the added pressure on services. The LGA will continue to make representations on both of these important issues as they progress.

The summer goes by quickly, and it’s hard to believe that the autumn parliamentary term will soon be upon us.

This will, as ever, bring new challenges our way. By working closely with central government, the voice of local government is at the heart of decision making, always asking for the best deal possible for councils and the people they serve.

“The voice of local government is at the heart of decision making” www.local.gov.uk

group leaders’ comments

Cllr Jim McMahon is Leader of the LGA’s Labour Group

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

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

Pragmatic solutions for housing crisis

Make it affordable but also sustainable

Is there a future for social housing?

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he housing crisis affects parts of the country differently. In some places there is a supply gap between the number of homes being built and those needed.

In other areas there is a lack of demand linked to our unbalanced economy and existing stock is in need of regeneration.

The Government needs to address the housing crisis pragmatically rather than ideologically. The attempt to extend Right to Buy to housing associations has been rightly condemned by many as unworkable and an attack on private charitable property, just as the policy towards council homes forces public assets to be sold off at discounts.

The starter homes policy is floundering.

And measures announced in the Summer Budget mean rental income to council housing revenue accounts will be cut, and funding secured from hiking up rents for those on ‘high’ household incomes of £30,000 will be confiscated for purposes unrelated to housing, which will have serious consequences for councils’ housebuilding plans.

Solutions need to focus on building the homes communities need, rather than being driven by attempts to create new loyal sections of the electorate. In getting the right mix of housing, councils need to be given the freedom to build new homes and be able to make these plans based on stable future revenue streams.

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t was a fantastic achievement for local government when the policy to exempt small developments from affordable housing contributions was overturned recently.

This follows a High Court ruling, brought

by West Berkshire and Reading Borough Councils, and echoes the concerns earlier highlighted by the LGA on the impact that such policies have on councils’ ability to deliver affordable homes.

But quality homes also need to be supported by adequate infrastructure and be sustainable. A quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions come from energy used in homes in England and Wales with spending reaching almost £30 billion a year on gas and electricity.

Councils have a leadership obligation to balance the costs and impacts of housing development against the viability of the location and the long-term impact.

The LGA’s ‘Councillor Briefing Pack: Sustainable Housing’ (see www.local.gov.uk/ publications) provides a useful starting point for members looking to influence how their local housing plans can be made more sustainable both economically and environmentally.

If you are moved by these issues, get in touch with our group office to be part of our policy think tank supporting the work of the Independent Group on the LGA’s Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board.

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“The Government needs to address the housing crisis pragmatically rather than ideologically”

“Quality homes need to be supported by adequate infrastructure and be sustainable”

“If a building is empty for just one day then developers can avoid making any social housing contribution”

s one of the country’s largest housing associations announces that it is ditching affordable and social rents in response to George Osborne’s ‘watershed budget’, we are right to ask: “Is there a future for social housing?”

I was delighted to see the courts overturn the Government’s edict that allowed developers not to have to provide affordable housing on small sites below 10 units. I am sure we will see the Government appeal.

Fingers crossed they don’t succeed.

I find it horrifying that if a building is now empty for just one day then developers can avoid making any social housing contribution.

Colleagues expect a 50 per cent cut in the number of new social housing units.

The recent announcement that social housing rents will be cut by 1 per cent is not about trying to help those who are paying rent, but more about the Government keeping the housing benefit bill down. Councils and housing associations now face scaling back investment plans.

The ill-thought out plans forcing councils to sell off their ‘expensive’ council housing to pay housing associations for the losses, as a result of the extension of Right to Buy, means council tenants will pay to subsidise the sell-off.

This is a very bleak time for families on low incomes who desperately need somewhere decent to live.

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

September 2015

first comment | 23

Devolution for the people Cllr Chris Steward (Con) (left) is Leader and Cllr Keith Aspden (Lib Dem) is Deputy Leader of City of York Council

As the new leadership of a joint executive for City of York Council, we welcomed the Summer Budget announcements on devolution and agree with many of the principles surrounding these proposals.

We believe that decisions are best taken closer to the communities they affect, rather than in Whitehall.

The announcement raises important questions for York. This is why we are determined to ensure that residents and businesses are able to have their say and help to decide on what is best for the city.

We are determined that any devolution

“We have a duty to the city to explain properly what the decisions ahead mean for residents and businesses in York” model adopted has public backing, delivers the best deal for York and is accountable to our residents.

Currently York sits in two local enterprise partnerships (Leeds City Region and York, North Yorkshire and East Riding) and is a nonconstituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

This reflects the reality of York’s economic and transport geography.

As the most successful city economy in the north of England, with high employment, York has a clear vision to continue growing its economy, delivering housing while ensuring

it can provide effective front-line services.

How any approach to devolution supports that vision will be critical.

Our city-wide consultation planned for this summer will therefore involve residents on what devolution actually means for their lives and aspirations for the future, before we look at the choices we have more specifically.

We believe that we have a duty to the city to explain properly what the decisions ahead mean for residents and businesses in York, so in addition to seeking views online, we will be talking to residents face-to-face over the coming months.

‘It’s time for localist powerhouses’ Dr Jonathan Owen is Chief Executive of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC)

England’s 9,000 parish and town councils are the backbone of local democracy, giving people a voice and structure for taking action.

They are increasingly delivering more services to improve their area as austerity bites.

They can provide very local services extremely cost effectively and should be part of the solution

to the financial challenges the country faces.

We would have liked the Summer Budget to say more about how devolution of power to communities and local people could help us meet the current financial challenges.

There was much talk of creating ‘northern powerhouses’. But we’d like to see ‘localist powerhouses’ too, with parishes and their volunteer support running a range of local services to reflect local circumstances – from shuttle buses to reduce traffic in towns to building dementia-friendly communities, or providing discretionary youth services to small highway maintenance.

But to do these things, parishes need

“Communities and very local councils are the unsung heroes of house building via neighbourhood planning”

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to be given the tools and fair funding to support this work.

Chancellor George Osborne acknowledged recently how communities and very local councils are the unsung heroes of house building via neighbourhood planning. Very local councils have jumped in the driving seat to take up the mantle of shaping future development and housing in their areas. We believe parishes can do more in this and other areas too. We look forward to discussing with the Government how we can accelerate the take-up of neighbourhood planning and the further devolution of services.

The Government has a fantastic chance to build on some of the building blocks laid over the last five years – a chance to truly empower the ‘localist powerhouse’ that is the parish councils’ movement. And our neighbourhoods, villages and towns want more decentralisation and devolution.

For more information please visit www.nalc.gov.uk

www.local.gov.uk

Opening the devolution door for rural areas

Cllr John Pollard (Ind) is Leader of Cornwall Council

I am incredibly proud that Cornwall became the first rural local authority to achieve a devolution deal this summer.

It is a significant step for us and opens the devolution door for other rural areas.

As a unitary authority with a coterminous local enterprise partnership (LEP) and NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG), we are a distinct geographic region and, together with the Isles of Scilly, have huge experience of managing significant European funding. Being the Independent leader of an Independent/ Liberal Democrat alliance also means I can work without party political restriction.

Last autumn we agreed an ambitious council strategy to overcome Cornwall’s fundamental challenges, not least a funding formula which fails to recognise that we provide services to a population dispersed across the length and breadth of Cornwall – the same distance as Birmingham to Manchester.

Following the Scottish Referendum, with the spotlight on devolution, the council supported my call to take advantage of a small window of opportunity to mitigate the impact of the funding deficit by realising our wider ambitions for greater autonomy.

We were determined to develop a well-defined, compelling and realistic set of proposals that could form a devolution deal.

This was not a wish list; we wanted freedoms and responsibilities to manage decision making for Cornwall in Cornwall. Equally, this was not a ‘power grab’ by Cornwall Council – but about the authority working with partners to make a real difference. We adopted a collaborative approach throughout with Cornwall’s CCG and LEP co-signatories to the deal.

We held a number of public consultations and promoted a social media campaign, #standupforcornwall, which stimulated interest in the proposals; and engaged with civil servants to ensure that Cornwall’s aspirations for a devolution deal were known within Whitehall.

For more information please visit www.cornwall.gov.uk

September 2015

“We did not get everything we wanted but will continue to pursue greater local control over planning and housing delivery”

Our ‘Case for Cornwall’ focused on a broad range of themes to enable us to deliver a better service to our communities and create a more resilient, prosperous and sustainable county. The themes reflect what local people told us needed improving, including better public transport, more affordable homes for local people, and more and better job opportunities, matched by the right skills and training opportunities.

We also wanted to achieve ‘double devolution’ so our partners, including our colleagues in town and parish councils and the voluntary sector, could benefit from the transfer of powers from London to Cornwall.

By June it became clear that progress on the deal was outstripping the process of gaining council-wide support for the case!

We had to convene a special council meeting to debate and gain support for the broader Case for Cornwall and endorsement of the draft deal.

We deliberately avoided a protracted debate over governance. Although ‘Mayor Pollard’ has a certain ring to it, there is no appetite in Cornwall for an elected mayor.

There are demands for some form of devolved assembly – something for future debate.

Our deal gives us the ability to improve the areas that are important to the people of Cornwall. There are some exciting firsts – including the proposals for transport, which will see the council become the first rural authority in the country to be given powers to franchise bus services. Our team fought up to the day before signing to ensure that the deal addressed as many of the Case for Cornwall proposals as possible. We did not get everything we wanted but will continue to pursue greater local control over planning and housing delivery that responds to the needs of Cornwall’s low-wage economy.

I am certain of one thing: all the excellent work in preparing our case will influence future agendas and help us fulfil our strategy of a more resilient, prosperous and sustainable Cornwall – deal or no deal!

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Tackling rogue waste sites All waste producers have a legal responsibility, a ‘duty of care’, to ensure they and the people they give their waste to are managing that waste safely.

Local authorities have these responsibilities both as waste producers and as managers of other people’s waste.

The reputational and environmental stakes are high. During the summer especially, problems with odour, flies and waste fires can cause misery for local residents and generate a high volume of complaints.

Serious pollution incidents are also far more likely if sites are performing poorly or operating illegally. Waste fires in particular are a huge drain on the public purse, both in

Cllr Peter Box (left) is Chair of the LGA’s Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board and Cllr Robert Light is an Environment Agency board member

terms of managing the fire and ensuring that the site is cleaned up.

The Environment Agency (EA) is the regulator for waste management and takes tough action against companies running poorly performing waste sites and those who commit waste crime. For example, together with Lincolnshire County Council, it successfully prosecuted a site owner after piles of waste were allowed to build up and breach environmental

For more information email alan.holmes@environment-agency.gov.uk or visit www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT EVENT OF THE YEAR Annual Conference and Exhibition 2016 5-7 July 2016 Bournemouth International Centre To book your place visit: www.local.gov.uk/events

The national voice of local government 26 | first comment

and planning limits, posing a significant fire risk.

In the autumn, the EA will be sharing information about ‘duty of care’ with councils, to help them make key decisions on who is managing their waste within their local area.

Local authorities are the largest waste producing sector and can therefore play an important role in influencing where and how waste is managed, encouraging operators towards better performance and reducing risks to the environment. With greater pressures than ever on public sector finances, now is the time to think creatively and work to stoptothis problem.

•together local solutions national problems • cross party • onthe-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politicallyled • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation • Select Committees • Smith Square debates • complex issues • local solutions to national problems • cross party • on-the-day responses • Parliamentary Bulletin • politically-led • monitor legislation •

www.local.gov.uk

Stepping up to social work challenges

Cllr Simon Blackburn (Lab) is Leader of Blackpool Council

It was just over three years ago at the LGA’s annual conference in Birmingham that I received a call to say that Blackpool’s child protection social work services had been found ‘inadequate’ by the Government.

Not only that but, as a matter of urgency, we were reviewing old cases and revisiting families where the case notes left us with no assurances that children were safe.

Even as leader of a local authority with its fair share of challenges, you’d be hard pressed to receive worse news.

What’s more, as a social worker myself by trade, I know just how grave the repercussions of failure in this area can be.

So I can’t tell you how pleased I am that, after three years of hard work, the notice has now been lifted.

Not only was it lifted but the Department for Education (DfE) noted the passion and pride of our staff and praised our focus on shaping our services using the latest research.

So, how did we achieve such a turnaround and what advice can I offer to others experiencing problems?

Well, to say the last three years have been a learning curve is an understatement and the first thing we had to do was embrace the support that came forward.

With the expert help offered by the DfE and others we began to address our failings.

We set up a number of things; a children’s improvement board to ensure scrutiny; a shadow board to bridge the gap between the strategic level and the front line; and our Children in Care Council to ensure the children themselves had their say about how they were dealt with – all addressing highlighted failings.

We also addressed management failings of the past and were lucky, over the period, to have two very able people, Sue Harrison, and now Delyth Curtis, at the helm as director of children’s services.

We held two conferences for staff to ensure they were focused on the job in hand For more information please visit www.blackpool.gov.uk

September 2015

“Staff are free and open to discuss challenges in a transparent and supportive environment” and worked to create a more supportive environment, where mistakes are tackled in a positive way and staff are free and open to discuss challenges in a transparent and supportive environment.

The commitment of staff, picked out for special praise by the DfE, showed that approach paid dividends.

Finally, in a time of shrinking resources,

we’ve had to look at where a small amount of money can make a big difference.

For example, a business case was put forward to create 16 new social worker posts.

We gambled that spending money on more staff would result in fewer children in care and would ultimately pay for itself.

From a peak of exactly 500 children in care, today there are 441.

There are many, many other measures we’ve taken, far too many to mention in the limited space I have here, but please consider this column an olive branch.

We’ve been on a journey here in Blackpool with our children’s social care services and we’re happy to share it – the good the bad and the ugly – to help everyone build better services for children.

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beach and a winter ice rink. It’s all part of our vision to use arts and culture to transform the image of our town centre and boost the local economy.

To make this possible, we carried out an improvement scheme last year – including a new outdoor performance space – to a part of the high street that had developed a negative reputation through being the centre for Watford’s evening economy. Empty during the day, it had become primarily associated with late-night clubbing and drinking.

Now, helped by a regular programme of arts and cultural events, it is bounding back.

New businesses are moving in and existing ones are embracing the changed environment, with more of a café culture feel to the area.

For a relatively modest outlay (helped by sponsorship), we are not just improving the local economy, but also Watford’s community wellbeing. Apart from anything else, it brings art and culture to those who might not normally buy tickets for the theatre. It has been a delight to see young children sitting enthralled by the range of live performances.

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill (Lib Dem), Watford Borough Council

letters

Gatwick: expand regional airports instead

I

Cashing in on beach huts Here in Poole, we have come up with a way to satisfy the huge demand from residents for a beach hut and help meet the long-term financial challenge of reduced central government funding.

Councillors recently approved plans to spend £3.6 million (from the council’s capital fund and developer contributions) on building up to 178 new beach huts and refurbishing a further 131. This will help reduce the waiting time of up to 15 to 20 years for a hut – and generate a net income of around £206,000 a year to support the council’s budget for local services.

We are also investing £1.5 million in solar panels on public buildings, including leisure centres and libraries. After allowing for the cost of borrowing, the estimated savings are between £76,000 and £166,000 a year.

This investment clearly demonstrates the council’s commitment to renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions. It also makes sound financial sense as it will enable the council to cut its energy costs further and offers the potential to generate income to support local services.

Cllr Janet Walton (Con), Leader, Borough of Poole

beg to differ with Cllr Tony Newman (first 590) when he calls for the expansion of Gatwick Airport. On environmental grounds, should we be encouraging growth in air travel, especially with today’s electronic technology allowing for teleconferencing and the like?

Just as important, I feel that any such airport development shouldn’t automatically be concentrated in the South East. Why not make greater use of regional airports which, with excellent rail and motorway links, can help give an economic boost to less prosperous areas? I’m afraid the London-centric approach to transport grates on many of us living hundreds of miles from the capital.

Cllr Tim Mickleburgh (Lab), North East Lincolnshire Council

Time for a local property sales tax

W Regeneration through arts and culture What do you think? Please submit letters for publication by emailing first@local.gov.uk. Letters may be edited and published online

28 | first letters

W

atford’s Big Festival – two weeks of live indoor and outdoor performances by both local and internationally-renowned artists, including music, dance and theatre – is part of a programme of town centre events that includes outdoor film screenings, an urban

ith the devolution agenda gathering pace, the prospect of more tax raising powers for local government to keep vital front line services functioning is a key consideration.

Property tax is most naturally aligned to local authority areas but central government keeps all stamp duty receipts, some £8.6 billion last year. If a 0.5 per cent property sales tax were applied not to buyers but to sellers – where the cost would be less prohibitive – this would create a significant income stream for council budgets. Based on 1.2 million property sales www.local.gov.uk

in the UK last year at an average sale price of £185,000, the scheme would have generated an additional £1 billion for the sector.

This would work on three levels: government would retain its take of stamp duty; buyers would not be further inhibited by additional costs; and local authorities would benefit from a locally generated property sales tax.

Cllr Clarence Barrett (Residents’ Association), London Borough of Havering

Association of District Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities – drawn from all the groups within them.

Cllr Lord Jeremy Beecham (Lab), Newcastle City Council

Multi-agency approach to rough sleepers

C

Birth of the LGA

B

ob Kerslake was right to praise Richard Best for the immense contribution he has made to the LGA and local government in general in his 10 years as LGA President (first 590).

In the short time since he joined the Lords, Bob has proved himself a worthy successor in promoting the cause of local democracy.

He erred, however, in ascribing the creation of the LGA to Lord Best. It was formed as the result of the efforts of the political leadership of the three organisations which it replaced – the Association of County Councils, the

September 2015

Cllr Ash Davies (Con, Kettering) “Thanks to Kettering Royal British Legion for today’s remembrance service to commemorate #VJDay. We will remember them.” www.twitter.com/CllrAshDavies Carers UK “Council tax discounts would provide welcome recognition of the vital role played by unpaid #carers.” www.twitter.com/CarersUK

The end of local government? uts to local government funding must, in the end, bring about the demise of local government – although national government spokespersons would deny this.

The consequent loss of jobs diminishes the local government empire of locally elected democracies. How long will it be before every local activity and responsibility has to go out to tender by private companies, from policing to fire and rescue services? Not since the seizure of the monasteries will so much land and property be released to swell the coffers of government. Curiously, no one is talking about any utopia. Future? What future!

Cllr Tony Pelton (Ind), Richmondshire District Council

sound bites

A

s with many other towns, begging, rough sleeping and associated anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a problem in some parts of Bournemouth. Together with partners such as the police and the charity CRI, we have been taking multi-agency action to tackle the issues.

It’s important to point out that not all rough sleepers are begging or causing ASB and vice versa. Many individuals do have access to accommodation and benefits but still choose to beg or cause ASB. Because of the complex nature of the work, the approach we’ve taken is a mix of offering support to prevent issues continuing, alongside enforcement work where needed.

We also have the challenge of raising awareness among the public – through a poster campaign, ‘Your Kindness Can Kill’ – that giving money direct to those who beg may not be the best way to help them off the street. Instead, we are encouraging the public to donate to the town’s rough sleepers’ team.

We are committed to continuing our targeted work to reduce ASB and begging as far as we possibly can and the multi-agency approach is essential in making this work a success.

Cllr Robert Lawton (Con), Cabinet Member for Housing, Bournemouth Borough Council

Cllr Dan Perry (Lab, Newcastle) “Great to see l’eccy cars on charge in Newcastle City #emissionsfree.” www.twitter.com/JesmondDan Cllr Rob Crew (Lab, Exeter) “Is it really so shocking that the new leader might appoint all three of his rivals to shadow cabinet positions!?#labourleadership.” www.twitter.com/Rob4Alphington Cllr Rob White (Green, Reading) “Raising money for our residents at risk of homelessness next week. £50,000 pays for the deposit for a new house.” www.twitter.com/cllrrobwhite Cllr Tracy Ismail (Lib Dem, Islington) “Great idea, people give 1000s of books to charity shops each year, why not to libraries – Birmingham libraries asking the public to donate newly-published books instead.” www.twitter.com/StGeorgeofTuf Do you have a blog or a Twitter account we should be following?

Let us know. Email first@local.gov.uk

first letters | 29

parliament A blanket ban on ‘legal highs’ Lord Bates (Con) is a Minister of State at the Home Office

F

or too long, so-called ‘legal highs’ – potentially lethal substances that evade existing drug controls – have been sold openly in our communities.

Our Psychoactive Substances Bill will put an end to this reckless trade, by introducing a blanket ban on these harmful drugs and giving the police and local authorities greater powers.

The LGA has long supported such an approach and I am grateful for their continued support.

I also admire the innovative and determined action from local authorities up and down the UK to tackle these traders, often using powers that were designed for different purposes.

The Bill’s progress through Parliament has been swift. Subject to parliamentary approval, I hope the Bill will receive Royal Assent before

Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) canisters used for a ‘legal high’

30 | first political

the end of the year with implementation in April 2016.

It is a landmark bill which will fundamentally change drug legislation in the UK – the biggest change since the passing of the Misuse of Drugs Act in 1971.

But most importantly, it should remove these substances from our streets, putting an end to the game of cat and mouse in which new drugs appear on the market more quickly than government can identify and ban them under the 1971 Act. So-called ‘legal highs’ often contain untested and unknown substances, and too many young people are playing Russian roulette with their lives with these harmful drugs. There were 120 tragic and unnecessary deaths in 2013 across England, Wales and Scotland as a result of psychoactive substances.

The trade in these substances is, quite simply, irresponsible, and those who perpetrate it have no regard for the welfare of those who buy and take these dangerous drugs.

The Bill will tackle the supply of these dangerous substances with scalable and proportionate enforcement powers including simple forfeiture, civil sanctions and criminal sentences.

This Bill is not a ‘silver bullet’ to tackle psychoactive substance misuse; a range of other work is being delivered around prevention, education and treatment. But as we have seen in Ireland, legislation can tackle the open sale of these substances.

I am determined to protect our young people from the dangers of legal highs and stop unscrupulous suppliers profiting from their sick trade.

I am grateful to all local authorities for the work they are already doing and trust this Bill will give you further powers to make a real difference. The Home Office is keen to work with you over the coming months to ensure the Bill’s successful implementation in 2016.

news in brief

Devo-next

F

ormer Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be giving evidence to an all-party group looking into better devolution for the whole of the UK, on 8 September.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Reform, Decentralisation and Devolution is seeking evidence on the next phase of devolution for local government and the devolved nations, and the impact of devolution on the powers held centrally by the UK government. The far-reaching inquiry is being chaired by LGA President Lord Kerslake. Evidence can be submitted up to Thursday 1 October by emailing publicaffairs.team@local. gov.uk. See www.local.gov.uk/all-partyparliamentary-group or call 020 7664 3060 for more information.

Devolution test The House of Lords has voted in favour of LGA-supported amendments to the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill which introduce annual reporting requirements on the Secretary of State and a ‘devolution test’ for all new domestic legislation. The Bill is due to be debated by MPs in the autumn before being passed into law.

Care cap delay

T

he Government has delayed the implementation of phase two of the Care Act – including the cap on care costs – until 2020. This is a result of the LGA’s work on warning of the dangers of pressing ahead with the reforms when the social care system is not on a sustainable financial footing. The LGA estimates the funding gap in social care is growing by £700 million a year and wants to see the funding for the reforms reinvested in the care system.

For more on the LGA’s parliamentary work, see www.local.gov.uk/parliament

www.local.gov.uk

elections Local polls mark changes since general election vote Three months and 30 council contests after the General Election, it is time to take stock of how the winners and losers of the national battle have fared. And the outcome is perhaps contrary to what might be expected.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats claim to have added new members since the traumas of 7 May, and in by-elections which have reprised contests fought on that day it is also the case that their vote shares are up.

By contrast, both the Conservatives and UKIP appear to be polling less well than they did on General Election day.

UKIP in particular look to have peaked.

Two of the seats they gained in East Anglia as part of their 2013 triumph in the shire counties have been lost to the Conservatives, and their vote even slumped by 10 percentage points in a district election in UKIP MP Douglas Carswell’s own Clacton constituency. It’s a salutary warning that divided parties (the Tendring District Council UKIP group has split asunder since May) are

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

not seen as electorally attractive. It is also notable that UKIP finished second in just four contests; in the run-up to the General Election, that was almost their default position.

The Liberal Democrats remain the (albeit distant) third party of English local government, and they will be pleased with some small signs that things really can only get better. In Battle in Rother District Council, they regained the second seat in a ward which had been split with the Conservatives in May. In Wales, they won the Llay ward in Wrexham with over 50 per cent of the vote – despite not having contested there before.

These two successes add to their earlier victory over the Conservatives in Vince Cable’s old Twickenham constituency.

The Conservatives’ second gain in July

local by-elections Authority

Ward

Result

Majority %

Turnout %

Norfolk

Gorleston St. Andrews

CON GAIN FROM UKIP

5.0 over Lab

28.6

North Kesteven

North Hykeham Mill

CON GAIN FROM IND

14.9 over Ind

19.1

Rother

Battle Town

LD GAIN FROM CON

31.5 over Con

32.0

Wrexham

Llay

LD GAIN FROM LAB

25.9 over Lab

36.7

September 2015

By-election gains and losses June/July 2015 Gains Held

Lost

Net

Con

3

6

2

+1

Lab

2

11

1

+1

Lib Dem

3

3

1

+2

UKIP

-

1

2

-2

Plaid Cymru

-

1

-

-

Ind/Oth

-

-

2

-2

came at the expense of the Lincolnshire Independents in North Kesteven, where Mike Clarke now joins his wife as a councillor for the North Hykeham Mill ward.

Indeed, the local elections this year saw several examples of the Conservatives mounting strong campaigns in previously Independent territory and using the higher turnout and greater partisan loyalty of the General Election to boost party representation. As a result rural district councils like Babergh (Suffolk) and Eden (Cumbria) are now controlled by the Conservatives for the first time ever.

Outside Scotland (where a number of by-elections prompted by the election of SNP councillors to Westminster are taking place), August was a quiet month. However, on 12 September, the new leader of the Labour party is announced and it will be to local polling stations up and down the country that we look to gauge voters’ first reaction to the news – whoever wins.

See www.local.gov.uk/first for more by-election results

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NEW HORIZONS: TRANSFORMING CULTURE, TOURISM AND SPORT LGA Annual Culture, Tourism and Sport Conference 2016 24-25 February 2016, Leicester committed economic With a new government focused on to economic growth, devolution and public service reform, and financial challenges for councils continuing, this conference is a timely opportunity to debate the implications of the new policy landscape for culture, tourism and sport. This definitive event will bring together local political and professional leaders to debate the biggest issues and access the latest innovative practice.

Confirmed speakers include: Penelope, Viscountess Cobham CBE Chairman of VisitEngland Sir Laurie Magnus Chairman of Historic England Nick Bitel Chair, Sport England For more information or to book visit www.local.gov.uk/events

L15-381 CTS first ad 02.indd 1

18/08/2015 09:09