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The Co-operative Council
Mark HynesDirector of Governance and Democracy
The big questions
– How can we improve public services?– What should the state be doing?– How do we deal with significant budget cuts?– How does the power of general competence
assist?
Here’s one I prepared earlier
Citizen’s Commission evidence gatheringdeliberative
Citizen’s Engagement programmequalitativequantitativecommunity driven
The Big Society
The Big Society
The Cooperative Council
The Cooperative Council
– Mutuals– Shared services– Federated services– Joint ventures with 3rd Sector– Social enterprise– Cooperation in its widest sense
The Cooperative Council
The Cooperative Council
What does the cooperative council aim to do?
• Turn citizens from passive recipients into active shapers of services
• Deliver more effective, more responsive services by giving users more control
• Strengthen civil society so it’s better able to deal with challenges
• Do things ‘with’ our communities rather than ‘to’ our communities
What are the key principles we are adopting?
• Partnership with the community• Co-production and building on what exists• Reciprocity: incentives for participating• Local employment and skills development• Maximum accessibility and equalities
• Fairness, accountability, responsibility
So what’s the connection with mutuals?
Cooperative commission didn’t recommend one type of delivery mechanism…..
….. And our vision is evolving
…..Council as a facilitative support platform
So what is it going to look like?
It is already underway……
• Personalised care budgets • School governing bodies • Community Freshview• Green community champions• Tenant Management organisations• Parent promoted school• Neighbourhood watch
What are we doing now?
• Early adopters• Locking things
together . . . Where possible
• Barriers and levers• Leadership• Reaching out for help
How are we getting on?
• On our way, but its hard• OD and cultural change programme being
co-produced• Recognition that some of this takes
time….which we haven’t got• Capitalising on the energy; acknowledging
the blockages
How are we getting on?
• Shared purpose e.g. altruistic community purpose
• Ownership in common with the community• Control – one member one vote• Stakeholders – staff, service users• Governance
How are we getting on?
Our early lessons
Where to from here?
• 2014 “deadline”• More like a 15 – 20
year cultural shift• Watching the
changes in context – anticipating the impact
The General Power of Competence –why is it needed?
Vires
• S2 LGA 2000 – well being• S111 LGA 1972 – facilitate, conducive,
incidental• LG (Contracts) Act 1996 – power to
contract for services
Limits placed on well-beingpowers by the courts
LAML
The well-being powerwas rarely used.
Eric Pickles
Localism, localism, localism
Promote the radical devolution of power awayfrom Westminster to Councils and Citizens
The General Power of Competence –why is it needed?
“The power may be used in innovative ways, that is, in doing things that are unlike anything that a local authority – or any other public body –has done before, or may currently do”
Limitations
• Subject to usual public law constraints:• Rationality• Relevant considerations• Procedural fairness• Disregard of irrelevant considerations
Limitations
• Power to charge is distinct from the power to act for a commercial purpose.
• Commercial trading must be undertaken through a trading company, i.e. where the local authority uses the general power for a commercial purpose, then this must be done through a company.
Limitations
Limitations that apply to existing powers that areoverlapped by the general power are applied tothe general power.
Restrictions in post commencement legislationwill only apply to the general power where theyare expressed to do so.
Limitations
• Can not be used to alter local authority constitutional arrangements.• Does not change position on charging for
discretionary services i.e. up to full cost recovery.
• Still no power to charge for the performance of a duty.
Questions
