Lgafirst#589

first No.589 July 2015 www.local.gov.uk

the magazine for local government

Exclusive:

Interview with Greg Clark Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

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Wider devolution Now reaching beyond the cities

Social care Under-funding adds to pressure on NHS

Innovation Digital experts enhance quality of life

Monthly first

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y final editorial as Chair comes in time for a brand new look for first. The new monthly format illustrates some of the great strengths of the LGA, and of councils.

The refresh responds to our readers’ survey, as we strive to reflect and represent our members. It demonstrates our focus on improvement, to continue to help the sector be the best we can be.

The format provides more space for members to share views, helping us build our community to speak with one voice on behalf of our residents.

And because it is more cost-effective, it, like you, shows that, with innovation, we are great at doing more with less.

In this issue, first focuses on a number of areas that are among your key issues: meaningful devolution, the funding of social care and the remit of local Safeguarding Children Boards.

There is a look ahead to the next Spending Review and an overview of the Bills in this Parliament that will impact on your work. first also showcases some of you who are leading the way with digital innovations, and also, the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Greg Clark’s first set piece interview since his appointment.

I hope you’ll agree that the refreshed magazine not only looks better than ever but that it also continues to provide useful insight as we strive to keep up the fight on behalf of our members and your residents.

Cllr David Sparks is Chair of the LGA

contents news 5 Local Safeguarding Children Boards

interview 6 Magna Carta celebrations

Armed Forces Day

14 Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

“I am absolutely determined that we will transfer substantial powers and resources to our cities, but also to our towns and counties”

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Editor Dawn Chamarette Design & print TU ink www.tuink.co.uk Advertising Ottway Media Solutions Write to first: Local Government House, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ Email first@local.gov.uk Tel editorial 020 7664 3294 Tel advertising 07917 681135 Photography Dreamstime.com, Photofusion and Ingimage unless otherwise stated Cover and interview Chris Sharp Circulation 18,400 (July 2015) To unsubscribe email first@oscar-research.co.uk The inclusion of an advert or insert in first does not imply endorsement by the LGA of any product or service. Contributors’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the LGA.

features

comment

regulars

7 Spending Review ‘must spend smarter’

19 23 27 29 Councillors’ say

30 Parliament

8 Wider and deeper devolution

20 Chair & Group Leaders

31 By-elections

24 Letters & Soundbites

10 Integrating adult social care 12 Digital revolution for services July 2015

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news in brief

Public health and devolution

news

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Government ‘must clarify’ role of safeguarding boards Unfair funding of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) is leaving councils having to meet financial shortfalls, senior local government figures have warned.

A new comprehensive study, commissioned by the LGA to take in the views of LSCB board chairs and partner agencies, revealed a third of those questioned felt funding was not being adequately matched between partners, including the police and health service, and that in many cases, it was left to councils to fund the gap.

Independent researchers Research in Practice, who carried out the survey, also found repeated concerns that the original purpose of the boards to co-ordinate local safeguarding work and ensure the effectiveness of local activity to keep children safe, had become confused by increasing expectations that aren’t matched by greater power or resources.

Many also felt that success was too often judged on a board’s ability to correct failings of other organisations, and that while significant progress had been made in building a strong joint approach to safeguarding across local areas, in too many cases work was hampered

by a dysfunctional Ofsted regime.

Speaking unanimously for the local government sector, the LGA, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (Solace), said: “All safeguarding partners are increasingly working together to protect children and young people from issues like sexual exploitation, radicalisation and gang involvement, and so it follows that LSCBs are also under pressure to take on a greater workload.

But greater clarity is urgently needed around the expectations on LSCBs in holding the local partnership to account, and the accountability of their independent chairs alongside that of local politicians, council chief executives and directors of children’s services.

“With councils often paying the vast majority of LSCB costs, despite clear government guidance that partners should contribute fairly, it is clear that society and the Government’s expectations of LSCBs will remain hard to fulfil.”

xperts have given their views on public health and devolution in a series of essays published by the LGA. “English Devolution: Local solutions for a Healthy Nation” was produced as part of the LGA’s DevoNext campaign and follows the announcement of the Greater Manchester devolution deal. Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Councils are front and centre in the battle to improve the population’s health and reduce inequalities. Devolving control of social care and health spending to Greater Manchester is a welcome move and needs to be replicated for people across the rest of the country.” To view the document visit www.local.gov.uk/publications.

Download LGA Conference app

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et the best out of this year’s LGA Annual Conference and download our official app. We’ve crammed in all of the maps, agendas and schedules that you’ll need, plus you’ll be able to use its advanced features to network with colleagues and exhibitors, bookmark your favourite events and organise your stay. The LGA Conference phone app is available to Android and Apple users – Blackberry and Windows phones can download the app but will be redirected to an identical website. Conference delegates can visit the webpage https://crowd.cc/s/5mHy to download the app.

Armed Forces Day

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Guildford’s annual parade

July 2015

eterans and serving military personnel will be honoured by councils across the country for Armed Forces Day. Hundreds of events including parades, military displays, flypasts and music will mark the occasion on 27 June. Guildford Borough Council is hosting the national event which will include a service in the cathedral, a high street parade and a “picnic and proms” in Stoke Park.

All councils have signed up to the Community Covenant, which commits them to helping former and serving armed forces personnel to integrate into communities.

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news in brief

Care Act event to explore challenges

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he Care Act is the most wide-ranging set of changes to adult social care law in decades, and councils are at the heart of implementing the reforms. The LGA is organising an event for chairs of Health and Wellbeing Boards and portfolio holders for adult social care on 24 September. “Care Act 2014: Achieving Excellence”, will explore the key implementation challenges and help those attending to identify innovative solutions to tackle issues. To book your place visit www.local.gov.uk/events. In addition, there is a wealth of resources available to help with the Act’s implementation at www.local.gov.uk/care-support-reform

New President is announced

Communities across the nation celebrate Magna Carta A river pageant, royal opening and historical re-enactments were just some of the activities held by councils to mark the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta.

In 1215, English barons assembled at Runnymede to challenge the authority of King John and on 15 June the “Great Charter” was signed, establishing many of the common rights we enjoy today.

Local authorities used the opportunity to celebrate their own links and associations with this landmark agreement, the anniversary of which came just as devolution of powers is again at the forefront of the political agenda.

Around 200 boats featured as part of a spectacular river pageant hosted by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in partnership with Runnymede and Spelthorne Borough Councils. The flotilla schedule mapped the 20-mile route of the Thames taken by King John on his way to signing the Charter, with actors recreating the story at various points along the riverbank.

Surrey County Council led the national

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rossbench peer Lord Best is standing down as LGA President after 10 years.

He has been a strong champion of local government and his Best Review helped shape the LGA to become the organisation it is today. Lord Kerslake, former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government has been announced as the new LGA President-elect. He will be formally appointed by the LGA’s General Assembly at our Annual Conference.

Lincoln showcases unique history Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Cllr Martin Hill, greeted The Princess Royal at the opening of the refurbished Lincoln Castle. The showpiece of the £22 million 10-year restoration project is the David PJ Ross Magna Carta vault, the new home of the castle’s copy of the historic document which marks its 800th anniversary this month. It is also the only place in the world where a 1215 Magna Carta can be seen alongside its sister document the 1217 Charter of the Forest. Also restored is the castle’s Victorian prison and there are new ramparts where visitors can walk around the perimeter.

Future Funding online toolkit

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ouncils have continued to deliver the services residents value, despite a reduction of almost 40 per cent in funding over the last five years. The LGA has developed an interactive tool to allow those working in local government to track the changes in spending on services councils provide on a daily basis. Try out the tool, and share with residents in your area, by going to www.local.gov.uk/ futurefunding-interactive-tool

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commemoration at Runnymede Meadows with The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Cambridge and other dignitaries from the UK and around the world in attendance.

The Princess Royal officially opened the £22 million refurbished Lincoln Castle, hosted

by Lincolnshire County Council, on June 8 containing a new home for a copy of the historic document (see photo).

A colourful parade was attended by thousands in Salisbury, organised by the city council and Wiltshire Council.

The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk hosted a King John-themed treasure trail following the legend that the ruler lost his treasure while trying to cross the Wash.

There was also the chance for visitors to strike their own ‘King John Penny’ at the local museum as a souvenir of the day.

Role goes beyond fighting fires

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irefighters are going above and beyond their fire prevention work to improve the health and wellbeing of people across England. Issues including cot death, drug and alcohol abuse, fuel poverty and childhood obesity are being tackled by fire crews. A new LGA report “Beyond Fighting Fires”, published earlier this month, looks at the role of the fire service in improving the public’s health following the transfer of public health duties to councils. The report seeks to identify good practice and encourage closer working between the fire and rescue service and local government. The document is at www.local.gov.uk/publications www.local.gov.uk

features Spending Review must aim to ‘spend smarter’ Despite a 40 percent reduction in core grant since 2010 councils have continued to provide high quality services. LGA analysis suggests councils are set to face a funding gap of £9.5 billion by 2020. Our offer ahead of the Government’s Spending Review sets out what is needed for public services to survive this challenge

a 40 per cent reduction in core grant to run local services, the largest fall in funding in any part of government.

Despite this they have continued to provide high quality services by finding efficiencies, joining up back office functions and reducing staffing. As I have consistently warned over the past year, these savings can only be found once.

Our refreshed Future Funding Outlook analysis suggests councils are set to face a funding gap of £9.5 billion by 2020, taking the previous government’s fiscal plans as the basis of projections.

This will affect the vital community services they can provide like buses, parks and leisure centres.

Sustainable footing

Cllr David Sparks is Chair of the LGA

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ince taking over as LGA Chair last summer, significant changes to our national and local political landscape have thrown up challenges and opportunities in equal measure.

The past year has seen councils continue to lead the way in calling for a radical reform of the way local services are provided, making the case that taking decisions closer to where people live provides better value for money and has the power to improve services.

This has rightly driven devolution to the top of the political agenda.

The task for the LGA and its new Chairman is to build on this opportunity and ensure the Government commits to a genuine devolution of powers to all parts of the country – from city regions to nonmetropolitan areas.

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The funding challenge facing councils and local services remains stark.

Core local government funding was protected as part of in-year departmental spending cuts announced by the Chancellor earlier this month. This was good news but councils already have to find £2.5 billion in savings before April.

The £200 million reduction in council public health budgets this year will however have a knock-on effect on councils’ ability to improve the public’s health and reduce demand on the NHS and could be seen as the opening shot in the next war on public expenditure.

Over the last Parliament, councils received

“Councils have demonstrated we can improve services while reducing costs... given the right conditions we can do more”

Our Annual Conference in Harrogate will look ahead to the crucial Spending Review this autumn which is almost certainly going to require more painful choices and further spending cuts.

We will launch our submission to government setting out why its aim must be to spend smarter rather than simply to spend less if our public services are to survive the next few years.

It will argue that local services must be adequately funded and councils given the freedom to pay for them and the power to improve them.

This will help put adult social care services on a sustainable footing, empower councils to deliver on their ambition to build half a million new homes and ensure that the local tax system is fair, proportionate and robust.

Councils have already demonstrated that we can improve services while reducing costs and contribute to alleviating pressure on all parts of the public sector. But given the right conditions we could do so much more.

The LGA will continue to be a united voice for councils and press the new government on the big issues and challenges that lie ahead. It has been a privilege to serve as its Chair over the past 12 months.

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LGA succeeds in bid for wider devolution The LGA welcomes the Government’s inclusion of non-metropolitan areas to help transform services, but warns against a one-size fits all approach, and continues the call for greater local fiscal autonomy

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he Government is urging councils to be ambitious in their approach to devolution after the first draft of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill unexpectedly included opportunities for non-metropolitan areas to run more services locally. The offer, reflected in the late inclusion of the phrase “local government” in the Bill, comes after the LGA successfully lobbied for it to be more inclusive.

Councils across England are now looking even closer at how devolution can transform services as well as deliver balanced economic growth and better outcomes for all people, not just those in larger cities.

Speaking to first (Interview, page 14-17), Communities Secretary Greg Clark said devolution is a once in a generation chance “to do what everyone in local government wants” and calls for radical thinking across the board.

“This is a big moment for local government, I can’t do it without them, they need to think about what powers they want and how they are going to use them,” said Mr Clark.

“What is needed in one part of the country will be different in another and it is really up to local leaders to exercise that leadership and bring proposals to me to deliver.”

The LGA and many of its member councils are ready to grasp the opportunities devolution could afford, but they are under no illusion about the challenges ahead.

Cllr David Sparks, Chair of the LGA, said the organisation will continue to lobby government to get the best deal for its members and the communities they serve.

He said: “We are encouraged by the Communities Secretary’s views and ready to work with government to devolve power to local communities in all corners of England.

“Meaningful devolution should also

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“Cornwall has a proud record of standing up and fighting for what it believes in and we need to have more local accountability, more local control, more local direction and more local democracy” Cllr John Pollard, Leader of Cornwall Council

include greater fiscal autonomy, multiyear finance settlements, full retention of business rates growth and powers to set rates and discounts.

“Furthermore, we believe there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to the stronger local governance arrangements that may be needed where significant new responsibilities are devolved and would caution against such a measure.”

Devolution was included in the Conservative manifesto and in the run up to the Queen’s Speech Chancellor George Osborne was resolute that greater powers would only be devolved to city region combined authorities under an elected mayor.

However, the first draft of the Bill stops short of requiring all combined authorities to be governed by elected mayors and suggests devolution could be possible to standalone county areas with “strong and accountable governance” arrangements in place.

Accountability It is hoped that the Bill’s generally enabling approach will prevail as it progresses through Parliament and councils will have the flexibility to develop some of the devolution work that has already taken place.

In Mr Clark’s native Middlesbrough the council has joined Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool, Darlington and Stockton for a

combined authority that, among other things, will “make the best use” of any powers that are devolved from Whitehall.

The Tees Valley Combined Authority bid is led by Local Enterprise Partnership, Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), which is already at the centre of the £104 million Tees Valley Growth Deal expected to create 5,000 jobs.

Sandy Anderson, Chair of TVU, said: “A combined authority would give the area greater autonomy over its destiny in several key areas and give it the ability to base decisions on local priorities and needs.

“It is important that business and residents are involved in the process to establish a combined authority as their support will be crucial to its success.”

Cornwall Council is seeking a greater say over the £4.3 billion in public cash it says is spent in the region with not nearly enough input from anyone in the local area.

Cllr John Pollard, Leader of Cornwall Council, said: “Cornwall has a proud record of standing up and fighting for what it believes in and we need to have more local accountability, more local control, more local direction and more local democracy.

“We want to put forward a strong case which will give us the powers, freedom and flexibility to enable us to deliver a better service to our communities and create a more flexible and sustainable Cornwall.”

Meanwhile, the Greater Cambridgeshire www.local.gov.uk

“A combined authority would give the area greater autonomy over its destiny in several key areas and give it the ability to base decisions on local priorities and needs” Sandy Anderson, Chair of Tees Valley Unlimited

City Deal will use £1 billion in public cash to lever £4 billion from the private sector and deliver a range of benefits, including up to 45,000 new jobs.

Cllr Steve Count, Cambridgeshire County Council Leader, said: “Cambridgeshire is already leading the way with our City Deal and we hope government will continue to devolve powers locally where communities can make decisions and benefit from them.

“It is good for Cambridgeshire and the country as a whole.

“Devolution would give us the freedom and funding certainty to be able to plan long term to deliver the transport and other infrastructure to support growth.

“It would give us the freedoms over planning and development to tackle the problems with the housing market and to

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“Devolution would give us locally the freedom and funding certainty to be able to plan long term to deliver the transport and other infrastructure to support growth” Cllr Steve Count, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council

ensure developers make a fair contribution.

“It would also make sure all government and public services who understand what works best for their local communities work together to meet those needs, rather than crude national targets.”

See our DevoNext campaign web pages at www.local.gov.uk/devolution for news, information and support or contact the localism team by emailing localism@local.gov.uk or calling 020 7664 3000

July 2015

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Inadequate adult social care funding jeopardises services for vulnerable people, and puts at risk the contribution social care makes to alleviate pressure on the NHS

The false economy of squeezing social care funding

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ouncil leaders right across the country have been feeling the impact of council funding cuts on adult social care. As a leader of a local authority, I have seen firsthand the impact this has had, not just on social care, but on other council services too.

Anyone with an elderly or disabled friend, neighbour or relative will be only too aware of the challenges local areas are facing.

Things are going to get tougher. The latest figures from the Budget Survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) show that councils will have to save a further £1.1 billion from adult social care services in the next year alone. Total reductions worth £4.6 billion have now been made over the last five years, including cuts to or reductions in services.

While the Government has committed an extra £8 billion a year for the NHS by 2020, there have been no similar commitments for social care. For councils working hard to balance their books in a time of increased demand and escalating costs, we have pressing and unanswered questions around funding for social care, particularly in the face of the tough choices that will shortly

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be made on budgets.

Councils have made great strides in finding efficiencies, but with many already made, it is service reductions, and not efficiencies, that are now likely to account for a higher proportion of required savings.

So, it’s of little surprise that difficult questions are being asked about what we do next.

Funding pressures on social care don’t only jeopardise services for people who need them. They put at risk the vital contribution that social care makes to helping the NHS manage its own demand. Health experts and MPs acknowledge and understand that social care needs to be properly funded. In a recent survey, 99 per cent of senior NHS leaders said that inadequate funding for social care will put more pressure on the NHS. These interdependencies between social care and health further highlight the

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

importance of integration, which councils have long supported. It is important to keep joining up services between homes, communities, GP surgeries and hospitals so that our residents have a system that hangs together in a sensible way, and helps prevent problems before they start.

Greater integration alone won’t solve the problems in the social care system but we firmly believe that it will make a valuable contribution. A major benefit of integrated

“A major benefit of integrated care is the reduction of pressure on the NHS, as well as improvements in service quality and patient satisfaction” www.local.gov.uk

Kent County Council’s experience Integration is a buzz word but if you ask a group of people to explain what it should be in practice, you will probably receive radically different answers. How to define what it means for your council, implement it successfully, and use it to address the funding gap is still not clear.

However, to ignore the potential of integrated social care would be hugely detrimental. You only need to look at the impact integration could have if properly implemented within a county as large and diverse as Kent to understand why we’re so keen to be involved in this LGA progamme.

We want to understand where our approach to integration is realising significant value and improving outcomes, as well as where there are opportunities to reduce the burden on, and increase the effectiveness of, our health and social care system.

We are focusing the initial work on East Kent, and our partners there believe that there is demand to continually evolve, challenge and innovate. This commitment is essential; you need buy-in at all levels for success.

We are excited about sharing the results.

Cllr Graham Gibbens is Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health

care is the reduction of pressure on the NHS, as well as improvements in service quality and patient satisfaction. It is a false economy to invest solely in the NHS, without ensuring that the social care budget is properly invested in too.

Preventative Integration has moved up the agenda for council leaders in the recent years and months, not least because it is included in the Care Act and at the heart of the Better Care Fund, which I know we are all busy implementing in our local areas. The duty to ensure integration with health reflects the recognition that this must be central to improving services and securing value for money, but we want integration to go further. We want a bigger Better Care Fund with a transformation fund which will kickstart preventative work at the right scale to help make the changes needed.

In the coming months, the LGA has commissioned Newton Europe to work with a number of councils to understand where the crossover between needing assistance from the NHS and social care could work better to improve care for people and to enable resources to go further.

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By working with you we hope to gain a greater understanding of how the integration of health and social care will bring efficiencies at a time when councils are under huge pressure to find more savings.

Following individuals through the system will give us a better understanding of the care that was offered and how individuals might have been cared for differently, for example in the community rather than in hospital.

The work will also help us to identify any barriers to making that happen. The next step for councils and partners will be to work through the findings and consider what could be done differently in the future.

The aim is to be able to provide people with the best care possible. The knock-on effect will be a more efficient service, where health and social care are working seamlessly together so that finite resources can go further. This will be vital if councils are to tackle the problems facing their local social care economies.

At this year’s LGA Annual Conference, council leaders will have the opportunity to hear about the project and what it hopes to achieve. Later this year, the LGA will be feeding back to councils on the findings.

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Councils embrace the digital revolution to improve services Resources may be scarce but councils are finding new ways to understand the problems in their communities, improve services and make savings. The LGA’s 27 Digital Experts project is ready to help other local authorities develop this work

Cllr Peter Fleming is Chairman of the LGA’s Improvement Board

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ot only was London 2012 a wonderful showcase for British sport, it was a great illustration of what Britain can achieve.

Delivered by the public sector, the London Olympics highlighted the world leading role Britain plays in technology and engineering, and what we can deliver.

The scale of local government projects may be significantly smaller than the Olympics, but just as they provided an opportunity for regeneration and delivering on a world scale, so councils can innovate and deliver benefits in their communities.

Many councils have already turned to innovation and digital to enhance the services they provide every day and the LGA’s 27 Digital Experts project will help other local authorities develop this work.

Councils have embraced the digital revolution and used it as an opportunity to innovate and enhance the way they provide their many services. People still think of councils in terms of what they have traditionally delivered, but in reality what councils are doing is harnessing this wealth of technology to change residents’ lives.

This work fits hand in glove with the increasing integration of technology across society. For many people, smartphones and tablets have become an essential element of their daily routine. Whether it’s submitting the latest meter reading or checking when the next bus will come, the digital revolution has had an impact on the way we live and councils are doing their part to fit into this new world.

From apps to report fly-tipping or pay council tax, to bespoke websites, to providing vulnerable older residents with iPads to combat loneliness, to the use of GPS technology to plan bin routes, councils have

embraced new technology and are constantly innovating in the way they provide services.

Underlying and driving all of this work is improving the quality of life for the people living in our communities; there might be financial savings and of course these are important, but they are not the catalyst.

Technology in its many guises is providing councils with a way to understand residents’ needs and involve them in the way services are provided. On one level, a service like waste collection can be planned with community input in mind, while this same approach can be applied to larger-scale projects too.

Reductions to council budgets have meant a reduced workforce. For local authorities this has meant finding new ways to engage residents and provide key services, and this is exactly the role something like an app can play. Resources may be scarce but councils are innovating to find new ways to understand the problems in their communities, and through more innovation will come improvements to quality of life – and savings too.

The innovation which councils are showcasing brings with it a huge and varied range of projects and apps. These digital solutions are the tip of the iceberg. The Innovation Zone at this year’s LGA Conference will explore the many different ways councils are transforming the delivery of their services and developing their approaches, and the impact this is having.

The Innovation Zone is a chance for councils to discover how to digitise their services, explore commercialisation, share best practice and learn new approaches.

They can also see more about how political leadership can drive this work and, vitally, discover the positive impact it can have on the community.

Commercial For example, Wolverhampton City Council has innovated a multi-agency programme on looked-after children. Meanwhile, Runnymede Council is regenerating a three hectare site, abandoning its debt-free status to borrow for the regeneration and adopting a commercial approach to ensure revenue certainty and capital value.

In a climate where councils have had to make savings, and will continue to have to do so, commercialisation is increasingly key. It has provided a different slant on the public sector and councils have been looking www.local.gov.uk

Innovation support • As part of the LGA’s continued work to support improvement and innovation for all member local authorities, we have refreshed our online sector-led improvement hub. It highlights our core support available as well as case studies.

• The LGA’s Annual Conference highlights our sector-led improvement innovation offer, which includes the launch of a database which hosts more than 120 case studies of councils as an online searchable resource.

“People think of councils in terms of what they have traditionally delivered, but in reality they are harnessing this wealth of technology to change residents’ lives” at commercialisation as part of this. Some councils have joined to form new business partnerships, particularly to handle backoffice functions, and the LGA’s shared services research highlights how crucial this approach has become to councils.

Innovation can also play a key part in some of the most pivotal issues an area faces.

Somerset will be the home of the first of Britain’s new generation of nuclear power stations. This huge infrastructure project has implications for the entire county, as well as being a catalyst for economic growth.

It was the first project of its type in the country and there are lessons to learn for councils who are likely to host nationally significant infrastructure about how Somerset County Council and its partners had to approach the planning stage and how implementation will be delivered, exploring the risks and opportunities associated.

Over the past five years, councils have innovated to find new ways of delivering essential services. And as technology develops and local authorities take inspiration from work in other areas, so councils will use innovation, commercialisation and technology to continue to deliver the services residents rely on day in and day out.

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For details of the LGA’s support offer see www.local.gov.uk/sector-ledimprovement, and visit the Innovation Zone at next week’s LGA’s Conference

The Innovations Zone database brings together over 120 examples of council innovation available in an online searchable resource.

Since its launch in March 2015, the database has had over 1,200 unique visits and is continuing to be updated with more outstanding examples of council innovation. first feature l 13

interview G

reg Clark regards his appointment as Communities secretary as something of a homecoming. the 47-year-old previously served as Decentralisation Minister and Cities Minister at the Department for Communities and Local government – under his predecessor sir Eric Pickles – playing a central role in driving through planning reforms and introducing Local Enterprise Partnerships. spells as Financial secretary to the treasury and as Minister for Universities, science and Cities followed before his promotion in the post-election reshuffle saw him return to DCLg as secretary of state. sir Eric, knighted for services to local government, took to twitter to predict his successor would do a “fantastic job” and to wish him well in the role. “i obviously started my ministerial career under Eric so i was very touched by his words because his judgement counts for a lot,” Mr Clark told first. “it has been such a thrill to take over the reins. i knew we had an excellent team here and i am excited to be reunited with them. “one of the wonderful things about local government is that it touches the lives of so many people up and down the country. it means we have an opportunity to make a real difference.”

Mr Clark faces significant challenges in

his new role. his in-tray includes another round of spending cuts and election pledges on housing and devolution to be delivered. he takes over as councils warn savings of £2.5 billion needed to be found by april will be the most difficult yet. they will bring the total reduction in core government funding to councils to 40 per cent and total savings of £20 billion since 2010. it is a time when local authorities warn a further round of spending cuts will leave vital services, such as caring for the elderly, struggling to continue at current levels.

When budgets for adult social care will reduce by a further £500 million in cash terms this year, according to the recent budget survey by the association of Directors of adult social services, and with adult social care services facing a £4.3 billion funding gap by the end of the decade. the Lga has highlighted the false economy of investing in the Nhs whilst social care budgets remain under pressure from insufficient funding and growing demand.

Unintended consequence a £200 million in-year cut to councils’ public health budgets – announced as part of £3 billion departmental spending cuts announcement ahead of next month’s budget – will also impact on local authorities’ ability to reduce demand for hospital, health and

PhotograPhs by Chris sharP

In his first set-piece interview since being given the job, Communities Secretary Greg Clark discusses the challenges and opportunities ahead for local government over the next five years

social care services. this could result in the unintended consequence of costs passed on to other parts of the public sector, including the Nhs. the better Care Fund and Care act reforms introduced in the last Parliament have made integrating health and social care services key to protecting services for our most vulnerable people and alleviating the pressure on the Nhs. Mr Clark said: “i have already had a

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“Significant savings have been made while the public’s satisfaction in the quality of local services has remained high. This proves that there is a cool efficiency within local government which is admirable”

conversation with Jeremy hunt (health secretary) and we have agreed to urgently ensure our departments work much closer together – alongside local government – to drive forward the integration of health and social care services. “it is absolutely crucial we have that joinedup approach within central government to meet the challenge of achieving the best for our most vulnerable citizens.” a spending review will outline the government’s longer-term spending plans in the autumn and Mr Clark said he will adopt a “grown-up, no secrets approach” to the future funding challenges that still lie ahead July 2015

for councils and local services over the next few years. he said: “i pay enormous tribute to the local government family for the part they have played in making necessary savings to get our public finances back in order. “significant savings have been made while the public’s satisfaction in the quality of local services has remained high. this proves that there is a cool efficiency within local government which is admirable. “the great thing about councils is that they just get on with things efficiently and effectively. they have a lot to teach others in the way it can be done.

“the job is not finished. of course, local government is going to have to work with me to continue to make savings. “i have always had a very good relationship with many friends across party lines in local government. We are going to have some difficult decisions to take and we will take them together.”

Mr Clark has been tasked with negotiating two of the government’s key pieces of legislation through Parliament – the housing bill and Cities and Local government Devolution bill. he chaired the first meeting of a new housing taskforce last month and wasted no >

first interview l 15

> time ordering Whitehall departments to free up publicly-owned land to build 150,000 homes and for councils to use vacant plots on brownfield sites to deliver new homes. it was an indication of his determination to drive through housing reforms which will also see an extension to the right to buy scheme funded by having councils sell off empty-high value homes. Plans to build 200,000 new starter homes by 2020 will be paid for by exempting developers from the Community infrastructure Levy.

Aspiration Mr Clark insists the proposals will increase housebuilding and help people into home ownership while councils are clear they must not come at the expense of affordable housing for future generations or restrict their ability to invest in housing. he said: “Ensuring people can aspire to own their own home is one of the strongest commitments that the government has made. the extension of right to buy, building starter homes and bringing brownfield sites back into use are absolutely the right things to do. “i will be going all out to ensure we increase the pace of our ability to satisfy what is a fundamental aspiration for people to have a roof over their head.” as Cities Minister, Mr Clark led the development of City Deals which saw economic powers transferred from Whitehall to local areas across the country. Firstly, to the eight largest cities outside London and then, in a second wave involving a further 20 cities. the Cities and Local government bill has recognised the need for devolution to reach all corners of England, from cities to nonmetropolitan areas. it follows the recent Lga report “English Devolution: Local solutions for a successful Nation” which set out the economic benefits of devolution to non-urban areas.

Mr Clark has set councils the challenge to follow the lead of greater Manchester – which will be handed control over its £6 billion health budget and new powers over transport and housing under the new bill – by developing their own ambitious devolution plans. he said: “We made some progress over the last parliament on devolution but i now want to turbo-charge that.

“For many decades, governments have centralised in London. i am absolutely determined that we will transfer substantial powers and resources to our great cities but

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also to our smaller towns and counties. “i think there is a lot we can do to put revenues collected by councils back under the control of local areas. a lot of spending which has previously been locked up in departments around Whitehall can also be put in the hands of local government.

“My colleagues in the Cabinet all agree that devolution is at the heart of our long-term plan for the country. if you want britain to achieve its maximum and prosper then every part of the country has to be firing on all cylinders. the only way to do that is to give local areas and local leaders the power to do things their way. “one of the principles i have always respected is that places are all different. What is needed in one part of the country will be different in another and it is really up to leaders to exercise that leadership and bring proposals to me to deliver. “this is a big moment for local government

“There is a lot we can do to put revenues collected by councils back under the control of local areas” and i can’t do it without them. they need to think about what powers they want and how they are going to use them.” the government’s recent decision to only grant local areas – including councils, LEPs and voluntary organisations – an “advisory” role over how EU funding is spent has proved controversial and led to warnings it risks stifling vital local projects and growth-boosting schemes,” he said. www.local.gov.uk

“I am absolutely determined that we will transfer substantial powers and resources to our great cities but also to our smaller towns and counties”

areas such as greater Manchester have highlighted the contradiction of being handed greater control over budgets and funding with one hand but still needing to go through protracted Whitehall negotiations to spend EU cash with the other.

Mr Clark acknowledged the frustration felt by many local areas being given little or no say on how, when and on what they spend their share of England’s £5.3 billion European July 2015

structural and investment Funds. “it is something we need to come back to because it is not acceptable on a permanent basis. i have every confidence in future we will see LEPs working with local government to manage these schemes. “i know that these European funds are very important for some of the big and small economic development projects negotiated through growth Deals.

“there is no stronger advocate than me for the management of these programmes to be as local as possible. Unfortunately, we found the European Commission was not as enthusiastic about localism as us. We had to take a decision not to risk losing those vital funds but to give local areas a strong advisory role instead.”

Mr Clark said he is not “the only champion of devolution” in the government, citing the Prime Minister and Chancellor as key allies in his decentralisation push. as far as the new secretary of state is concerned, local government must recognise it has a “once in a generation” opportunity to reshape its relationship with central government and needs to grasp it. “there has never been a better time for local government to achieve the change it wants to see rather than things dictated to it, as has happened in the past. i will put all my energy into making that happen,” he said.

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comment ‘Collaboration’ – a new hope Cllr Neil Clarke (Con) is Leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council and Chairman of the District Councils’ Network

Districts and counties have pledged unity to achieve the best possible outcomes as they shape the future together.

It seems only fitting in a year that heralds the return of Star Wars to cinema screens around the world that a new government, and new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, should bring a new hope to district councils.

This sense of fresh optimism, which Greg Clark’s refreshing approach to open exchange and negotiation heralds, is a welcome change.

However, the challenges of financial restraint and increasing demand on our resources remain. If we are to address them, and develop the economic growth necessary to secure our resources, then the divisive two-tier debate which has plagued the district/county relationship for far too long simply has to end.

Disunity has hampered us both in our efforts to generate a positive dialogue with central government.

It was for these reasons, therefore, that David Hodge, Chairman of the County Councils’ Network, and I signed a joint Statement of Intent, committing the two national networks to “encourage and support” our member authorities to “design and deliver devolution proposals (and) promote collaboration”.

By this means we aim to advocate local collaboration to secure growth, regeneration of towns and rural areas and being open to work with other partners to achieve improved quality of life for residents and success for local businesses.

The current priority of growth, on which July 2015

“Disunity has hampered us both in our efforts to generate a positive dialogue with central government” we can build prosperity and wellbeing, can only be achieved by local councils working together. This means groups of districts with common issues collaborating and engaging with county councils and others in creating a suitable environment for growth to occur in.

Delivering real benefits to local people requires using whatever arrangements suit local circumstances. We must shift the emphasis from a concentration on organisations towards putting communities and places at the heart of local collaboration, promoted and supported from the centre. In doing so, there is a clear acceptance that different areas will move at different speeds and the shape of devolution will reflect local circumstances and not be imposed.

The initial findings from research, commissioned by the District Councils’ Network (DCN) from INLOGOV, have encouraged our call for a “great collaboration”. District councils in general have informal working relationships on growth and regeneration with local strategic partnerships, county councils, local

businesses, local academic bodies, chambers of commerce, Jobcentres and others.

Increasingly, these functions are based in the same building, hosted by the district council.

This district/county initiative demonstrates that we recognise the importance of collaboration and shows a firm commitment to change how we operate, so that devolution has real and beneficial outcomes.

It is a practical and constructive approach from our two networks to secure the best interests of the communities and businesses we jointly serve.

Fittingly, the Star Wars reboot is being filmed at Elstree Studios – based within a typical pro-growth district, Hertsmere Borough Council.

So when it comes to playing the devolution game, districts will fight with passion to win for our communities and businesses through dynamic collaboration. Our approach is straightforward – and no Jedi mind trick.

May the Force be with you!

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chair’s comment

group leaders’ comments

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

Cllr David Sparks is Chair of the LGA

Proud of our national work for local democracy

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y final editorial as Chair comes at a time of change for the Lga: a new Chairman, some new faces leading our boards and preparations to welcome a new Chief Executive. i’m sure the organisation will take this in its stride and, like this magazine, emerge better than ever. this last year as Chair of the organisation has given me the opportunity to represent residents and councils around the country, and it has been an extraordinary year. it has been a pleasure to have done the job in no small part precisely because of the Lga’s particular structure as a membership organisation with a commitment to speaking up for councils of all political persuasions. the shift at the ballot box in the local elections which now sees the chairmanship turn to the Conservative party might mean that i am moving on, but i would not have it any other way. it is only right that the representative voice for local government truly mirrors the changing views of the electorate, part and parcel of what the democratic process is all about. it is significant that both the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Lga are not leaving to go into retirement, but are returning to mainstream local government. i’m proud of the work we have done together to make devolution central to the national debate and to make such a strong case for sustainable funding for a healthy, locally representative democracy. i want to thank everyone at the Lga and our members for your support and hard work during my time in post, and wish my successor and all of you all the best for the years ahead.

LGA’s political balance Following the English and Welsh local elections in May, the Lga’s political balance has changed and the Conservatives have become the largest party in the organisation. the definitive figures for the Lga’s proportionality are provided by the LgC Elections Centre at the University of Plymouth working with the Lga’s research and information team. the Lga Leadership board agrees the proportionality figures as the basis for negotiating the allocation of Chairs and Vice-Chairs and populating all our member structures. the political groups then use their respective methods of selection to populate the seats apportioned to them in time for the start of the new political year on 1 september.

Housing poses a serious challenge

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or Liberal Democrats, both councillors and MPs, there was no denying how difficult and unfair the election results were in many parts of the country.

But we need to recognise where Lib Dems bucked the trend including our directly elected Mayor in Bedford and also in other council areas such as York, Rochdale, Eastbourne and Bury where seats were gained. Our 1,800 Lib Dem councillors will continue working hard for their communities, coming up with good ideas and helping the party to re-build.

The Queen’s Speech gives local government new challenges. We have an opportunity for further devolution of power.

But we face a serious challenge over housing.

There are simply not enough affordable homes in this country and there is a real risk that unless the Government listens, the proposed extension to the Right to Buy will cause real problems for councils. I look forward to working with others on raising these issues.

Conservative

Lib Dem

2014/15: (38.3 per cent) 2015/16:

2014/15: (10.8 per cent) 2015/16:

40.6

per cent

9.4

per cent

“Our 1,800 Lib Dem councillors will continue working hard for their communities”

“I’m proud of the work we have done together to make devolution central to the national debate” 20 l first comment

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

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

Cllr Gary Porter is Leader of the LGA’s Conservative Group

Electoral reform on the agenda

Local government must stand united

Looking forward to being LGA’s new Chairman

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F

F

here was a huge turnout at the General Election, and although getting plenty of votes, our first-past-the-post system meant that Independents were squeezed.

Over the whole country, the Independent group of councillors retained 10 per cent of the vote, now making us the third largest group at the LGA. The majority of our group are Independent (5.7 per cent) followed by UKIP (3 per cent), Green (1 per cent) and Plaid Cymru (0.3 per cent).

Among the Independent Group’s sessions during the LGA’s Annual Conference will be one on the the subject of electoral reform on the Wednesday (1 July). This is in the light of the fact that, of the 31 million people who voted, 15.4 million voted for candidates that did not get elected. This means that many people are not getting the outcome they seek when they complete their ballot papers. At the session we will hear from the Electoral Reform Society and Unlock Democracy.

Independent Group

ollowing an unexpected and disappointing election result for Labour, the natural response might be to go through a period of introspection. But now is the time Labour local government must be active to ensure we are protecting and speaking up for our communities.

The next few months will see local services under even more pressure – in-year cuts and then a difficult Spending Review.

We must campaign hard against short term decisions and make sure the impact of cuts to “non-protected” departmental budgets is understood.

It will be with sadness that we say goodbye to David Sparks at the LGA Conference in Harrogate, and I take this opportunity to pay tribute to his hard work as Chair this last year. I will continue to work for a strong consensus at the LGA – now more than ever it is important that local government stands united.

Independent*

Labour

2014/15: (10.3 per cent) 2015/16:

2014/15: (40.6 per cent) 2015/16:

10.1

per cent

40.0

“Although getting plenty of votes, our first-pastthe-post system meant that Independents were squeezed”

per cent

ollowing the close of nominations in the Conservative group elections, i am honoured to have been chosen by my colleagues to be our nomination for Lga Chairman at this month’s general assembly. however, as someone who has been involved with the Lga for well over a decade as a board member, a board Chairman, a group Leader and a Vice Chairman, i am very well aware that the Lga is a cross-party organisation and that this is exemplified in the role of the Chairman. i hope that those from other groups who have worked with me would recognise that i am someone they can do business with and that i have always sought to build and maintain strong cross-party relationships even when there are clear political differences. this will be very much my approach as Lga Chairman. at the same time as there has been change here at the Lga, we also have a new secretary of state at the Department for Communities and Local government and a number of new ministers. greg Clark will be familiar to many of you from his time as a DCLg Minister. he is a committed localist and i think it is fair to say that he commands respect across the political divide. i have already had a number of productive meetings with greg and his team and i look forward to working with him and other ministers across all the policy areas that affect local government, to secure the best deal for the Lga and our member councils.

“Labour local government must be active to ensure we are protecting and “I have always sought speaking up for our to build strong cross-party communities” relationships even when there are political differences. This will be my approach as LGA Group Leaders will write in each first issue taking turns to contribute a longer article. The rota is based on group size, beginning this month with the largest one Chairman”

*this includes councillors who are independent; UKiP, residents' association; green and Plaid Cymru

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Cut to public health grant ‘short-sighted’ Cllr Maureen McLaughlin (Lab) is Warrington Borough Council’s Board Member for Public Health and Wellbeing

It is a privilege to have just been appointed to Warrington Borough Council’s executive board, with the portfolio of public health and wellbeing.

Warrington is a town punching well above its weight in terms of growth and economic indicators. But it is also a town of opposites, with some very affluent areas, and other areas in our inner wards being some of the most deprived in the country. Life expectancy in the most deprived ward is 8.6 years lower for men and 6.2 years lower for women

July 2015

compared to residents living in our most affluent ward.

The council has worked hard, with considerable success to tackle smoking rates, although these remain stubborn in our most deprived areas. However, we know that we need to do more to tackle obesity and to reduce alcohol intake.

I am keenly aware that there are big vested business interests that challenge ambitions for health improvement. There is a political need to lobby government to do more in this area.

The World Health Organisation Director-General Dr Margaret Chan described the problem: “Today, getting people to lead healthy lifestyles… faces opposition from forces that are not so friendly. It is not just Big Tobacco anymore. Public health must also contend with Big Food, Big Soda, and Big Alcohol.”

The recent Treasury announcement that the 2015/16 public health grant allocations are to be reduced by £200 million – a cut of

7.4 per cent and equivalent to a cut of £800,000 in Warrington – is a severe blow to our ambitions.

It’s a short-sighted approach when the agenda should be about using prevention to minimise the pressures on the health service as a whole, thereby reducing cost in the long-term.

Here in Warrington, I’m keen to look for ways to engage businesses to take public health messages into their workforces. I want to encourage people to make positive changes so that they can enjoy their lives without damaging their futures, and I want to work closely with health partners to improve life expectancy in our most deprived areas.

It’s a big challenge, and I’m looking forward to it, but nationally the Government must step up to the mark.

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letters without discussion or understanding of the consequences. In addition, most of our public health investments are already tied to long term contracts, which will place us in an extremely difficult position.

The majority of this funding is spent on NHS treatment services – the rest is spent with the voluntary sector who use the money to build resilience in our communities. Many of these organisations are already struggling with the effects of less money on public services.

Far from helping us encourage better public health, treat conditions and prevent long-term illnesses that put a strain on our hospitals, we now have to come to terms with further economies that will affect the most vulnerable.

Cllr Phil Davies (Lab) Leader, Wirral Council

Seven-day NHS is affordable Chris Ham of The King’s Fund says that extra money pledged to the NHS “will not pay for new initiatives such as seven-day working” (first 588). But surely there will be efficiency savings from GPs not having the weekend off, or patients waiting needlessly in hospital because there’s nobody there to operate on them? after all, our supermarkets manage to run most effectively seven days a week, and the salaries we pay our hospital administrators mean that they should be able to introduce changes without it being a burden on the taxpayer.

Cllr Tim Mickleburgh (Lab) North East Lincolnshire Council

‘Surprise’ cuts will affect most vulnerable

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have written to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt protesting in the strongest possible terms about the unannounced cut which will potentially lose Wirral almost £2.4million of public health funding.

The cuts will impact on many Wirral health services, including school nursing, NHS health checks and drugs and alcohol counselling, and break the promises made in the Conservative Party’s manifesto in the last election.

The decision to cut £2.4 million from Wirral’s public health budget has been made

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Bad drivers more problem than drink-drivers

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llr John Kerwin-Davey (first 588) clearly has absolutely no understanding of how everyone’s body’s reaction to alcohol is completely different depending upon many factors. A glass of wine with a meal over say, two hours, I doubt would make anyone a murderous dangerous driver.

All this noise about lowering the limit (and more emotion with a number of lives saved) actually targets the wrong end of the scale. Those who care not a jot about the limit would continue to care not a jot. I suspect there are far more people driving under the influence of drugs rather than drink these days, which is why the police are addressing it.

I have spent much of my working life driving as part of it. In 43 years of driving I have seen, particularly over the last 10 years, standards plummet, and this is the danger now facing us: changing lanes without indicating, cutting in and making the person behind brake; turning at junctions/lights/roundabouts without any signalling at all, jumping red lights, U-turns on a single carriage road, and so on.

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

Letters may be edited and published online www.local.gov.uk

Most frightening is the number of “professionals” who are adopting many of these dangerous and blatantly bad habits. I often witness the police, bus drivers and most of all and by far the most dangerous are taxi drivers.

The last group are licensed by local authorities and the standards expected really do need to be tightened up as I have witnessed some of our more senior citizens frightened by their experience in a taxi.

Cllr Roger Taylor (Con) Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council

Counties excluded from radioactive waste decision

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n an article about the new process being developed to identify possible sites for a geological disposal facility (first 588), Cllr Richard Smith [writing as Chair of the Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum], states that all tiers of local government will be involved in overseeing the process in their area.

All tiers may potentially be involved in “overseeing the process”, but in two tier areas, such as Suffolk, where Cllr Smith is a member, the county council will be excluded from the all-important decision making, as the Government considers district councils to be the appropriate tier to take on that role.

Stewart Young (Lab), Leader Cumbria County Council + Also see p27 Comment: The cost of radioactive waste disposal

Housing associations have right to choose

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ather than looking to see how they can provide more affordable housing, the Conservatives have shown their true colours by calling for the Right to Buy to be extended to all housing association tenants. This will just make matters worse, especially as it is

July 2015

to be paid for by making councils sell yet more council housing.

The LGA’s “First 100 Days” campaign highlighted 1.7 million households on waiting lists for affordable housing across England, and that more than 3.4 million adults between 20 and 34 live with their parents.

And a recent opinion poll showed that the top choice to provide more affordable homes was to help housing associations or councils to build more of them, selected by 46 per cent.

Just 16 per cent backed extending Right to Buy. Finally a new report shows that there could be a funding gap of over £1 billion to pay for the scheme.

As a Liberal Democrat, there are two things wrong with the Conservative proposal: first, forcing councils to sell yet more housing stock to pay for it; second, some housing associations already offer tenants the means to own their own homes via shared ownership and “Right to Acquire” schemes. We should support the right of housing associations to choose what to do.

We must provide more affordable homes, not a scheme which will reduce them.

Cllr Howard Sykes (Lib Dem) Group Leader, Oldham Council

sound bites Cllr John Harvey (Con, Exeter) “Just made maiden speech to @ExeterCouncil Executive – speaking against proposed changes to Council’s Constitution.” www.twitter.com/Mr_John_harvey_ Cllr Judith Blake (Lab, Leeds) “Proud & privileged to be elected new Leader of Leeds City Council. Ready to fight the onslaught of Tory cuts to local govt.” www.twitter.com/cllrjudithblake Cllr Mary Burstow (Lib Dem, Sutton) “1 woman (me!!) 9 men at parking meeting in Cheam Village. We need more women to be road traffic engineers. #Glassceiling” www.twitter.com/Maryburstow Janet Atherton (President, Association of Directors of Public Health) “@LGANews @ADPHUK @CllrSeccombe @1adass @BBCNews And disinvestment in prevention when NHS & social care under pressure makes even less sense” www.twitter.com/Janetath Cllr Laura Blumenthal (Con, Wokingham) “First George Clooney now Taylor Swift’s reportedly moving to Berkshire!” www.twitter.com/LKblumenthal Cllr Dan McDonald (Lab, Gillingham) “I recall how terrified I was telling my Irish father I was gay, he was amazing & supportive; would be proud today if alive #MarRef” www.twitter.com/CllrDanMcD

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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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Committee system best for everyone Cllr Fran Wilson (Lib Dem) is Group Leader and Leader of Maidstone Borough Council

Maidstone Borough Council has returned to a committee system of governance.

We have made the change because many of our back benchers felt disenfranchised under Cabinet with most decisions made by just six of our 55 councillors. Most decisions will now be taken by four service committees.

Under our new constitution the leader of the council is elected at full council and automatically

becomes the chairman of the lead policy and resources committee. Other chairmen and vice chairmen are appointed by the committees but the constitution demands that the chairman and vice-chairman of each committee have to be from different political groups.

We were reluctant to change from the committee system to cabinet and scrutiny but, when the change was forced upon us, were one of the first to do so. Determined to get the best out of the system, we gained a reputation for excellent scrutiny work, producing influential reports about motorway noise and abandoned vehicles, amongst other subjects. This, however, has not outweighed the disadvantages of cabinet governance which became apparent over the years.

With buy-in from all political groups we believe our new committee system of

governance can retain the benefit of timely decision making but with the added advantage that all councillors will now have the opportunity to be fully involved in policy formulation and decision making. This will build experience and expertise across the council chamber, leading to smoother succession when frontbenchers leave the council or there is a shift in the political balance of power.

The partnership between officers and councillors will also benefit more councillors receiving advice first hand from officers and more councillors contributing knowledge about local matters.

The new system involves all our councillors in our decision making. It will be more democratic, inclusive and transparent, and that has got to be better for our residents.

The cost of radioactive waste disposal Cllr James Abbott (Green) is a member of the Development and Regulation Committee on Essex County Council

It’s an intriguing pitch that there are major economic “opportunities” for a community that accepts the proposed high level radioactive waste disposal facility. but in his article for first (issue 588) Cllr richard smith, writing as the Chair of NuLeaf (the Nuclear Legacy advisory Forum) also glossed over many issues about both the proposed site and UK energy policy. the claim is that the deep disposal facility would be “permanently sealed” at a time when “all the waste has been placed in the site”. so when will that be?

With the government pressing ahead with new nuclear builds, the generation of high level waste will not stop. so any community that accepts the facility will presumably have to also accept deliveries of radioactive waste for generations to come. then there is the cost. We hear plenty from critics of renewables about their costs. but there was no mention of the total cost of this “huge project”, although he does July 2015

mention the multi-million-pound sweeteners to the host community. Can NuLeaf tell us what the total costs are estimated to be over its lifetime and how much of this will fall on taxpayers and electricity consumers?

Whilst the government and the nuclear industry still struggle to find a long term solution to dealing with high level radioactive waste, we also need to consider the astronomical costs of dealing with the facilities themselves.

Estimates of the cost of decommissioning the existing Magnox fleet of power stations and the legacy nuclear sites developed since the 1940s vary. the non-discounted costs are likely to be at least £90 billion and the clean-up will take at least a century.

What a staggering waste of money and resources when we could – and should – be investing in renewables and energy efficiency.

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Public health scrutiny works wonders Cllr Seamus Quilty (Con) is Chair of Hertfordshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee

Hertfordshire County Council is the first local authority to complete an overview and scrutiny committee review into how well public health is integrating with the council.

Local government has embraced the change, using it as an opportunity to lead by strengthening partnership working.

And this strong leadership is certainly evident at Hertfordshire County Council.

Our innovative and forward-thinking public health department was the first under the new arrangements to launch a public health strategy and is now the first to carry out an overview and scrutiny committee review specifically to examine how public health has integrated into the council.

Hertfordshire’s Director of Public Health, Jim McManus, has always had a very simple ambition: applying public health skills to make local government a public health sector, not just councils with public health stuck on the end.

The scrutiny committee, which took place over two days, examined how Hertfordshire public health is working with external organisations such as Healthwatch, Public Health England and the LGA, as well as how it is integrating with other teams within the council.

We know there is a lot of very good partnership working being done by our public health department, but we wanted to get a better understanding of some of the less visible aspects.

The scrutiny helped everybody understand just how effective public health has been at integrating with all county council departments; it is clear that both internal colleagues and external partners view public health as a council function rather than a standalone entity.

The scrutiny highlighted that the key to getting all members of the public health family to work together is by communicating.

It demonstrated that by talking to colleagues, public health is finding synergies to work across portfolios, for example drugs and alcohol, which touches nearly every portfolio and involves partnership working with the police.

July 2015

“It highlighted successes, challenges and opportunities for further work” The scrutiny committee clearly provided significant benefits to all parties: It provided a sense of how successful the transition and transformation of public health has been and continues to be; it gave an opportunity for elected members to scrutinise the work of public health; it highlighted successes, challenges and opportunities for further work; offered assurance that public health is working effectively with the wide range of partners and stakeholders that help to deliver the public health strategy; and confirmed that Hertfordshire is on the right strategic and tactical track. It also gave an opportunity for other departments and functions to consider how they work with public health and what more they could do.

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and the LGA are calling for reforms to business rates appeals in order to limit the number of speculative appeals, which are a major cause of financial uncertainty.

Education and Adoption Bill

parliament Government sets out its legislative agenda

The Bill will contain new powers for the Secretary of State and Regional Schools Commissioners to intervene more rapidly in schools rated ‘Inadequate’ or ‘Requiring Improvement’.

Schools that are unable to achieve ‘Good’ within an acceptable timescale will be turned into academies. The legislation also contains measures to encourage councils to join together to create regional adoption agencies. The LGA will continue to make the case for schools improvement to be focused on the elements that make a good school rather than a school’s legal status, and we will also address the consequences of the adoption announcement.

Childcare Bill the Queen’s speech marked the opening of Parliament on 27 May following the general Election and set out the government’s agenda for the coming year. it outlined their proposed legislation and was the first Queen’s speech put forward by a majority Conservative government since 1996.

MPs and Peers debated the proposals each day for a week after which the house of Commons voted to pass the Queen’s speech. this confirmed that the Prime Minister can command the confidence of the house, an important constitutional requirement of a government. the speech contained a number of bills that impact on the work of local government, including:

Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill This Bill will provide the legal basis to implement the Government’s ‘northern powerhouse’, devolving powers to cities with elected ‘metro mayors’ and empower towns and counties by

building on the Growth Deals. Responding to the Bill, the LGA reiterated its support for greater devolution, but emphasised that areas need to determine the most appropriate governance and accountability model for themselves, rather than having a single model dictated by Whitehall.

Housing Bill This Bill will extend the Right to Buy to 1.3 million housing association tenants and will also allow for 200,000 starter homes available for under-40s at a 20 per cent discount. In our parliamentary briefing the LGA highlighted the problems with the current Right-to-Buy system which only allows councils to replace half or fewer of homes they have sold and emphasised the benefits that could be harnessed if local authorities are given greater powers over housing, resourcing and flexibility.

The Bill will give families where parents are working an entitlement to 30 hours a week of free childcare for three and four-year-olds for 38 weeks of the year. The LGA is supportive of the Government’s intention to make childcare more affordable. We do however have a number of questions about the aims, funding, eligibility and delivery of the additional free childcare.

Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill

Enterprise Bill

The Bill will freeze the main rates of a number of working-age benefits, tax credits and Child Benefit, and reduce the level of the benefit cap.

The legislation will replace Jobseeker’s Allowance for 18 to 21-year-olds with a Youth Allowance time-limited to six months, after which individuals will be required to undertake an apprenticeship, training or community service. The creation of further apprenticeships is important and councils are best-placed to deliver employment schemes, as evidenced by a recent report of the IPPR think tank.

This Bill reforms business rate appeals and changes regulations on procurement. Councils

Psychoactive Substances Bill This Bill will introduce a blanket ban on the sale of psychoactive substances, or ‘legal highs’, by making it an offence to produce, supply, offer, possess with intent, import or export psychoactive substances. This was welcomed by the LGA which has long argued for legal highs to be banned.

With the Cities and Local government Devolution, Childcare and Psychoactive substances bills already making their way through Parliament, there is a clear commitment to devolve powers to local government. the Cities and Local government Devolution bill, alongside the wider government agenda, presents councils and the Lga with an opportunity to influence the nature of devolution and press for even more autonomy for local government.

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www.local.gov.uk

local by-elections Authority

Ward

Result

Majority

Turnout %

Cambridgeshire

Wisbech south

CoN gaiN FroM UKiP

45.2% over UKiP

20.0

political Is any party secure when voters opt for change?

The single council by-election to report provides evidence that political parties are dependent upon its activists. While these enthusiasts help to create, build and then sustain parties by their actions they can also break them.

Peter Lagoda was one of those successful UKiP candidates that surprised many in the 2013 county council elections. this success became a crucial feature of the party’s bid to promote itself as a broad-based party, capable of mounting a challenge for parliamentary representation.

Measured in terms of votes, UKiP demonstrated on 7 May a capacity to appeal. but that support is conditional, as it is for all political parties.

When the Wisbech south county councillor was convicted of benefits fraud in 2014 his party suspended him. UKiP contested the division in 2005, finishing third. in 2009 it advanced into second before victory finally came in 2013. Now, a resounding defeat: years of building a

Professors Colin Railings (r) and Michael Thrasher (l) are Directors of Plymouth University’s Elections Centre

support base is blown away. as complex organisations, political parties require its various parts to function as one. as one part fails, the repercussions may be felt elsewhere, as the Liberal Democrats are now acutely aware. the scale of Liberal Democrat decline, and any likely recovery, is best measured by its declining local government presence.

% of councils where main parties have no councillors 40

Percentage of councils

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1982

July 2015

1989

1996

2003

2010

at its peak, in the mid-1990s, the party had majority control of 55 councils across britain and shared power in many additional “balanced” administrations. it is now reduced to majorities in just six local authorities. in 1996, the party saw its councillor numbers grow to more than five thousand, overtaking the Conservatives. inevitably, some of this ground was lost but Liberal Democrat councillors provided stubborn resistance. Even in 2010 the party still held one in five council seats. a parliament later, that fraction is closer to one in 12. a steady erosion in support following the party leadership’s decision to join the government has meant that there are now 144 councils, more than a third of the total number, without a single Liberal Democrat in the council chamber. in some of these cases, for example, adur, hastings and Waverley, the Liberal Democrats were for a time the dominant electoral force. of course, what this means is that the proportion of councillors from the two main parties is higher now than at any time over the past 25 years.

Will this pattern continue over the coming months and years? Who knows? but for sure, no party can consider its future secure when voters decide it is time for change.

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