LGA first magazine February 2017

No.608 February 2017 www.local.gov.uk

the magazine for local government

Interview:

“Integrating health and social care won’t solve the funding pressures” Simon Stevens, Chief Executive, NHS England

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Sajid Javid at the LGA Housing, social care and devolution

Funding and finances ‘Reverse NHB cuts and fund social care’

Cultural assets Using culture and tourism to boost growth

LGA Annual Culture, Tourism and Sport Conference Wednesday 22–Thursday 23 February 2017, Bristol Every community has its own culture – a shared history, infrastructure and traditions. As councils transform the way they provide cultural activity, working closely with their communities and partners, they will need to take a strong lead to reach beyond their traditional role as cultural service providers.

This conference will explore how councils are adapting to change, being innovative and emerging with stronger communities than ever before.

Newly confirmed speakers: Dame Kelly Holmes, Founder and President, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust Wayne Hemingway, Hemingway Design

To book your place visit: www.local.gov.uk/events

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New conversations: engaging with communities 27 February 2017, London With councils under increasing pressure to deliver more for less, there has never been a more important time to engage with your residents. But how do you build trust? And how do you ensure your residents have a genuine stake in decisions?

Join us on Monday 27 February for the launch of New Conversations; our brand new guide to helping you build resilience, strengthen trust and engage your communities in a more collaborative way of working. There will be the chance to hear from four council areas already piloting this new approach.

For more information and to book a place at the launch event visit www.local.gov.uk/events

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www.local.gov.uk

Praise for councils

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was delighted to welcome Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to the LGA’s Councillors’ Forum last month.

Mr Javid thanked council leaders for the hard work they do, recognised these are tough times, and said it was no surprise to him that local government is by far the most trusted tier of politics (according to an Ipsos MORI survey).

He also spoke about some of our key concerns, including funding, adult social care, housing and devolution – see p5 for what he had to say.

Our interview this month is with Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, who reiterates his call for any additional health and care funding to be spent on adult social care (p18). We also take a look at the Local Government Finance Bill, which will enable local retention of business rates, and at the LGA’s submission on the local government finance settlement (see p10-11).

Looking ahead, new apprenticeship targets and levies will come into effect in April and you can find out more about these in this edition (see p14). We also look at how councils can make the most of their cultural assets in tough financial times, and how Norfolk’s libraries are helping deliver its public health priorities (see p16-17).

Lord Porter is Chairman of the LGA

contents news

4 Job centres

5 Sajid Javid at

Small schools apprenticeship levy

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Editor Karen Thornton

the LGA Homelessness duties Lorry satnavs Roads and potholes Part-worn tyres Mental health Children’s teeth Audit arrangements

interview

18 Simon Stevens,

Chief Executive, NHS England

“It would be good to have directors of public health as advocates for sometimes controversial health measures locally”

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Design & print TU ink www.tuink.co.uk Advertising James Pembroke Publishing Write to first: Local Government Association Layden House, 76-86 Turnmill Street London EC1M 5LG Email first@local.gov.uk Tel editorial 020 7664 3294 Tel advertising 020 3859 7100 Photography Photofusion, Dreamstime and Ingimage unless otherwise stated Interview and cover Chris Sharp Circulation 18,300 (January 2017) first is published online at www.local.gov.uk/first at least two days before the magazine. To unsubscribe email first@oscar-research.co.uk The inclusion of an advert or insert in first does not imply endorsement by the LGA of any product or service. Contributors’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the LGA.

February 2017

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28

features

10 Finance settlement 11 Business rates bill 12 Making care

personal 13 Industrial strategy 14 Apprenticeship

levy and targets 16 Cultural assets 17 Libraries and health

regulars

8 Letters and

comment 23 Citizens Advice 24 LGA chairman

and group leaders 26 Rural England 27 Family services

Climate change

sound bites

28 Parliament –

neighbourhood

planning and fees 30 Councillor – licensing 31 Local by-elections

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news ‘Localise work and skills funding to help jobless’

‘Exempt small council schools from apprentice levy’

Job centres are failing to identify and attract half of those who are unemployed to support them into work – and even when they do, are simply unable to find jobs for them, according to the LGA. Instead, it is calling for greater devolution of employment and skills funding to councils, as locally-run schemes have been successful at identifying, reaching and supporting the jobless. This would enable integration of services, so councils, working in partnership with others, can develop a single, place-based strategy based on people’s needs.

Recent employment figures suggest half of unemployed people receive no support to help them back into work and the other half are staying on benefits for longer. The number of unemployed people not claiming benefit was 797,214 in October 2016 out of a total of 1,603,905 (49.7 per cent), according to analysis by the Learning and Work Institute.

While unemployment has fallen to its lowest total for more than a decade, half of

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all unemployed people, many with complex needs, receive no benefits or government support. This demonstrates that Jobcentre Plus, the national agency in charge of getting people into work, is simply not doing enough to engage people, says the LGA. To make things worse, out-of-work people receiving employment support through Jobcentre Plus are staying on benefits longer.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board, said: “The longer a person is out of work, the more scarring the effects of that unemployment will be on them and the harder it becomes to support them into sustained work.

“Job centres need to engage with more unemployed people for a start and then help more claimants move into sustainable employment. This is crucial to boosting local growth.

“Councils know best how to do this. We know our local economies, we know our local employers and we know our residents.”

he LGA is pressing the Government to treat small council-maintained schools the same as small academy and faith schools, and exempt them from the apprenticeship levy.

The levy, which comes into effect in April, will see all businesses and public bodies, including councils and schools, with a wage bill of more than £3 million a year contributing 0.5 per cent of that wage bill to fund new apprenticeships. However, schools with a smaller wage bill that are maintained by the local authority will also have to pay.

Where a school employs its own staff, for example an academy or faith school, they are exempt from the levy if their wage bill is under the £3 million threshold.

However, where a school is maintained and its staff are technically employed by the local authority, those staff contribute to the overall wage bill of the council – rather than being counted separately. This means that the apprenticeship levy is applied to them, and will need to be accounted for in school budgets from April 2017.

Cllr Richard Watts, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “It is discriminatory for small council-maintained schools not to be exempt from the apprenticeship levy in the same way that small academies and faith schools will be.

“They will be forced to find additional money to pay the levy, whilst an academy or faith school with an identical wage bill can invest that money in making sure their pupils get an excellent education.

“It is no secret that many schools are struggling with their funding, yet once again council-maintained schools are being dealt a poor hand compared to academies.

“Clearly what really matters is making sure that all children get the education they deserve, regardless of school structures, so applying initiatives like the levy equally across all schools is only right.”

• Apprenticeship targets and levies – see p14 www.local.gov.uk

Attendance Allowance dropped from business rates reform Attendance Allowance will not be localised as part of business rates reform and councils will have a “huge role” to play in future house building, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said on his first visit to the LGA. The LGA has been lobbying against localising Attendance Allowance, a benefit for older people, since it was first proposed, as it would have placed a significant cost pressure on councils. LGA Chairman Lord Porter said it was great that Mr Javid had listened and persuaded the Treasury to drop it (see p24).

Speaking at the LGA’s Councillors’ Forum, Mr Javid (pictured) also told members he would not be “tinkering around the edges” with the forthcoming housing white paper.

He said it will set out long-term reforms that will boost housing supply immediately and in the future.

“Make no mistake, you will have a huge role to play in the future of house building,” he added.

But he rejected calls from forum members for the cap on council borrowing for house building to be removed, saying there were “other ways” for the Government to provide help – and that it had to have oversight of any public sector borrowing.

Mr Javid said a more diversified market was needed, with a lot more smaller and medium-sized providers.

The Secretary of State acknowledged that adult social care is one of the biggest cost pressures facing almost all councils. Despite having “to agree to disagree” on whether more than £900 million of extra funding for adult social care over the next two years, announced in the local government finance settlement, was so-called new money, he recognised that more needed to be done.

“Longer term solutions are needed, I accept that,” he said.

But increased funding was not the only solution to the care challenge, said Mr Javid, citing a variation in performance across the country “that simply cannot be explained by different levels of spending”.

“I know that most of the delays are down to the health service, but a gap that size also has to involve some councils simply doing things better than others,” he added.

Mr Javid said that health and social care should be fully integrated and that the Government would soon publish an integration and Better Care Fund policy framework to make sure all councils learn February 2017

from the best performers and providers.

Pressed by members on the fragile provider market, the estimated £1.3 billion social care funding gap and an overstretched workforce with a turnover rate of 25 per cent, Mr Javid said government recognised the pressures, including that of the National Living Wage, and was working on a longterm solution.

On devolution, Mr Javid said the Government was “not going cold” on the issue and wanted to see “strong, effective local government in whatever form suits you best”. But he confirmed that areas opting for a directly elect mayor “will always be in line for the greatest degree of devolution”.

He said local government was “central to getting Brexit right” and pledged to uphold his predecessor Greg Clark’s promise that local government would have a seat at the negotiating table, adding: “We’re not about to reclaim power from Brussels only to hoard it in Westminster.”

Joint working between both tiers of government was going to be crucial in 2017, Mr Javid concluded.

“This is a big, big year for local government. Elections in counties and combined authorities, devolution deals to be delivered, the Brexit process beginning, the housing white paper, the list goes on. If we are going to make a success of all of that, we are going to have to work together,” he said.

Funding for new homelessness duties

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inisters have pledged £48 million to help councils with new duties arising from the Homelessness Reduction Bill, currently before Parliament.

The LGA has called for all new duties on councils proposed in the Bill to be fully funded both now and in the future.

It wants ministers to review the situation in two years’ time, to ensure councils have the resources they need to deliver the Bill’s ambitions.

LGA Chairman Lord Porter said: “Councils want to end homelessness by focusing on prevention. We have worked with Bob Blackman MP to shape the Homelessness Reduction Bill into a piece of legislation that is more workable to allow councils to meet the needs of the vulnerable.

“However, councils have concerns that initial costings will inevitably be based on assumptions that are difficult to predict.

For example, it is impossible to know how many people will come forward to access the new duties, what the impact of the Bill will be on different groups over time, and therefore the funding councils need to deliver duties that reduce homelessness.

“We ask that the Government commit to reviewing the Bill’s impact two years after implementation, to assess its actual impact and to ensure that councils are being fully equipped and funded to deliver the Bill’s ambitions.”

He added: “It is clear that legislative change alone will not resolve homelessness.

It is crucial that the Government recognises and addresses the wider factors that are increasing homelessness, such as the lack of affordable housing and welfare reforms.

Without this, the Bill will struggle to achieve its aim of reducing homelessness.

“Councils need powers and funding to address the widening gap between incomes and rents, resume their historic role as a major builder of new affordable homes and join up all local services – such as health, justice and skills. This is the only way to deliver our collective ambition to end homelessness.”

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Potholes and road repairs

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his year could mark a tipping point for potholes with new analysis suggesting the repair bill could reach £14 billion within two years, the LGA has warned.

According to statistics from the Asphalt Industry Alliance, repair costs rose from £9.8 billion in 2012 to £11.8 billion last year, and are projected to hit £14 billion by around 2019 – three times councils’ entire annual revenue spending on highways and transport.

The Government’s announcement last month of how £1.2 billion in roads funding will be allocated to councils is helpful, but the money is not nearly enough: the average English authority currently faces an estimated £69 million one-off cost to bring its roads up to a reasonable condition.

Instead, the LGA is calling for the Government to inject a further £1 billion a year into roads maintenance. This could be achieved by investing just 2p per litre of existing fuel duty, but should not be paid for by increasing fuel duty rates. Up to 2020, the Government will invest more than £1.1 million per mile in maintaining national roads – which make up just 3 per cent of all roads – compared to £27,000 per mile in maintaining local roads, which are controlled by councils and make up 97 per cent of England’s road network.

Cllr Martin Tett, LGA Transport Spokesman, said: “Funding for roads maintenance is desperately needed and the money announced by the Government will help councils tackle some of the growing repair backlog and congestion they face on local roads.

“We are pleased the Government has accepted our call for this funding not to be allocated through an uncertain bidding process, which we hope will lead to more certainty and less waste across all of government transport spending.

“It is only fair for taxpayers that spending decisions are made by councils who work much closer to and better understand the needs of the people and places they serve.

“However, substantially more funding is needed to bring our roads up to scratch.

A £12 billion current backlog of road repairs would already take councils more than a decade to clear.

“Councils fixed a pothole every 15 seconds again last year despite significant budget reductions leaving them with less to spend on fixing our roads.

“Our roads crisis is only going to get worse unless we address it as a national priority.

This means the Government providing longterm and consistent funding to invest in the resurfacing projects which our road network desperately needs over the next decade.”

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Powers needed to enforce lorry restrictions All lorry drivers who use satnavs should be compelled to use models designed for truckers, the LGA has said, following a fresh catalogue of disruption.

Villages and rural communities across the country have been blighted by a recent spate of lorry smashes. A historic bridge in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, had to be closed for months – with £200,000 damage – after a driver reportedly drove a truck 10 times the structure’s weight limit over it. Lorry drivers have ripped off their roofs on low bridges, and wedged themselves in historic town centres. Another driver whose lorry was emblazoned with ‘phenomenal’ was anything but – he got stuck in a narrow street, forcing a picturesque village to grind to a halt.

The LGA says that while the majority of lorry drivers are reputable and responsible, a minority cut corners by using cheaper satnavs designed for cars. Lorry satnavs are like normal car satnavs, but they include bridge heights, narrow roads, and roads unsuitable for trucks.

In addition, they allow the driver to enter the lorry’s dimensions – height, width, weight and load – so they are only guided along suitable roads. They are typically only slightly more expensive than ones designed for cars.

The LGA wants councils to also be able to fine lorry drivers who flout weight restrictions. Lorries of a certain weight or width are banned from many minor roads but the police do not always have the resources to enforce the restrictions.

The Government has handed powers under the Traffic Management Act (2004) to local authorities in Wales, and to London (under different legislation), to take action if lorry drivers break the law. The LGA wants

all councils to be given the ability to enforce weight and width restrictions where there are hotspots of abuse in their communities by issuing fines. The money collected from the fines could be put towards tackling the national pothole backlog – which could reach £14 billion in two years (see left).

Cllr Martin Tett, LGA Transport Spokesman, said: “The Government must give councils the legislative tools to help

their communities and other motorists.

“It is common sense that all lorry drivers should use satnavs designed for trucks, but this is only going to become a reality when it is a mandatory requirement. We are talking about a very small extra cost to drivers.

“Lorry drivers who get wedged in narrow roads or under bridges not only endanger themselves, other road users and pedestrians, but also cause massive disruption. This has a significant impact on local economies, particularly in rural areas.

“Some rural communities are fed-up with lorries ignoring weight restrictions and using their streets. The additional noise, vibration and pollution make their lives miserable.”

Tyre safety ‘risk’

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he LGA has warned motorists could be risking their lives buying dangerous secondhand tyres, with as many as 83 per cent of used tyres in some areas being sold illegally.

Part-worn tyres are being sold with serious safety defects, unsafe repairs and incorrect labelling, with some found to be 23 years old, according to council trading standards teams cracking down on irresponsible businesses flouting the law.

The LGA is urging motorists buying used tyres to check they are in good condition and bear the required ‘PART-WORN’ tyre marking, which lets drivers know that the tyre has been checked and meets legal requirements.

www.local.gov.uk

Mental health prioritised by PM The Prime Minister has unveiled plans to transform mental health support services.

Theresa May used the annual Charity Commission lecture at the start of the year to announce a range of measures to improve mental health support in schools, workplaces and communities. She said that true parity for mental and physical health can only be achieved if every institution recognises the vital role it can play in delivering this objective.

In response, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, emphasised the need for adult social care to be adequately funded.

She said: “Councils have a significant role to play, and provide many of the services that keep people mentally well, such as adult social care. This can involve helping people who are experiencing a mental health condition move out of hospitals by providing them with a home and care. This is why it is absolutely vital that social care is properly funded so we can tackle mental illness.

“Councils also help people get active, stop smoking and cut down on drinking.

They help people recover and get back into work, and help their families and carers during difficult times.”

But Cllr Seccombe warned we need “a root and branch overhaul of mental health services” that focuses on prevention and early intervention, not just what happens to people in hospitals once they are unwell.

She said: “Prioritising the mental wellbeing of our children is fundamental to this, and ensuring children get access to the right treatment at an early stage is crucial. Staff must be fully trained to ensure specialist support is provided.

“Teaching staff know their children best and are ideally placed to talk about the importance of mental wellbeing in schools and spot changes in behaviour if a child is becoming unwell.

“Community-based services can help keep children out of hospital and it is vital that specialist referral systems are also adequately funded to allow intensive counselling to children who need it.

“Unless we all raise awareness around the need to overcome the stigma associated with mental health issues, and provide parents with information on how to discuss mental health with their children, then vulnerable youngsters may remain under the radar, causing lifelong damage and preventing them reaching their true potential.”

Children’s rotten teeth cost NHS £35.6m

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ew figures show that more than 40,000 hospital operations took place to remove teeth in children and teenagers last year – the equivalent of more than 160 a day.

The LGA is calling for radical action on sugar, saying excessive consumption of sugary

February 2017

food and drinks plus poor oral hygiene are likely to be the major cause behind the high number of cases.

Latest annual data on NHS spending in 2015/16 reveals there were 40,800 extractions of multiple teeth in under-18s in England, at a cost of more than £35.6 million.

This is a 10.7 per cent rise in the number of operations from 36,833 in 2012/13, which from 2012 to 2016 has cost the NHS a total of £129 million. The scale of tooth decay is so severe that the treatment has to take place in a hospital under general anaesthetic, rather than at a dental surgery.

Councils have long been calling for the Government to take tough action on sugar, including reducing the amount of sugar in soft drinks and introducing teaspoon labelling on the front of products. Councils should

news in brief Audit savings

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ore than 200 authorities have now opted to join the national sector-led audit scheme developed and managed by Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd (PSAA).

PSAA, set up by the LGA, is the organisation authorised by the Government to make future audit appointments on behalf of principal local authorities, including councils, police bodies, fire and rescue authorities, and combined authorities. Joining the national scheme will be a more cost effective option for authorities, compared to every one separately procuring their external auditor, and it will remove the need for authorities to spend time and resources on establishing an auditor panel. The deadline for opting into the PSAA scheme is 9 March, email appointingperson@psaa.co.uk

Checks save lives

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egular health checks – which are commissioned by councils as part of their public health duties – are saving lives by identifying early signs of potentially life-threatening conditions.

A recent review by Queen Mary University of London found that up to 8,400 heart attacks and strokes have been avoided. The LGA has warned that cuts to councils’ public health budgets risk the future success of the programme. Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “By engaging people in early conversations about their health, councils have helped people improve their health and reduce the risk of developing serious but preventable conditions.”

also be given a say in deciding how and where the revenue from the soft drinks levy is spent.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “These figures are a stark reminder of the damage excessive sugar consumption is doing to our children’s teeth (pictured).

“It is deeply worrying that the type of dental treatment required is beyond the capacity of a local dentist, due to the severity of the tooth decay, and as a result has to be done in a hospital.

“The fact there are more than 160 operations taking place each day to remove teeth in children and teenagers should be a wake-up call to the urgent need to take radical action on our nation’s addiction to sugar.”

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letters Fawcett Street, in Sunderland’s Heritage Action Zone

Right to Buy receipts

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Heritage action zone We’re delighted to have secured the North East’s first ‘heritage action zone’ (HAZ), which will help breathe new life into Sunderland’s historic commercial area.

Historic England’s HAZ scheme aims to unlock the potential of historic areas to help them achieve economic growth. The area around Sunderland’s Fawcett Street (pictured) and Old Sunderland is one of only ten in the country to secure the special status.

We hope to use our HAZ status to address heritage at risk in the area through a programme of building conservation projects. We also plan to link this heritage-led regeneration to other strategic regeneration schemes in the area, at the same time as using it to strengthen the area’s links with cultural initiatives such as the 2018 Tall Ships Race and Sunderland’s City of Culture bid.

Fawcett Street and High Street East and West were once at the heart of the city’s commercial area but declined as the city centre gradually moved west. Sadly this has left behind a legacy of key historic buildings in poor condition, with several vacant and derelict. But this scheme provides a real opportunity to unlock the potential of this important historic area.

Cllr Mel Speding (Lab), Cabinet Secretary, Sunderland City Council

few years ago, a news investigation found that a third of ex-council homes sold in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher were owned by private landlords. In 2017, councils are still dealing with the consequences of a mass sale of council housing stock, without replacement.

In Stevenage just in this year alone, 61 council homes were sold under Right to Buy, whilst we have nearly 3,000 families on our waiting list.

Of our Right to Buy receipts, £4 million had to be sent back to government because the council can only use the funds to cover one-third of the costs of a new-build house.

We simply don’t have funds for the remaining two-thirds.

This cannot continue.

The Government needs to let councils keep our Right to Buy receipts to build social housing, and to lift the housing borrowing cap so that we can build the houses that our communities desperately need. They need to let us use 100 per cent of Right to Buy receipts so that we can build one-for-one.

Instead, the Government continues to interfere with our housing revenue account.

Councils and our communities desperately need social housing and we need it now.

Cllr Sharon Taylor (Lab), Leader, Stevenage Borough Council

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

Letters may be edited and published online

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www.local.gov.uk

sound bites Cllr Nick Forbes (Lab, Newcastle) “Tory criticism of Govt for ‘breaking deal’ on New Homes Bonus by reducing amounts despite 4 year agreements. District councils very angry.” www.twitter.com/nick_forbes

Tackling the fly-tippers

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n 2014, we launched Don’t Mess With Croydon (DMWC) – a hard-hitting campaign to clean up Croydon’s streets by cracking down on enviro-crime.

Our tough stance on fly-tippers and litterers who blight the borough by dumping rubbish illegally has won both the support of residents and national recognition with its approach.

Highlights of the campaign include 80 per cent of fly-tips now removed in 48 hours (compared to just 3 per cent prior to 2014); 131 prosecutions for enviro-crimes – some with information from local residents that led to successful convictions; a new smart phone app for reporting fly-tips; recruitment of 317 street champions; and 127 monthly clean-ups.

The campaign really struck a chord with our residents, the vast majority of whom care deeply about street cleanliness and are fed up with a minority of people messing up our borough. So many people have responded positively to Don’t Mess With Croydon and been keen to get involved in keeping their community clean, for example by becoming a community champion, organising cleanup days or reporting fly-tips. We have been overwhelmed by their support and obvious pride in our borough.

We want to build on this and take the campaign to the next level, by helping everyone to do their bit to keep Croydon clean – whether that’s by recycling so their bins don’t

February 2017

overflow and blow rubbish down the street, or by helping to organise clean-ups in local areas.

Our tough stance on fly-tippers and litterers will continue, and at the same time we’ll be investing in service improvements that make it easier for everyone. We know residents share our pride in Croydon and together we will continue to make a real difference.

Cllr Stuart Collins (Lab), Deputy Leader, Croydon Council

Patches work

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e have been trialling ‘patch working’ for town centre maintenance, and have found that staff take even more pride and ownership of their area, achieving better results and greater resident satisfaction.

So we have divided Crawley into five patches, with each having its own dedicated maintenance team responsible for street cleaning, grass cutting and maintaining shrub beds. The teams will also aim to improve maintenance of other aspects of the street scene, such as the council’s street furniture.

Crawley Borough Council staff cut and strim two million square metres of grass, maintain around 4,500 shrub beds across the town, and empty 180 litter bins and 400 dog bins.

Cllr Geraint Thomas (Lab), Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Sustainability, Crawley Borough Council

Cllr Linda Thomas (Lab, Bolton) “ASC funding from New Homes Bonus/ Better Care Fund both recycled money+hike in Council Tax Govt’s petulant answer to Crisis” www.twitter.com/CllrLindaThomas Cllr Rob Bird (Lib Dem, Kent) “Has no-one told Mrs May that there aren’t enough GPs? When will Gov’t realise that THEY have to solve crisis in NHS?” www.twitter.com/RobBirdKCC Activity Sheffield “RT @SheffCouncil: Twenty years since The Full Monty – now our Sheff lads strut their stuff for #smokefreesheff #youcanleaveyourpatchon.” www.twitter.com/ActivitySheff Mayor Dorothy Thornhill (Lib Dem, Watford) “So saddened to hear that Graham Taylor has died. Worked wonders at Vicarage Rd! A huge figure in the life of our town and a lovely man too.” www.twitter.com/MayorDorothy Cllr Morris Bright (Con, Hertsmere) “Yes it really is #NationalPotholeDay today.

So let’s hear it for potholes everywhere.” www.twitter.com/Morris_Bright Do you have a blog or a Twitter account we should be following?

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

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features Settlement ‘fails to address funding gap’ The Government should reverse reductions in New Homes Bonus and properly fund social care, the LGA has said in its response to the finance settlement

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ith local government facing an estimated funding gap of £5.8 billion by 2019/20, council leaders have warned that further government funding cuts this year mean they will have to make additional significant cutbacks to the local services communities rely on.

Given such financial pressures, the LGA said it was hugely disappointing that no new money for councils from central government was included in the provisional local government finance settlement, published just before Christmas (see first 607).

Instead, the Government brought forward council tax-raising powers for upper-tier authorities, while leaving the total social care precept increase allowed across the next three years unchanged at 6 per cent; and announced a transfer of funding from New Homes Bonus (NHB) to create an adult social care grant. NHB payments, past and present, would be reduced

from six years to five years in 2017/18 and to four years in 2018/19. Councils would also need to achieve growth of greater than 0.4 per cent – rather than the 0.25 per cent consulted on previously – before they receive any NHB payments.

These reforms would reduce the amount of NHB received by councils from 2017/18 – a year earlier than expected. In 2017/18, the £241 million released would be redistributed to social care authorities through a new Adult Social Care Support Grant. From 2018/19 onwards, the funds released will be directed into the new Improved Better Care Fund, as previously announced.

In its response to the consultation on the settlement, the LGA has said it was wrong for the Government to present these reforms as a solution to the adult care funding crisis. In fact, early analysis by the LGA suggests 57 social care authorities might be worse off because they will lose more in NHB payments than they gain in Adult Social Care Grant when their final NHB allocations are compared to illustrative allocations published in February 2016.

For many shire districts,

the redistribution will see them lose out on funding they had planned for only a matter of months after the majority signed up to the Government’s offer of a four-year funding settlement.

The LGA’s consultation response says the Government therefore needs to reverse the NHB reductions in 2017/18 and reinstate the planned level of NHB funding that councils had been planning against for next year’s budget.

The £241 million Adult Social Care Grant should be funded from new money. Even with this grant and the ability to increase council tax by up to 3 per cent in 2017/18 to pay for social care, the £2.6 billion funding gap facing services caring for the vulnerable by 2020 will remain unchanged, with services at breaking point.

In our consultation response, the LGA says genuinely new government money is now the only way to protect the services caring for our elderly and disabled people, and to ensure they can enjoy dignified, healthy and independent lives, live in their own community and stay out of hospital for longer.

This new money needs to be accompanied by an urgent and fundamental review of social care and health before the Budget on 8 March.

Local government must be part of the review to ensure we get a long-term, sustainable solution to the social care crisis that the most vulnerable people in our society deserve.

“Genuinely new government money is now the only way to protect the services caring for our elderly and disabled people”

You can read the LGA’s full response to the consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement at www.local.gov.uk/finance. The final settlement is due out shortly

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Business rates bill published Legislation putting into place government plans for localising business rates is now before Parliament

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he Local Government Finance Bill is an important step on the road towards local government keeping more of its business rates income by the end of this Parliament, according to the LGA. However, the localisation of business rates will have to be underpinned by a proper needs assessment to ensure councils are rewarded for growing their local economies, while checks and balances compensate areas less able to grow their business rate base.

The Bill, which has begun its process through Parliament, provides the framework for the reform, which will also see Revenue Support Grant phased out and individual councils keeping business rates growth in their area.

The Bill abolishes the levy on business rates growth and allows for regulations to change the way that safety net payments – for councils where income falls below a certain threshold – are accounted for.

It also allows for government to pay local authorities for the cost of business rates appeals. The LGA believes this positive move should be accompanied by a wider reform of the appeals system. Councils have been forced to divert £2.5 billion from local services to cover the risk of paying half of appeals and refunds over the past five years and need to be protected from the growing and costly risk of appeals.

Measures within the Bill will hand powers to the Greater London Authority and directly February 2017

elected combined authority mayors to increase the business rates multiplier – by up to two pence in the pound – to fund new infrastructure, and enable all councils to be able to reduce it.

This will be welcomed by these authorities as a measure to promote economic development in their areas. All councils should be given the option to use

“Local government needs further flexibility and discretion on business rates reliefs” a supplement to support the funding of infrastructure improvements and the LGA would welcome discussions for a clear and transparent process for all authorities to acquire such power.

A new discretionary relief for public toilets to reduce the costs on local authorities of maintaining these facilities is introduced alongside 100 per cent business rates relief for five years for the installation of new optical fibre – funded by government.

Local government needs further flexibility and discretion on reliefs and the LGA is calling on the Government to review the system, including mandatory rate relief

for charities and empty properties. This would allow authorities to target reliefs in ways that would incentivise growth and reduce avoidance.

The Government wants local government to spend the extra business rates income on new responsibilities which have yet to be decided upon. This devolution of responsibilities is still subject to government consultation and not part of the Bill.

Cllr Claire Kober OBE, Chair of the LGA’s Resources Panel, said: “With local government facing an overall £5.8 billion funding gap by 2020, it must be able to use its extra business rates income to plug this growing gap.

“Councils should then be able to invest the rest into services which support local economies and drive local growth, such as closing skills gaps and improving public transport.

“We look forward to working with parliamentarians to shape the Bill, and continue to work alongside government and councils on how the new system can work effectively and maximise the potential it offers to our local communities and businesses.”

Please visit www.local.gov.uk/ briefings-and-responses to read the LGA’s latest updates and briefings on the Local Government Finance Bill

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New technology can help residents get the most out of their personal care budgets, improve services and reduce costs

The future of care is personal Cllr Adam Swersky (Lab) is Cabinet Member for Finance and Commercialisation at Harrow Council

I

n late 2012, a Department of Health press release announced ‘Thousands set to take control with Personal Health Budgets cash for care’. It promised a new era where people with long-term health and social care needs would be empowered to take control of their own care, improving their quality of life and reducing costs.

But progress with personal budgets has been slow. In 2017, too many people entitled to personal budgets have too little choice, face too many bureaucratic hurdles, or don’t get enough support to choose the care that works for them. A Public Accounts Committee report last year found that, in many cases, people were shifted to personal budgets in a purely “administrative” way.

For too many people, personal budgets don’t feel very personal at all.

Now, however, new and emergent technologies could mark a breakthrough for councils and NHS commissioners looking to deliver better care at lower cost.

These include cognitive programmes, using artificial intelligence tools to process doctors’ notes and patients’ records to help professionals make better decisions.

Last year, multinational technology company IBM started working in partnership with Harrow Council to develop this technology for use with personal budgets across health and social care. Why Harrow?

It has been one of the more ambitious in its roll-out of personal budgets, co-producing systems and approaches with service users at every step.

But what makes it really unusual is the richness and depth of its independent provider market. Harrow has more than 750 providers for people to choose from. These

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Helen (above, right) and Jane (right), users of personalised care services in Harrow (names have been changed) include everything from day centres to dance teachers, many either independent small businesses or third sector organisations.

For Jane (pictured, right), who has a learning disability, that meant instead of being confined to the usual generalist day care, she was empowered to attend ballet classes. Helen (pictured, above), who lost her husband some time ago, used her budget to pay for a befriending service that connects her with a volunteer she can spend time with.

That diversity is the result of a deliberate effort over several years to make it easier for new providers to enter the market and for users to buy from them. Providers have to be monitored and must meet a minimum standard. They each sign a charter, coproduced with service users, before getting access to public money.

In return, however, providers get access to a large market of potential customers and an online payments system that provides cash up-front. Those efficiency savings are shared between public and private sectors, delivering a 7 per cent reduction in costs.

These benefits may seem complex to

copy to other councils or the NHS. How do you get an entire system to move from a traditional, government-led model, to one where a panoply of small providers offer their wares to thousands of independent users?

With new technology, that shift could soon be much easier. It simplifies transactions, with online payment tools and provider verification, and helps users make better decisions. Those artificial intelligence tools can be used to help people with care needs choose what works best for them. That will make social prescribing much more effective, improving prevention and reducing costs later on.

Fifteen million people in the UK have longterm conditions. The traditional model of health and social care, where professionals decide what care works best for whom, is unsustainable and often ineffective. People are increasingly the best managers of their own care, supported by professionals and technology to make the choices that are right for them. With new technologies, codeveloped with users and tailor-made for the British care system, that promised future of more control, better quality of life and lower costs might be just round the corner.

“The traditional model of health and social care is unsustainable and often ineffective”

www.local.gov.uk

A strategy for growth The vital role local leaders play in boosting economic growth is recognised in the Government’s new industrial strategy

‘B

uilding our industrial strategy’, launched last month by Prime Minister Theresa May, provides a critical opportunity to create a successful, world-leading economy. The Green Paper sets out 10 ‘pillars’, including driving growth across the whole country, developing skills, upgrading infrastructure, improving procurement and “creating the right local institutions”.

It also proposes a review of local enterprise partnerships.

The LGA has welcomed the priority the Green Paper places on tackling economic imbalances and driving growth in different parts of the country, and the Prime Minister’s emphasis on a more active role for the state.

The Green Paper says the Government wants to “confront the fact that our economy is one of the most centralised in the world,” which is to be applauded.

It is institutional and funding fragmentation at a national level that holds back the efforts of local leaders to do more to drive growth and help improve productivity. Recent independent research commissioned by the LGA shows that there is at least £23 billion of growth-related funding spread out across 70 funding streams and managed by 22 government departments and agencies.

Councils have been at the forefront of bringing together local and national institutions, recognising the importance of sub-regional economic geographies and the need to work with business leaders and other parts of the public sector. The Government should therefore have confidence in the ability of all areas to make the right economic decisions.

The Government intends to review the role of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), which were created to bring together business and local leaders to provide strategic leadership in their areas and set out local economic priorities. We have previously called for a review of the role of LEPs,

particularly in light of the fragmentation of growth funding. As key partners, councils must have a stake in this process.

The Government has said it will work with local government to review how to bring more business expertise into the sector, for example through the creation of a modern ‘alderman’ role. But local areas already provide economic and business leadership, through LEP chairs and council leadership, including portfolio holders.

The LGA’s preference is to seek ways of strengthening existing local arrangements rather than inventing new roles which risk causing confusion. We look forward to working with government on this.

Lord Porter, LGA Chairman, said: “It is encouraging that the Government’s industrial strategy recognises the vital role local leaders must play in boosting economic growth and

“It is institutional and funding fragmentation at a national level that holds back the efforts of local leaders to drive growth”

prosperity across the whole country.

“Councils know their local economies best and stand ready to work with government to develop this strategy and create an economy that works for all.

“We can only truly build a world-class economy if every local economy is firing on all cylinders. For that to happen, all councils need greater freedom and funding from central government to build more homes, secure the infrastructure essential to economic growth, improve our roads, equip people with the skills they need to succeed and increase access to fast and reliable digital connectivity for all.”

‘Building our industrial strategy’, is available at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/ building-our-industrial-strategy. Consultations on the Green Paper close on 17 April

February 2017

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Making apprenticeships work Cllr Sir Richard Leese CBE is Chair of the LGA’s City Regions Board

L

ocal government is fully behind the Government’s ambitious commitment to create three million new apprenticeships by 2020, as we know how critical skills development is for our own workforces, local businesses and residents.

Apprenticeships are a key feature of local skills and economic development plans which already set out the skills local areas need to deliver inclusive growth for our residents and businesses. So it’s disappointing that the Government’s apprenticeships policy might not support local economic priorities in the way we had envisaged.

The details of the policy are now clear.

All public bodies with more than 250 staff, including councils, fire and rescue services and the majority of schools, will have to ensure 2.3 per cent of their workforce are apprentices, based on headcount.

All public sector employers and businesses with a pay bill of more than £3 million will pay an apprenticeship levy at 0.5 per cent of payroll. The Digital Apprenticeship Service – an online portal – will manage and convert levy contributions into training vouchers.

We are concerned that the 2.3 per cent headcount target could put pressure on council resources as it requires an additional 24,000 apprentices a year, at an estimated cost of £200 million.

Upskill staff

But councils are already looking at how they can make the most of the new system to improve training for new staff, support existing staff to improve or update their skills, and deliver other corporate priorities, such as improving outcomes for young people in care.

For example, Staffordshire County Council will pay an apprenticeship levy of up to £2 million a year, based on staff employed directly and in council-maintained schools. It plans to maximise the use of the levy through a combination of internal

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From April, public sector organisations including councils, fire services and most schools will have to pay an apprenticeship levy and meet new targets for the number of apprentices they train

“The headcount target requires an additional 24,000 apprentices a year, at an estimated cost of £200 million” and external apprenticeships.

Where possible, job vacancies will be converted to an apprenticeship programme, while the levy will also be used to develop and upskill existing employees.

The council will work closely with young people – and particularly those currently not in education, employment and training (NEETs), or who are leaving the care system – to help get them on the employment ladder.

Staffordshire is also working with local businesses to identify apprenticeship opportunities as part of workforce planning and succession development, and is in discussions with West Midlands Employers about how other local authorities will be addressing the levy.

Wakefield Council currently has 95 apprentices following 25 different apprenticeship frameworks, with 88 per cent of apprentices gaining their qualification and 90 per cent securing jobs. It estimates the 2.3 per cent target will require it to more than double that number to around 197, so is considering recruiting an annual intake of apprentices, converting some entry level posts to apprenticeships, and using the levy to upskill existing employees.

Elsewhere, in Leeds City Region, some councils are looking at utilising the levy to support higher level skills development of current employees, while others are considering undertaking a tendering process to recruit an organisation to oversee and coordinate the planning and utilisation of their levy.

The LGA continues to lobby for changes to the whole system of support for skills, employment, careers and apprenticeships, which remains fragmented and ineffective.

For example, mainstream and re-engagement employment and skills funding totals nearly £10.5 billion yet is scattered across 20 different national schemes. If the Government devolved the main employment www.local.gov.uk

and skills funding to local government, then councils would be able to develop a single, place-based strategy based on the needs of local people. In respect of apprenticeships, the Government missed a trick by not tapping into councils’ wider economic development role and ignoring our calls for councils to be able to use their role as major purchasers of goods and services to require contractors to develop apprenticeships.

We think groups of councils, working alongside local employers and training providers, should have a formal role in commissioning apprenticeships for their local areas using pooled local apprenticeship levy contributions. This would enable them to target funding at employers and residents with the most to gain, and ensure alignment with other skills policy development, such as the progressive devolution of the adult education budget. As it stands, the

proposed Digital Apprenticeship System will not allow councils to do this. We are also waiting for an official response to our call last month for small council-maintained schools to be exempt from the apprenticeship levy (see p4).

However, the Government has made some welcome adjustments to its policies, including that training vouchers can be spent within 24 months, as opposed to the previously proposed 12 months. This is good news, but further clarity is needed on government plans for unspent monies: we want this to be reinvested locally, rather than returned to the Treasury.

But the continued failure to take a system-wide and local approach to skills will only serve to exacerbate fragmented skills, employment, careers advice and apprenticeship provision, to the detriment of local residents and economic growth.

How are you planning to make the most of your apprenticeship levy?

Email us at jasbir.jhas@local.gov.uk. To find out more about the changes to apprenticeships, please visit www.local.gov.uk/economy

Nine regions in England and Wales are working together to drive efficiency, social value and quality buildings for the public sector

These best practice construction frameworks are designed by local government for the benefit of all public authorities.

Find out more and visit our websites: www.nacframework.org.uk www.scapegroup.co.uk/procure Or why not hear from NACF and Scape Procure at the annual LGA construction conference on the 9th February

February 2017

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Cultural capital Councils are looking at how to capitalise on local communities’ cultural assets to boost economic growth and regeneration

Cllr Ian Stephens is Chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board

E

very community has its own culture – a shared history, infrastructure and traditions.

On 23 February, the LGA’s annual culture, tourism and sport conference will take this as its core theme, looking at how areas are capitalising on their community’s assets, inspiration and potential.

Major change is underway as councils transform the provision of cultural activity,

working closely with their communities and partners, and take a strong lead on activities that reach beyond their traditional role as cultural service providers.

The landmark Culture White Paper 2016 called for “local leaders to grasp the potential of culture to achieve their vision for their community, and to put culture at the forefront of their strategies”.

Many councils have already started on the journey, but we welcome the acknowledgement of local government as best placed to lead local action and achieve outcomes.

Against a backdrop of reduced funding, this is not easy, and requires locally bespoke approaches to community involvement. But the realisation that this approach can also deliver core corporate objectives – promoting

“Are visitor numbers increasing? If so, do we have the necessary skills available to cope?”

health or reducing demands on social care, enabling growth or supporting residents to use digital services – means that it is an opportunity not to be missed.

When Arts Council England advertised its Creative People and Places Programme, St Helens Council knew that it wanted to explore, with its residents, how the arts could help create a new cultural identity for St Helens. The Heart of Glass partnership was the result, and is making St Helens a centre for socially-engaged arts practice, and putting culture at the heart of its regeneration plans.

Banksy’s Dismaland theme park was the catalyst in Weston-super-Mare, boosting the local visitor economy by £20 million during a typically quiet period of the year. The council is now working with renowned designer Wayne Hemingway, (appearing at the LGA’s conference), to sustain the cultural interest and activity that this has brought to a previously derelict site.

Elsewhere, Sport England has been working with a number of councils on commissioning pilots to integrate health goals, including mental health, into their sports provision, and Nottingham and Suffolk councils will be sharing their experiences with delegates.

We’ll be exploring these projects and more at the conference, including a discussion on Brexit and its possible impact on our cultural, sporting and tourism work.

Are visitor numbers increasing? If so, do we have the necessary skills available to cope?

Or the levers to create those skill sets if there is unmet demand? Our expert panel from Arts Council England, Historic England, Visit England and Sport England will be giving you their thoughts on how our services and work might need to adapt.

The Leadership for Libraries Taskforce will also be on hand to discuss ‘Libraries deliver: ambition for public libraries 2016-21’. With the ongoing pressures on, and scrutiny of, the future of libraries, this will be a valuable opportunity to discuss local challenges, as well as ideas for tackling them (see right).

Finally, we’ll conclude with an inspiring session from double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes about athletes as a vehicle for change. I hope to see you there.

‘Leading innovation: the future of culture, tourism and sport’ takes place from 22-23 February in Bristol (pictured). For more information. please visit www.local.gov.uk/events

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www.local.gov.uk

Community reach Libraries can help deliver councils’ corporate priorities, including on health and obesity

Cllr Margaret Dewsbury (Con) is Portfolio Holder for Communities at Norfolk County Council

O

ur library services are one of our most loved and used services. More people went to a library in England last year than visited the cinema, Premier League football games and the top 10 UK tourist attractions combined.

But, like all services, what and how they deliver is coming under pressure as we deal with the shortfall in our budgets, particularly around social care.

With this in mind, the LGA and Department for Culture, Media and Sport established a joint taskforce to look at libraries. Late last year, they launched detailed proposals for how libraries can adapt, and support to help them do so, in their report ‘Libraries deliver: ambition for public libraries’.

Here in Norfolk, our library service has already identified ways in which it can deliver our corporate priorities, particularly on the health agenda.

This is critical, when you consider that almost two-thirds (65.7 per cent) of adults in Norfolk are overweight or obese and instances are increasing among Norfolk children, who have one of the lowest levels of childhood activity in the East of England (49.7 per cent). In addition, an estimated 16,400 people in Norfolk have dementia (diagnosed or undiagnosed).

Dealing with these conditions costs local public health an estimated

February 2017

£19 million every year.

By focusing the work of our library teams on our public health goal, and targeting their activities based on the local joint strategic needs assessment, we are making a tangible difference to the health of our residents and reaffirming the place of the library at the heart of a healthy community.

Norfolk library staff have been trained to understand health improvement, nutrition, and mental health first aid. They can also offer information, advice and guidance on local health services. Between May 2015

“What’s really striking is the flexibility of the library service and its capacity to extend public health awareness in a way that works for the community” and April 2016, more than 2,000 Norfolk residents participated in a dedicated health-based activity under the programme.

This work has been recognised as well – Norfolk recently received the 2016 Libraries Change Lives Award from the Chartered

Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

John Vincent, Chair of Judges, said: “What’s really striking is the flexibility of the library service and its capacity to contribute to the local health strategy and extend public health awareness in a way that works for the community, with this work embedded in every single library.

“Norfolk Council and Norfolk Public Health are making sensible use of the unique strengths of the library service, including unmatched community reach, a trusted and accessible environment for a wide range of activities, and a highly trained workforce who can work in partnership to deliver real change across the county.”

Of course, this doesn’t meant that we are not still having to make difficult choices over resources, but we are confident that our library service is more than pulling its weight when it comes to supporting our residents and relieving the pressure on other services.

Yet we can still learn from others, as I hope others can learn from us. The Libraries Taskforce’s ‘Libraries deliver’ report contains a range of new tools, including a needs assessment to help target services, support for those moving to a community or mutualled approach, and a sector-led improvement tool so that we know we are delivering value.

I welcome the publication and hope that others have found it as encouraging as we have here in Norfolk. I have seen first-hand how our library services make a difference to our residents.

You can find ‘Libraries deliver: ambition for public libraries in England 2016 to 2021’ at www.gov.uk/government/publications/libraries-deliver-ambition-for-public-librariesin-england-2016-to-2021

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interview An advocate for health and care Integrating health and social care won’t solve the funding pressures they face, warns Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England

18 | first interview

www.local.gov.uk

S

imon Stevens could be unique.

Probably the only national NHS leader who has also been a councillor, he is only too aware of the challenges and pressures facing local government. One of the biggest and most immediate is the funding crisis in adult social care. While councils have long been calling for new money to help fund the care of elderly and vulnerable people, over the past year they have had an ally in Mr Stevens.

He has previously said that if the Government were to announce any new funding then social care “should be front of the queue”.

CHRIS SHARP

“I have been making the case for local government and for social care and I think we’ve not heard the last on this matter”

February 2017

When first went to meet him, he echoed this, and said that the underfunding of adult social care was contributing to the pressures on hospitals that have been dominating newspaper headlines in recent weeks.

“I’ve been vocal on this point for more than a year. When we originally talked about the big changes we need in the NHS, we pointed out that the connection to social care, the connection with public health and prevention, was a crucial part of the whole system,” he said.

No new funding for adult social care was announced by the Government in the Autumn Statement, much to the consternation of councils and campaigners.

Mr Stevens said: “I have been making the case for local government and for social care and I think we’ve not heard the last on this matter.”

He hoped councils would use the extra precept raising powers introduced in the local government finance settlement but acknowledged it wouldn’t be enough to solve the crisis. “It’s a contribution to the solution,” he said. “A number of local authority leaders were arguing that it made sense that where they were able to make the case to their local electorates they should have the freedom to raise revenues to support social care.

“The vast majority of local authorities chose to use that power for the 2 per cent precept increase [last year] and we think that was the right thing to have done, and we hope the same will be true for the extra revenue raising that’s on offer [this year].

“But we understand that across the country that has different effects, so we should take the benefits where they’re available but also understand that that doesn’t constitute the total solution.”

Mr Stevens outlined three key steps he feels are needed to deal with the challenges and difficulties facing the sector.

“The first is short-term relief to stabilise adult social care services,” he said. “The second is the NHS and local authorities over the next three years becoming more integrated in care delivery for the shared client groups. Thirdly, and this is a matter for Parliament, there is a broader debate to be had post-2020 about retiree security and the range of public services retirees get. That’s not a matter for the NHS, that’s a matter for the country.”

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Mr Stevens has previously floated the idea of a new social contract for older people, including possible changes to pensions.

“When the NHS was set up in 1948, half of us died before the age of 65. Now twothirds of the patients hospitals are looking after are over the age of 65,” he said.

“There’s been this big demographic shift, which is fantastic because as a country we’re getting healthier, we’re living longer and life expectancy is going up by five hours a day.

“That trend is set to continue, so if we’re going to future-proof our public services we’ve got to think through what is the offer for security in older age that our citizens rightly deserve. We can’t now think about income in isolation from thinking about housing in isolation from thinking about care. How we connect those dots is going to be an important part of the debate for the decade ahead.”

Integrating health and social care is part of the solution to the challenges ahead but “it’s not a silver bullet”.

“It won’t solve the funding pressures,” said Mr Stevens.

“We should not mandate a single model

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as to what health and social care integration looks like. We back horses for courses, and energy and leadership where we find it.

“In some parts of the country, it’s going to be GPs and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) coming together doing really innovative things. Parts of southern Hampshire, parts of the Fylde coast, Blackpool, you’ve got some really superb primary care leadership.

“In other places, it will be the hospital that is really going to drive the change for what the health service needs and will be the key partner for councils. Elsewhere, local authorities themselves can play a broader role in the commissioning of local health services. So we’re going to have a mixed model reflecting the diversity of the country.”

Partnership

The NHS has been criticised for the lack of public engagement with and by some of the 44 sustainability and transformation plan (STP) areas, with the LGA in particular pushing for the voice of local politicians to be heard.

Mr Stevens said: “For 25 years in the

NHS, the model has been individual organisations attempting to chart their own destiny, sometimes in competition with their neighbours. What we’re now doing is a recognition that given the pressures everyone is facing, we need people to act in partnership to become more than the sum of their parts across the health service, but also involving local government as well.

“The reality is that we began that journey from different starting points either in terms of the size of the challenges, or the legacy and history of relationships.

“We’re on a journey, we’ve made a good start, and I don’t think anybody has got a veto on the broad changes that are required, but everybody has got a distinctive and valuable perspective that has got to be brought to bear.”

But he warned: “If this was easy, it would have been done a long time ago.

“These are good faith efforts to begin some very profound changes. It doesn’t mean everything automatically falls into place on day one, it doesn’t mean there won’t be some tensions along the way, but the price of criticism is a better alternative and www.local.gov.uk

CHRIS SHARP

“When the NHS was set up in 1948, half of us died before the age of 65. Now twothirds of the patients hospitals are looking after are over the age of 65”

February 2017

I don’t think a better alternative would be everybody retreating into their shells just trying to plough their own furrow.”

Mr Stevens agreed that the cuts to councils’ public health budgets, which fund vital prevention work, were a false economy given the potential impact this could have on the NHS. “There are efficiencies to be had in these services as there are for everything else, but we’ve got to be really clear about where efficiencies tip over into service reductions and what the consequences would be.”

He also called on directors of public health to play a bigger role as champions of health in their communities.

“I hear mixed things about the extent to which directors of public health feel able to perform that role. Uncomfortable as it may be at times, it’s good to have that as a voice of advocacy for sometimes controversial health measures locally, in the way people like me have been doing nationally.”

Mr Stevens has previously dubbed obesity “the new smoking”. While the war on smoking was “not yet won”, he described obesity as “the new threat”. He wants to see

food manufacturers do to sugar what they have done to added salt. Councils can also play a big role in fighting obesity by being “assertive” with their licensing and regulatory powers, for example in respect of the plethora of fast food takeaway outlets.

He said: “If your children are walking home and every third shop is a fried chicken joint then it’s not surprising that we see some of what we see.

“Having an explicit childhood obesity reduction goal means everyone can then track whether that is happening as intended.

If it’s not then the case for further measures over and above those already set out will be unarguable.”

As we come to the end of our interview, we touch on Mr Stevens’ tenure as a Labour councillor in Brixton between 1998 and 2002.

It gave him “a sense” of the opportunities local authorities have, as well as the challenges.

He said: “There’s the cut and thrust of the political process locally just as there is nationally, the NHS understands that. But out of those debates, often comes better understanding of direction.”

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Showcasing innovation through the Innovation Zone The Innovation Zone is a vibrant, creative space for councils and other organisations to showcase and discuss how they are using innovation to address local issues.

This is your opportunity to share your most innovative practice with the whole of local government in the Zone.

Please email innovation@local.gov.uk by 28 February, briefly outlining your project and explaining:

• • • •

how innovative and ground breaking it has been the difference it has made how it is addressing challenging and difficult issues its relevance to other councils.

For further information, please contact Jane Marcroft on 020 7664 3080

www.local.gov.uk/conference to book your place 2.10 innov_zone_ad_02.indd 1

10/01/2017 13:21

LGA Annual Fire Conference and Exhibition 7-8 March 2017, Hilton Hotel Newcastle Gateshead The LGA’s Annual Fire Conference and Exhibition provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the Home Office’s fire reform programme. Inspection, transparency, workforce, governance, collaboration and the role of Police and Crime Commissioners are all key issues for the fire and rescue sector as we look to the future.

This is the leading conference for fire authorities and services in England and Wales and will provide an opportunity to hear from the Minister of State for Policing and Fire Services as well as from a range of fire service experts.

To book your place visit: www.local.gov.uk/events | first adverts 229.11 LGA Fire Conference ad_v04.indd

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www.local.gov.uk 14/12/2016 13:37

comment Local insight can prevent problems Gillian Guy is Chief Executive of Citizens Advice

No council needs to be reminded of the financial challenges facing services over the next year – funding reductions mean local government will need to continue to find significant savings.

In this tough climate, councils know it’s important to prevent problems from happening in the first place, which means identifying and solving underlying causes rather than just treating symptoms.

As everyone knows, you can only prevent problems once you know how and where they evolve from.

Embedded in communities throughout the country, Citizens Advice helps 10,000 people directly and another 60,000 through our website every working day. Last year we helped 1.2 million people face to face, 1.2 million people over the phone and our website had more than 36 million visits.

This contact with the public generates a huge volume of data. In every case, we know the specific issues a person needed help with. For many we also have information including demographics, postcodes and outcomes.

Our real-time data means we see emerging issues before anyone else, including central government: we are often aware of welfare problems before analysts at the Department for Work and Pensions. We can also map down to ward level, highlighting problems local councillors may not be aware of.

February 2017

We also see how problems interrelate. We know that 44 per cent of our debt clients also need help with another non-debt issue. For instance, we know how many of our clients with debt problems also have a housing issue.

This unrivalled insight allows us to work with councils to help prevent problems before they take a hold on people’s lives.

For example, last year we helped more than 80,000 people who had rent arrears.

Housing issues can lead to eviction and homelessness resulting in costs for landlords, courts and councils. These problems and costs can also be exacerbated in areas where demand for housing is high, leading to high rental values and lengthy waiting lists for social tenancies. Much of our housing advice seeks

“We have unique insights and we’re keen to share them”

to solve these problems and hence prevent these costs from occurring, through resolving issues with landlords, challenging evictions and agreeing repayment plans for arrears.

Another effective scheme has been to place advisers in GP surgeries, enabling patients to also access advice on a host of issues, like debt and unemployment. Offering advice in these locations frees up doctors to concentrate purely on health problems.

Our insights also enable us to point out where things could be improved, such as our working with councils to improve their debt collection practices and thereby avoid exacerbating problems. Metrics show how important our work is. For every £1 spent on the Citizens Advice service, we benefit our clients by £11. Last year we saved government and public services at least £360 million, and a minimum estimate of our social and economic value to society is £2 billion.

Local government is undergoing fundamental change as funding moves away from government grants to the retention of business rates: councils now face a new imperative to grow their economies.

Devolution will continue to transfer new powers and responsibilities to councillors.

These changes take place against a backdrop of squeezed resources, making it crucial for service commissioners to fully understand the needs of their local communities.

Councillors should see their local Citizens Advice as the first port of call when they need information on the issues facing their residents – we have unique insights and we’re keen to share them.

Similarly, councils have continued to invest in local Citizens Advice charities – recognising the value for money we offer and how we help to prevent problems becoming bigger issues further down the line.

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group leaders’ comments Adult social care in crisis

“The figures are bleak and should be a severe wake-up call for the Government”

T

he government-made crisis in adult social care remains the most pressing issue facing local government. The crisis is real, it is here and it is not going away.

Last month, the Tory-run authority of Surrey – Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s own council – announced that it is holding a referendum to put council tax up by 15 per cent, solely to raise the money desperately needed to meet their own social care costs.

To put this into perspective, Surrey has had a reduction to its funding of 28.9 per cent compared with the England average of 38.8 per cent. Surrey is not alone in its desperation to raise the money needed and there are several councils who have

had deeper budget cuts inflicted on them.

The figures are bleak. As it stands, there is a £1.3 billion funding gap, with another £1.3 billion needed by 2020, bringing the overall amount needed for social care to £2.6 billion.

This is a staggering sum of money, and it should be a severe wake-up call for the Government. Yet still it seems to be in denial. There was large-scale disappointment last December, when no new money was announced in the local government settlement.

The Government has simply moved money around the system, shifting responsibility from Downing Street to local streets up and down the country.

On the same day as Surrey’s announcement,

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

we asked Communities Secretary Sajid Javid what, if any, measures the Government has in place should care providers fail to fulfil their obligations and duty of care. He didn’t have an answer for us. Just that social care needed adequate funding but without the promise of more money.

But let’s be clear, this isn’t just about receiving funding that is urgently needed, it’s about the impact on individuals and their families. We have a duty to ensure that people’s lives are put first, and a duty to ensure that the system will last for future generations too.

We won’t stop asking the difficult questions of government and we will keep pressing until we get answers.

chairman’s comment

Reducing the pressure on council budgets

Lord Porter is Chairman of the LGA

I

t was a great pleasure to welcome Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to the recent LGA’s Councillors’ Forum – especially as he came bearing gifts.

Mr Javid announced that Attendance Allowance will not be included in the list of additional responsibilities that ministers want to devolve to councils in return for local retention of business rates by 2020.

The LGA has been united against localisation of Attendance Allowance since it was first proposed. It is great that the Secretary of State listened and convinced the Treasury to drop it. Responsibility for administering this benefit for older people

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would have accounted for a huge chunk of the extra income kept by local government and would have added a significant cost pressure on councils.

So Mr Javid’s announcement was very welcome. We hope he will also accept our call for councils to first and foremost use the extra business rates income to plug the £5.8 billion funding gap they face by 2020, before any devolved responsibilities are considered.

Last month, ministers also pledged £48 million to help councils with new duties arising from the Homelessness Reduction Bill, currently before Parliament. The LGA called for government to fully fund councils for these new duties, and were pleased when they committed to doing so. But it remains difficult

to work out exactly how much they are going to cost because no-one knows how many people will seek help from councils nor how the Bill’s measures will impact on different groups. So we have asked government to commit to a review in two years’ time, to make sure the funding is sufficient.

New laws alone will not solve homelessness nor help tackle the wider housing crisis. This is why councils need the powers and funding to address the widening gap between incomes and rents and resume their historic role as a major builder of new affordable homes.

Ahead of the housing white paper, Mr Javid assured forum members that councils will have a central role in providing new homes. We look forward to seeing the details.

“We hope the Secretary of State will accept our call for councils to use extra business rates income to plug the £5.8 billion funding gap they face” www.local.gov.uk

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

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

Robbing Peter Government concedes on Attendance Allowance to pay Paul

“We have consistently argued that Attendance Allowance would have created a significant cost pressure for councils”

I

am writing this shortly after Communities Secretary Sajid Javid’s attendance at January’s LGA Councillors’ Forum. It was great to welcome Sajid to the forum and I know that colleagues from all parties were pleased to have the opportunity to hear from the Secretary of State and to ask questions across a range of subjects.

In his speech, Sajid announced that as part of the reforms associated with the localisation of business rates, responsibility for administering the Attendance Allowance for older people will not be transferred to councils.

This is a significant win for the LGA as we have consistently argued that it would have accounted for the majority of the extra business rates income kept by local government and created a significant cost pressure for councils.

Whilst strongly welcoming this announcement, I will continue to lobby strongly on other issues of concern to our member councils in the run-up to the Budget.

In particular, I remain focused on the crisis in adult social care and the implications of the proposed reforms to New Homes Bonus funding, which will have a particularly adverse impact on district councils as well as making it harder for councils to deliver new homes.

In the longer term, we must ensure that the Fair Funding Review associated with the localisation of business rates lives up to its name.

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

The issues that are worrying voters

“Councils have already done all they can to be efficient, reduce services and increase charges”

“There is a growing crisis in many parts of the country over a lack of affordable homes”

L

I

ast month we welcomed Communities Secretary Sajid Javid MP to the LGA, and tackled him on funding for care, housing and Brexit plans.

I challenged his decision to fund adult care not from new funds but from the New Homes Bonus. This ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ reduces the total amount received by 201 district councils and 57 upper tier authorities.

This is despite the ink being barely dry on the four-year deals signed by 97 per cent of councils.

These deals were signed on the understanding that although the money was not enough, it was at least a certainty – or so we thought.

The Secretary of State was unapologetic about taking money from one area to pay for another, even though this undermines our existing deals.

I later made the point to the Secretary of State that councils have already done all they can to be efficient, to reduce services, to increase charges and reduce contract prices to the point where providers of adult care are failing and handing them back.

That is why our work ahead of next month’s Budget, which we took to our vice-presidents in Parliament at the end of January, is so important.

We are calling for better funding for adult and children’s care, changes to housing regulations and seeking the best possible deal for our communities post-Brexit.

t is good to see a fellow Lib Dem kept busy every week, as they have to update a graph showing yet more Lib Dem gains in principal by-elections across the country.

Our most recent tally, going from January 2016, shows the Lib Dems with a net gain of 30 seats, Labour down five and the Conservatives down 34 seats, with Independents, the Green Party and others making up the rest of the change in numbers.

Recent gains include Three Rivers returning to Lib Dem majority control with a gain from the Conservatives, and the formation of a Lib Dem Group on Sunderland following our second win there from Labour, nicely reflecting the parliamentary by-election gain in Richmond and our improved performance in Witney.

We are hoping to top it all off with good news from Rotherham in February as well: local government leading the Lib Dem fightback.

Of course, the local issues vary but three issues are worrying voters.

First, the Government is unable to give us the extra resources councils need to fund social care, fuelling anger across the political spectrum; second, the growing crisis in many parts of the country over a lack of affordable homes; and third, a continuing lack of detail over what Brexit will mean for our communities.

It is in both the interests of leave and remain voters that this issue is addressed.

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

February 2017

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Volunteering support for rural areas Cllr Sue Baxter is Chairman of the National Association of Local Councils

Rural England’s excellent report, ‘State of rural services 2016’, paints an often depressing picture of how many services – including those of principal councils – are struggling to maintain provision, and how rural communities are losing out as a result.

Public transport has been particularly hard hit, with 124 bus services withdrawn completely in 2015/16, making it difficult for people to access hospitals, shops and jobs.

Banking has seen some 500 closures in the last couple of years, including 124 of the last branches in their neighbourhood.

But the report also paints a more positive picture of communities helping themselves: volunteers organising community transport; 10,000 village halls hosting social, sports and

arts activities; 277 community-owned shops; and 170 community land trusts providing hundreds of affordable homes.

England’s 80,000 local (parish and town) councillors are playing their volunteer part too, taking over discretionary services, using neighbourhood planning to build community resilience, helping with winter preparedness, and coming together to build dementiafriendly communities.

Sir Stewart Hetherington’s New Year message for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations rightly called for a national debate on volunteering, and a far greater focus on supporting and enabling communities and using their capacity to help meet and even reduce demand on already overstretched services.

But these volunteers need nurturing and investment too if they are to continue to step

up to the plate and fill gaps. Recruitment, training, development and encouragement are needed.

Local councils need similar support if they are to fulfil their potential to strengthen communities in rural areas – firstly, continued freedom to raise local precepts, with local support, and secondly, a national campaign to promote their work and encourage people to stand for election. Most importantly, they need strong powers that make a difference, beginning with neighbourhood plans which have to be taken seriously by other councils, developers, government and inspectors.

Much of Brexit was born from a sense of alienation. Engaging and reconnecting with communities and supporting volunteers is part of the way forward.

• See www.ruralengland.org/the-stateof-rural-services-2016-report

“Volunteers need nurturing and investment if they are to continue to step up to the plate and fill gaps”

LGA/ADPH Annual Public Health Conference and Exhibition Extending influence to promote health and wellbeing London, 9 March 2017 Keynote speakers: Nicola Blackwood MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Innovation Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director, Institute of Health Equity, UCL Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive, Turning Point Dr Justin Varney, National Lead for Adult Health and Wellbeing, Public Health England Local authorities continue to make progress on improving health and wellbeing and tackling health inequalities since public health was transferred from the NHS in April 2013. Join us at our most popular health conference of the year where we explore and build on the challenging, innovative work undertaken by councils and public health teams with their partners and local communities.

To book your place visit www.local.gov.uk/events

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19.4 LGA first conf ad_02.indd 1

www.local.gov.uk 08/11/2016 15:01

Supporting families in crisis Cllr David Mellen (Lab) is Portfolio Holder for Early Years and Early Intervention at Nottingham City Council

We all know that these are austere times.

As central government grants reduce, councils everywhere are expected to do more, or at least maintain the status quo, with ever-decreasing budgets.

We’re all under pressure and nowhere more so than in children’s services departments, where it’s not only budgets that are changing.

The new Ofsted single inspection framework is delivering rigorous reports to children’s services across the country. More worrying still, is the unprecedented levels of children being taken into care. The number of applications to the Children and Family Court Advisory and

Support Service (Cafcass), which represents children in family court cases, has almost doubled in the last seven years.

The reason for the startling statistical rise is a hotly debated topic, but clearly families are under pressure. It can be all too easy, when discussing these numbers, to lose sense of the human reality of what they actually mean for vulnerable children. Here in Nottingham, we’ve been working with a charity called Safe Families for Children for the past year, whose

“We’re all under pressure, and nowhere more so than in children’s services departments”

purpose is to deliver support to struggling families, before their problems escalate, or support them whilst they are in crisis.

It’s a simple ‘people helping people’ approach – with approved community volunteers offering overnight stays, mentoring support and resources, to relieve family pressures to the benefit of our families and young people. In Nottingham, Safe Families, a faith-based project, has already helped us divert 12 per cent of children away from ultimately needing short-term care, delivering better outcomes for children as well as significant savings of up to £120,000.

In a changed local government and economic landscape, we all need to think creatively, and work proactively to support families in crisis and divert children away from care and deliver better, more hopeful futures for our children. Safe Families is a helpful addition to the tools councils have to support families.

Councils key to climate change Cllr Linda Gilham (Ind, Runnymede) is a former Spokesperson for Climate and Energy on the Council of European Municipalities and Regions

The Paris Climate Conference in December 2015 marked a turning point at which nearly 200 countries agreed to try to limit the rise in global temperatures to under 2C. But it is local authorities in the UK and around the world that will have to deliver the changes needed to hit this target.

I was delighted to attend the annual meeting of climate delegates in Marrakech in December, the follow-up to Paris, where we started work on the practicalities of how we reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.

I stressed the need for local authorities to be involved in implementing the Paris Agreement.

While there is a need for more finance, research and innovation to combat climate change, the EU Commission and national governments need to be more proactive in working with and funding local authorities in their local projects.

In Paris, the role of cities and regions February 2017

“Local authorities are responsible for implementing more than 70 per cent of climate change reduction measures” in tackling climate change was formally recognised, which was a start. But as local authorities are responsible for implementing more than 70 per cent of climate change reduction measures and up to 90 per cent of adaptation measures, there is more to do.

Local politicians know that there are opportunities for improving air quality, lowering energy costs and improving transport systems that make political and economic, as well as environmental, sense.

I was able to draw on many examples from UK councils, ranging from installation of

solar panels and the creation of solar farms and parks to the use of sustainable drainage systems for storm water retention. For example, Lewes District Council has spent £2.6 million installing thousands of solar panels on council houses and public buildings, but the scheme is self-financing with the panels generating income by exporting unneeded electricity to the national grid.

It’s great to know that so much is happening in the areas of flooding, renewable energy and regeneration across the UK. Here’s hoping central government can support us in continuing this good work.

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parliament Neighbourhood planning and fees

Legislation aimed at speeding up the process of neighbourhood planning and reforming the compulsory purchase system has reached the Lords, with LGA Chairman Lord Porter taking part in its Second Reading debate.

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The LGA briefed Peers ahead of the debate on the Neighbourhood Planning Bill, stating that the LGA shares the Government’s ambition of increasing housing supply and that councils are keen to play a leading role in building new homes. We would also like to see the Bill amended to permit planning fees to be set locally by councils – a key recommendation of the LGA Housing Commission’s final report (see first 607).

Introducing the Second Reading debate,

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, Communities and Local Government Minister, said the Neighbourhood Planning Bill was part of the Government’s plan to deliver more housing.

LGA Chairman Lord Porter told Peers they should “be under no illusion that we will speed up development with this Bill” and called for legislation from the Treasury that would allow councils to borrow against their housing assets to deliver more homes.

“I am not suggesting that we go back to building big monolithic council estates, because we have seen the problems that that creates in terms of social cohesion, but there needs to be a greater role for councils and registered social landlords to free up the money that we already have,” he said.

“It would not involve the Treasury dipping its hands into anyone’s pocket; it would merely allow us to borrow against the asset that we already have.”

Lord Porter also raised the issue of planning fees in the Second Reading debate, saying: “At the moment the taxpayer is subsidising the planning system to the tune of about £150 million a year.”

Arguing that councils should be able to recover the full costs of planning permissions, he said: “That is a relatively simple thing for the Treasury to enable us to do and it would not cost us any money, or at least would not cost the taxpayer money.”

Taxpayers are subsidising around 30 per cent of the estimated cost of processing all planning applications in England because nationally-set planning fees do not cover the full costs. Developers and builders also want to see adequately resourced planning departments that can deliver housing growth through active planning, and locally-set fees would enable this. A British Property Federation survey found two-thirds of its private sector respondents would be willing to pay increased fees to help underresourced planning departments keep providing an effective service.

Lord Bourne confirmed that planning www.local.gov.uk

“Taxpayers are subsidising around 30 per cent of all planning applications in England because nationally-set planning fees do not cover the full costs” fees will be addressed in the housing white paper, expected shortly. In his speech, he highlighted measures in the Bill intended to further strengthen neighbourhood planning and ensure local communities “have a stronger say in the planning of their area”. These include requiring planning decision-makers to take account of well-developed neighbourhood plans and bringing forward the stage at which a neighbourhood plan has full legal effect.

He referred to an award-winning neighbourhood plan in Newport Pagnell, which secured community support for 1,400 new homes in the area between 2010 and 2026 – three times the number required

by Milton Keynes Council’s Core Strategy.

The plan was backed by 83 per cent of local voters in a referendum in May 2016.

Strategic objectives

The LGA briefed Peers that councils are responding positively to neighbourhood planning and are engaging and providing February 2017

support accordingly to those areas wishing to take forward a neighbourhood plan or order. But it is important that any proposals in the Bill do not have the unintended consequence of undermining the ability of a local planning authority to meet the wider strategic objectives set out in its emerging or adopted local plan. This could happen if the Bill unintentionally gives greater weight to the status of neighbourhood plans than local plans, or delays the process of granting planning permission.

The LGA is also calling for a full review of the financial support provided to councils for neighbourhood planning. This should ensure that existing funding is adequate to allow councils to meet their statutory duties.

• As first went to press, the Neighbourhood Planning Bill – which started in the Commons – was due to have its Committee Stage in the Lords.

For the latest briefings on this Bill, please visit www.local.gov.uk/parliament

Commons updates

T

he chairs of three Commons select committees have urged the Prime Minister to reach a cross-party agreement on the future of health and social care funding in a letter published last month.

Sarah Wollaston MP (Health), Meg Hillier MP (Public Accounts) and Clive Betts MP (Communities and Local Government) said a political consensus is needed to address the “pressing social care challenges facing the country”, and that any review should include the NHS. Social care dominated last month’s communities and local government questions, with 49 mentions by 19 MPs from all sides. The LGA’s figures on the £5.8 billion local government funding gap were cited by Gareth Thomas MP (Lab, Harrow East) and the £2.6 billion required for social care by 2020 was highlighted by Bridget Phillipson MP (Lab, Houghton and Sunderland West).

The National Citizen Service Bill had its Second Reading in the Commons. The LGA briefed MPs that money to run the NCS should not come at the expense of local services for young people.

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councillor Learning to licence Cllr Peter Richards (Con) is Chairman of Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s Regulatory Committee

In May 2015, I was elected to Stratfordon-Avon District Council for the first time. At that stage I had a very limited knowledge of the licensing function and its impact on residents and the shaping of a district as a whole.

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Most of us would be excused for assuming that licensing is largely an administrative function revolving around the sale of alcohol, but it is of course much more than that. It is a function that can and does shape our communities.

In my first year as a councillor, I was fortunate to sit on both the regulatory and licensing committees in Stratford. I quickly realised the importance of making good sound decisions in relation to licensing, and how a poor decision could result in harm to public safety and the district as a whole.

For example, during my first panel hearing we were presented with a case concerning the fitness of a driver to continue to operate his private taxi. It was alleged that the driver had been abusive towards a number of passengers, including children.

The representative for the driver based his case on economic hardship; that the driver had no other source of income and would not be able to look after his family if he lost his license, something I have heard time and again since then.

Naturally we are all sympathetic people, and initially I felt that we should consider the personal circumstances of the driver in making our decision. However, we shouldn’t.

Stratford is a town that relies heavily on tourism. If we permitted abusive drivers to continue to work in our area, that would inevitably have a negative impact on tourists’ enjoyment and therefore the businesses that rely on tourism to operate.

Equally, the safety of passengers would be in question. We all know what happened in Rotherham a few years ago. It is our responsibility to ensure that doesn’t happen – and taking a sympathetic stance over individual economics is not an appropriate way to do so.

I have now been a member of the regulatory and licensing function for three years and progressed to chairman of both committees quite quickly, a job that is

“Licensing is a function that can and does shape our communities” both fulfilling and rewarding.

One of the best things I did after my appointment was to get as much formal training as possible, to ensure my decisions were sound. It gave me an excellent grounding in the role of the council in respect of licensing, and I was able to share my experiences with other councils and learn from them.

Collectively we have a responsibility to protect the public, and the more we share our own practices and learn from others, the better that protection can be.

Licensing with the LGA The LGA has a number of resources to help you in your role as a member of a licensing committee.

These include ‘Taxi and PHV licensing: councillors’ guide (England and Wales)’ and ‘Gambling regulation: councillor guide (England and Wales)’, both available at www.local.gov.uk/ councillor-workbooks.

There is also an e-learning module on licensing available via https://lms.learningnexus.co.uk/LGA/ which will take you through all the key issues for councillors in this role.

Email elearning@local.gov.uk to register and obtain a password to access the e-learning portal.

www.local.gov.uk

elections Looking ahead to the May elections At the turn of the year the minds of political party activists inevitably turn to the coming May elections.

By-elections, whether local or parliamentary, can exaggerate trends and throw up idiosyncratic results. That appears to be what happened in Sandhill in Sunderland, and may be the case too in the vacated Westminster seats in Copeland and Stoke-on-Trent Central.

The annual contests, however, are more reliable guides to the underlying political mood at both authority and national level. The impact of Surrey’s referendum on its proposed 15 per cent council tax rise is certain to spill over to the election results. And UKIP needs to defend seats won from the Conservatives in its 2013 insurgency at the very moment the party appears to be training its ammunition on Labour instead.

This year some 2,300 seats in the 27 English shire counties and in six ‘county’ unitaries are up for grabs. In addition, there are all-out elections and a mayoral contest in Doncaster, and a mayoral election in North Tyneside. In Wales, all 22 councils have elections for the first time since 2012 (2013 in Anglesey).

This year also marks inaugural elections for several of the new so-called ‘metro mayors’ in combined authorities. The MPs Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham have already been selected as the Labour candidates (and favourites) in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region respectively, though elsewhere sitting councillors and local business people could be in the frame.

The county elections are always a difficult point in the electoral cycle for Labour. The last time these seats were fought, in 2013, Labour won scarcely over 500 seats compared to the Conservatives’ 1,100, and struggled to beat UKIP in the popular vote. Indeed, in 16 of the 34 councils with elections, Labour February 2017

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

representation is stuck in single figures and in only about 100 of the seats falling vacant is Labour in second place and within 10 points of the winner.

For their part, the Conservatives will look to recover ground from UKIP, who have been polling some 8 per cent lower in byelections in these areas than they did in 2013.

In particular, they will want to win back clear overall control in a string of counties in eastern England where they were badly hurt by the UKIP surge of four years ago.

The Lib Dems seem to have recovered momentum with some sharp increases in share of the vote in local contests. There will be no dramatic turnarounds in council control, but expect gains from the Conservatives in the South West where the party has had historical strength and – until 2015– a number of MPs. Labour did well in Wales in 2012, advancing by more than 200 seats and coming out more than 20 percentage points ahead of their party political rivals. Since then, however, UKIP, who contested just 13 wards five years ago, have become a more potent force and won seats at last year’s Welsh Assembly elections. They are now poised to threaten Labour hegemony in some of its heartland valleys councils.

For a full list of recent by-election results and a spreadsheet with detailed data on each election, please visit www.local.gov.uk/first

local by-elections Blackburn With Darwen, Higher Croft LAB HELD 33.2% over UKIP Turnout 15% Bromsgrove, Norton CON HELD 6.5% over Lab

Turnout 24.1%

Dover, Aylesham LAB HELD 17.9% over Con

Turnout 20.3%

Eastleigh, Hedge End Wildern LIB DEM HELD 39.3% over Con Turnout 24.9% Powys, Welshpool Llanerchyddol IND HELD 16.8% over Lib Dem Turnout 36% St Edmundsbury, Moreton Hall IND GAIN FROM CON 34.3% over Con Turnout 18.1% Sunderland, Sandhill LIB DEM GAIN FROM LAB 20% over Lab Turnout 23.3% Taunton Deane, Blackdown LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 48.7% over Con Turnout 35.6% Teignbridge, Bovey LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 10.9% over Con Turnout 29.3% Teignbridge, Chudleigh LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 15.9% over Con Turnout 26.5% Three Rivers, Gade Valley LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 41.8% over Con Turnout 20.8% Waverley, Cranleigh West CON HELD 24.9% over Lib Dem Turnout 19.1%

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Vital to councillors, directors, senior officers, directors of public health, policy makers and service managers as well as organisations with responsibilities for children and adults in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors, the conference will include a mix of keynote and ministerial addresses as well as plenary sessions by expert representatives from the adult, children and education sectors.

There will also be opportunities to participate in a wide range of workshops and networking sessions.

In addition, delegates will be able to visit the exhibition and speak with suppliers and providers of relevant services. #ncasc17 Book your place at www.local.gov.uk/events The closing date for completing the online workshop session bid form is 1 March 2017. Details can be found on the dedicated conference website.