Fortnightly Issue 56526 April 2014

News and views from the Local Government Association

P8 Jobs and growth

The LGA has changed its governance structure to create two new boards covering cities and non-metropolitan areas

P13Paying our way

A council-owned bonds agency would showcase local government innovation and save money

“By returning the power to create schools to councils, government could ensure school places are delivered in line with local demand and the local needs of parents and young people.”Cllr Apu Bagchi, Deputy Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, p3

P10 Doing it differentlyDistricts are sharing services and becoming more commercial

P14 ParliamentWhat will be in the next Queen’s Speech?

EDITORIAL

Local platformOn 22 May, local and European elections coincide. Voters will decide which candidates will best represent them in each of two very different platforms.

Just under 4,200 seats are up for election in 165 councils across England at a time

when local government is facing the biggest changes we have yet seen, with councils choosing through necessity to live under smaller, more commissioning roofs. 

Councils are also becoming increasingly financially independent from central government, keeping their business rates and setting up capital funding arrangements through bonds (see p13). More than ever, local government is developing a new role: leading cohesive and successful communities; balancing successful local business needs with infrastructure spend; providing enough jobs and money for the services people need; and without damaging our environment.

LGA Independent Group members collectively share and endorse a primary focus on local issues, many of course affected by European law. In debating who will best represent us in Brussels, we recently held a national debate on Europe at the LGA, see www.local.gov.uk/web/lgaindependent.

If the EU debate told us anything, it was that people increasingly want to run their own affairs, including their local governance. Voters are rejecting tribalism and over-dominance of single parties, voting instead for good local representation – something available in these elections only at council level, given the lack of any constituency mandate for our MEPs.

Given good alternatives, people are turning to Independents and the smaller parties to better represent their views. It is up to all of us to step up to the plate as first class candidates.

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

2 FIRST NEWS

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05 PolicyStreet lights and road safety

06 LettersComparing flood risks

07 OpinionTackling child poverty

08 first featureUnleashing growth and creating jobs in the regions

11 ProcurementCouncillors – leading reform

15 By-electionsThe Clegg-Farage debate factor

15 Last wordLoneliness and older people

Inside this issue

8 FIRST LGA 9FIRST LGA

Non-metropolitan areas account for about half of England’s economy. This means that their economic contribution and growth potential are just as significant for the nation as that of the cities.

ResearchThe changes to the LGA’s board

structure allow us to reflect both the metropolitan and the non-metropolitan agendas. Together, we can make the national economic cake larger so it can be more fairly shared.

World-beating multi-billion pound British businesses like JCB or Vodafone choose non-metropolitan places for their headquarters, and research and development crucial for the nation’s economic future is taking place at science parks and universities across the country.

The mix of businesses, and the challenges, in areas of less dense population are, however, different from the major urban areas, and so is the pattern of governance. Non-metropolitan areas attract skilled workers with their distinctive quality of life. The right investments in those areas can deliver significant positive returns for public money. Different challenges – both economic and administrative – need different solutions.

This is why we have set up the Independent Commission on Economic Growth and the Future of

Public Services in Non-Metropolitan England. The Commission, chaired by Sir John Peace, Chairman of Standard Chartered Plc, will review the particular strengths and challenges of non-metropolitan areas and publish its recommendations in the autumn.

Over the coming months, the LGA’s new People and Places Board will liaise with the work of the commission while undertaking its own programme of work.

ResidentsI believe the role of our new board

will be twofold. Firstly, we will consider how planning and infrastructure provision, publicly-funded skills and employment programmes, and housing might be better deployed in a non-metropolitan setting to drive growth.

Secondly, we will examine how public services, including better integrated health and care, together with greater use of joined-up public funding, might help to drive transformation and improve efficiency in services, to the benefit of residents.

Within those two aims, our priorities are:• public service reform – non-

metropolitan areas, with their particular governance arrangements, geographies and demographics, will need to find appropriate local solutions for the challenges of integrating services

and funding, and reaching a local consensus on fiscal incentives and local spending.

• housing – there is a national consensus that we need to provide more suitable, affordable homes, in a sustainable way, than the current arrangements make possible. The principal constraint is not planning or land supply but the need for councils and business to work together to unlock difficult sites and address financing problems.

• planning and infrastructure to support growth – to be successful, councils will need to work together across local authority boundaries, and engage effectively with local enterprise partnerships.

• jobs and skills – one of the great disappointments of the Heseltine Review was the failure of ministers to devolve responsibility of skills to the local level. With major welfare reforms underway and the Work Programme due to be re-let after the election, a major opportunity is coming up to improve the way we help people get into, or back to, work.

Over the coming months the board and commission will work together to develop greater clarity on the role of non-metropolitan areas in economic growth and public service transformation. More information will be available on the LGA website and via e-bulletins as our work programme develops.

Cllr David Hodge is Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board and Leader of Surrey County Council

There is a growing consensus that for our economy to succeed, cities must be driving growth.

The introduction of the new City Regions Board at the LGA to look specifically at our major urban areas recognises the changing landscape of local government, and a shift in terms of the devolution debate with the emergence of city regions.

The core cities laid down a challenge to which the LGA has responded. It is now up to city leaders to deliver.

At our first meeting earlier this month, we were clear that the challenge which lies ahead will be to build the evidence for devolution to help city regions deliver growth and public service reform.

ConsensusWe heard Cities Minister Greg Clark talk of an international

consensus for returning to our great cities many of the powers which have been steadily chipped away over the years.

The following day, Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband committed himself to supporting far greater levels of devolution.

We in local government know from experience that when national politicians talk of the need to devolve down to local areas, the reality often fails to live up to the promise. Too many spending decisions which should be made locally are still being tied up in Westminster.

Over the next year the City Regions Board has an important role to play in championing the success of our great cities while forming evidenced propositions which can be taken to national parties and implemented by cities and borough groupings.

We will be forming a clear evidence base which demonstrates the social and economic issues that will have to be addressed by future English city regions, and how devolution of funding and powers will tackle them and enhance both national and local prosperity

The tight timescales involved in influencing party manifestos for the 2015 general election and that year’s comprehensive spending review mean it is right to focus on a relatively small

The LGA has changed its governance structure to create two new boards covering cities and non-metropolitan areas. Here, Sir Richard Leese looks at the work of the new City Regions Board while (right) Cllr David Hodge sets out an agenda for the People and Places Board

number of areas in which we can make a difference. We have set out an ambitious programme prioritising work on skills and employment, international trade, public service reform and infrastructure.

EvidenceWe have also agreed to support the Royal Society of Arts’ City

Growth Commission (see www.thersa.org.uk), which is currently taking evidence across the country. But we’ll be casting our net for evidence further afield too. The board’s work will include an international challenge element, of using successful practice in other countries to make the case for change here.

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that localised approaches to public spending and public service design would deliver better outcomes and value for money.

All too often central government policies and interventions do not respond effectively to the complex issues and needs that city regions are grappling with.

Our challenge now is to root out the resistors in Whitehall and challenge them.

The test for the City Regions Board will be what we can do to make a positive difference over the next 12 months for jobs and growth.

Cllr Sir Richard Leese is Chairman of the LGA’s City Regions Board and Leader of Manchester City Council

Warning against CCTV parking ban

Road safety campaigners, schools, disability and pedestrian charities and transport groups have joined councils in warning against plans to ban CCTV parking cameras.

The Government wants to stop councils from using CCTV to tackle dangerous parking outside schools, drivers blocking bus lanes and pavement parkers posing a risk to disabled pedestrians.

The LGA believes a ban would do little to reduce the number of tickets given to drivers breaking the law but would put schoolchildren at risk and worsen road safety.

And it has reacted angrily to a Big Brother Watch report published last week which claimed that councils are using parking regulations to raise money.

Cllr Peter Box, Chair of the LGA’s Economy and Transport Board, said: “It is frustratingly familiar to hear Big Brother Watch again peddling the myth that councils are enforcing parking regulations just to raise

money. However, it is wholly inaccurate and misleading for them to claim councils are alone in warning about the dangers of banning CCTV for parking enforcement.

“CCTV camera cars are often introduced at the request of concerned teachers and parents.

“They account for just 2 per cent of total council parking income so banning them will fail to drastically reduce the number of fines issued to drivers parking illegally.

“Instead, it will make it more difficult for councils to properly tackle illegal parking around schools and stop reckless motorists parking on pavements or blocking bus lanes.”

The LGA has joined forces with the National Association of Head Teachers, Disabled Motoring UK, Living Streets, Brake, Royal National Institute for the Blind, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, Confederation of Passenger Transport UK and the Passenger Transport Executive Group to oppose a ban.

3FIRST NEWS

Nine in 10 people in England believe the power to build and maintain new schools should be returned to councils, according to an LGA survey.

It follows LGA analysis of school capacity data, which last month showed the squeeze on primary school places will soon begin to affect secondary schools.

Councils are legally responsible for making sure there are enough school places locally, and last year created 90,000 primary places, with 130,000 still needed.

But since the Academies Act 2010, all new schools have to be academies or free schools. These are accountable to the Secretary of State for Education and funded by a government quango. Councils have no say in where free schools are placed and academies cannot be compelled by councils to expand to take more pupils.

Cllr Apu Bagchi, Deputy Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People

Board, said: “This poll result reflects the trust residents have in councils. Councils have a duty to ensure there is a school place for every child and parents should know they will do everything in their power to ensure there is no child without a place.

“The challenge for local authorities is making sure places are created on time and in the right places, in a climate where some of the decision-making is now in the hands of the Government.

“Although some school places have been created by free schools, these have not always been in line with demand. Additionally, some applications have stalled, leading to uncertainty for mums and dads.

“By returning the power to create schools to councils, government could ensure school places for children of all ages can be delivered according to local demand, and in line with the local needs of parents and young people.”

Grow in Wychavon

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin (centre) was one of several MPs to mingle with local businesses at the launch of ‘Grow in Wychavon’, a book aimed at inspiring young people and tomorrow’s entrepreneurs to set up business in the district. She was served ‘Humbug’ and ‘Toffee and Waffle’ ice cream, created for the occasion by Worcestershire’s Churchfield Ice Cream, by Gus the Asparagus Man (also pictured). Cllr Paul Middlebrough, Leader of Wychavon District Council, said: “It was an inspirational and proud day for all the businesses, enabling them to promote themselves as well as the Wychavon brand”.

News in brief Health BillA new government grant for implementing the Care Bill has been welcomed by the LGA and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), but both remain concerned about the implementation and funding of the reforms. Cllr Katie Hall, Chair of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, and David Pearson, ADASS President, said: “We have argued hard for more resources to support these reforms. This grant (£23 million for 2014/15) recognises the significance of the reforms, the scale of the challenges in timescale for local authorities, and the importance of getting implementation right first time.”

Devolution pledgeA Labour government would devolve power to cities and towns to help business create more of the middle income, private sector jobs needed to overcome the cost-of-living crisis, Opposition Leader Ed Miliband has pledged. In a keynote speech in Birmingham, Mr Miliband offered a new bargain, in which cities and towns that come together with local businesses “will be given historic new powers over transport, housing, skills and economic development”. In exchange, they will need to put together stronger political governance to drive leadership over an economic area, for example via combined authorities; strengthen the role of local enterprise partnerships; and develop an economic strategy focused on creating well-paid jobs.

Legal action on publicationsCommunities Secretary Eric Pickles has written formally to five London boroughs regarding their publication of council magazines more than four times a year. Cllr Peter Fleming, Chair of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “Council magazines have proved to be the cheapest and most effective way to tell people about local services, events and issues. Councils should be free to make decisions based on what works for their communities and on feedback from residents. We would urge the Government to reform the outdated regulations which require councils to spend taxpayers’ money on expensive adverts in local newspapers.”

Return schools powers to councils

4 FIRST ADS

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LGA 130x194mm.indd 1 10/01/2014 15:49

www.local.gov.uk/annual-conference

This event is of vital importance to anyone working in, or who wishes to work with, the local government sector.

Join us and over 1400 attendees at the local government event of the year.

5

ProductivityAsset managementA programme designed to help councils save millions in running costs and create thousands of new homes and jobs through better use of assets has opened to new applicants. Local authorities accepted onto the Cabinet Office and LGA’s One Public Estate programme will receive £40,000 in initial funding and be able to take advantage of support to create economic growth, generate capital receipts, reduce running costs and deliver more integrated and customer-focused services. Cllr Peter Fleming, Chair of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “We know by examining these assets councils can not only make money but bring down running costs and use facilities more effectively.” See www.local.gov.

uk/productivity. Applications must be received 6 May.

EnvironmentWaste managementThe feasibility of a ban on landfill and/or incineration of waste are among the issues being reviewed by MPs. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee is also looking at targets for recycling household waste and whether England has the right balance of waste treatment technologies. It is inviting written submissions to its inquiry into waste management by Thursday 8 May, see www.parliament.uk/efracom

ChildrenMental health servicesThe LGA is calling for information from local authorities, schools, third sector organisations and health partners about the current

picture of child and adolescent mental health services. This will be used to identify the key issues facing local areas, draw out examples of good practice, and help inform what support is needed by the sector to improve outcomes and services. To find out more, email samantha.ramanah@local.gov.uk

WalesPublic health roleThe time is right for a major debate on how local government in Wales can adopt a much greater public health function, according to the Welsh LGA. It has welcomed the publication of a new white paper, the latest stage in Welsh Government plans to introduce a public health bill for Wales. Cllr Neil Moore, WLGA Spokesperson for Regulatory and Frontline Services, said: “Since local

government holds many of the levers for promoting wellbeing it makes sense to give local councils greater responsibility to shape and deliver the public health function in Wales.”

DevolutionTrust in councilsOver a third of people living in England think that local authorities should be given more powers, according to think tank IPPR North’s latest Future of England Survey. It shows that 39 per cent think that local authorities should have more powers, compared to just 14 per cent who think they should have fewer. Support for greater powers is particularly strong in the North East and North West. Ed Cox, Director of IPPR North, said: “Local identities are important and, alongside the rise in Englishness, we are also witnessing an even stronger attachment to local places. People feel more able to influence decision-making locally than they do at the national level and so giving more powers to local areas would appear to be an important way in which people can reinvigorate local democracy.” See www.ippr.org

EnvironmentCommunity energy powersThe National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has called for new powers for parish and town councils to be able to sell electricity produced locally. NALC Chair Cllr Ken Browse said: “NALC believes community-led action, via parish and town councils, can often tackle challenging issues around energy, with community groups and the most local of councils well placed to understand their local areas and to bring people together with common purpose.” NALC is also seeking confirmation of parishes’ power to trade under the general power of competence.

Community safety

Street lightsClaims that road casualties in areas where street lights have been turned off have risen by 20 per cent in four years have been challenged by the LGA. A spokesman said: “Improving road safety and reducing the number of people killed or injured on our roads is a key priority for councils. Police and communities are always consulted before street lighting is reduced or dimmed and if councils were presented with evidence it was causing a public safety risk they would act. However, this data fails to provide that evidence and it is completely misleading to suggest it tells us anything about the cause of accidents. Detailed academic research is underway which will help councils take decisions about where or when to turn out lights.”

firstpolicy

FIRST POLICY

6 FIRST COMMENT

Cllr Julian Ellacott (Con, Reigate and Banstead)“Couldn’t resist a #cllrselfie after trying for so long to get Linkfield Lane resurfaced - well done @BramhallNatalie pic.twitter.com/W7l6tHSKhC.”www.twitter.com/Cllr_Julian

Kerry Murray, Waste Research Officer, West Sussex“Recycling bin full to the brim of squashed Easter Egg cardboard and foil rolled up as requested @WSCCNews @ViridorUK pic.twitter.com/EQlGeLYc8n.”www.twitter.com/commswizard

Workers’ Educational Association“Across UK, 17% of people have not registered to vote. Amongst 19-24 year olds, 44% have not registered to vote. #WEAWhyVote @HenryBTam.”www.twitter.com/WEAadulted

Cllr Richard Kemp CBE 3(Lib Dem, Liverpool)“In Praise of Local Councillors! http://wp.me/p11q79-iT.”www.twitter.com/cllrkemp

Medway Council“Now he has time on his hands, David Moyes might want to check out this year’s Medway Festival of Sport http://ow.ly/w1fgA.”www.twitter.com/medway_council

sound bites

Many seem to hold local planning authorities (LPAs) responsible for permitting development on flood plains, whereas in fact they rely on the Environment Agency (EA) to determine the flood risk.

Planning inspectors will ask at appeal if the EA has raised any objection to a planning application. If the answer is no, then the LPA that has refused the application based on perceived flood risk would most likely have to pay costs and the development would be permitted.

It is therefore interesting to compare risk data from insurers with those of the EA. For example, the EA’s website for sites around Water Lane (RH20 3N) indicates a low risk,

whereas local residents advise that they cannot get insurance against flooding.  

So, we might well ask why the EA’s data is inconsistent with that of insurers; why residents affected by run-off don’t claim compensation from the EA; and why people buy houses where flooding insurance is not available and then, in some cases, expect public money to be used to counter the flood risk?

Now that the Prime Minister has said that money is no object in that context, those buyers can perhaps relax!

Cllr Roger Arthur (UKIP) Horsham District Council

STAR LETTER

Assessing flood risk

letters

Do you have a blog or a Twitter account we should be following? Let us know. Email first@local.gov.uk

7FIRST COMMENT

OPINION

Child poverty

Alison Garnham is Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, see www.cpag.org.uk

Dementia awarenessIn response to Sir Merrick Cockell

(first 563), I am delighted to advise that Breckland District Council is in the process of becoming a Dementia Friendly Council. On the back of local towns becoming Dementia Friendly Communities, the council offices have had a dementia friendly audit by Age UK, and officers and members are being offered training, starting with the public facing staff such as reception and benefits officers. The Breckland Older People’s Forum is also involved, with events across the district focusing on dementia, later years and end of life care.

Cllr Lynda Turner (Con) Breckland District Council

Budget issuesI do respect Sir Merrick, our LGA

Chairman, but is he living in the real world? Does he seriously believe that [despite funding cuts] “nonetheless councils continue to be innovative in identifying ways to make efficiencies” (first 562), and that we can continue to be more innovative?

The reason I pose the question is that our staff, through their representatives, are saying clearly that enough is enough and that a line in the sand has to be drawn on the cuts. I ask Sir Merrick, are we due a line in the sand? Or is there more ‘innovation’ required to ride the waves of more council cuts?

Cllr George Robert Dunning (Lab) Redcar & Cleveland Council

Climate changeCllr Tony Sutcliffe writes that

climate change is a “new religion” (first 562) and describes the wet and stormy winter we have endured as just “different kinds of weather”.

These UKIP views are very much the currency of the internet-fuelled climate sceptic community. It latches on to any information viewed as supporting ‘the cause’ – and

equally tries to trash anything seen as backing the science of climate change. The irony is that this displays characteristics of a quasi-religious belief system.

As to the facts, peer reviewed scientific papers were published decades before UKIP even existed pointing to the likely rise in global temperatures if levels of greenhouse gases rose substantially.  

For the winter just ended, new records were set for rainfall in Scotland, Wales and the UK (data series goes back to 1910). It was also a record wet winter in the long England and Wales precipitation series which goes back to 1766.

The record rainfall that led to misery for thousands of people who were flooded out of their homes was also accompanied by an unusually high frequency of major storms, causing widespread damage along parts of the coastline.

Such a winter is entirely consistent with the science of climate change. So do we rely on politicians who ‘believe’ it isn’t happening, some of whom are on record as saying they would ban the teaching of climate change in our schools?

Or do we take the science seriously, set targets to reduce emissions, invest in low carbon energy and work to mitigate against the impacts? It’s a bit of a no-brainer.

Cllr James Abbott (Green) Essex County Council

Unitary savingsIf Eric Pickles is serious about

councils saving money, there is an easy way forward. Creating unitaries would abolish counties and districts, thereby reducing duplication, releasing a considerable number of buildings for sale, and reducing the number of councillors. It is easy to do, so why not do it straight away, saving taxpayers a great deal of money?

Cllr Tom Mason (Con) Medway Council

‘When it comes to child poverty, sorry but you’re on your own.’ 

That’s the message many councillors may have got from reading the Government’s consultation paper on the 2014-17 national child poverty strategy, or from listening to the Chancellor’s Budget last month.  

Both contained little in the way of policies (with the honourable exception of universal free school meals and childcare help for low income families) that are new or likely to make even a dent in the sharp rises in child poverty the Institute for Fiscal Studies projects for 2015 and 2020. 

Councillors therefore should prepare for higher child poverty rates and the consequences this will have on the local economy and local services, including schools, children’s services and the NHS. Loughborough University estimates the current cost of child poverty to be £29 billion a year – more if child poverty rises.

It’s undoubtedly a bleak outlook, but while the sense of a looming crisis was palpable when we spoke to councillors and officials to develop CPAG’s free toolkit for local authorities (see www.cpag.org.uk/cpla/toolkit), it has galvanised many councils into taking action.

We’re seeing local authorities putting in place policies aimed at helping them meet their statutory duties to tackle child poverty. Birmingham City Council has shielded low income families with young children from paying council tax, while in Bristol all low income households that previously had full council tax benefit still do. Crawley Council has signed up to be a living wage employer and is asking local businesses to sign up.

Anti-poverty policies are backed by the public, too. For example, polling commissioned by the London Child Poverty Alliance found that the main issues Londoners want councillors to take action on are affordable housing, low pay, flexible working and protecting the poorest residents from increases in council tax payments.

Local authorities have been given something akin to a hospital pass by the unprecedented pace and scale of benefit cuts hitting the poorest families. What councils do in response will decide who gets protection and, for better or worse, will have far-reaching and long-lasting repercussions for their communities.

letters

What do you think? You can comment on these letters online at www.local.gov.uk/first-letters or submit your own letter for publication by emailing first@local.gov.uk. Letters may be edited and published online

8 FIRST LGA

There is a growing consensus that for our economy to succeed, cities must be driving growth.

The introduction of the new City Regions Board at the LGA to look specifically at our major urban areas recognises the changing landscape of local government, and a shift in terms of the devolution debate with the emergence of city regions.

The core cities laid down a challenge to which the LGA has responded. It is now up to city leaders to deliver.

At our first meeting earlier this month, we were clear that the challenge which lies ahead will be to build the evidence for devolution to help city regions deliver growth and public service reform.

ConsensusWe heard Cities Minister Greg Clark talk of an international

consensus for returning to our great cities many of the powers which have been steadily chipped away over the years.

The following day, Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband committed himself to supporting far greater levels of devolution.

We in local government know from experience that when national politicians talk of the need to devolve down to local areas, the reality often fails to live up to the promise. Too many spending decisions which should be made locally are still being tied up in Westminster.

Over the next year the City Regions Board has an important role to play in championing the success of our great cities while forming evidenced propositions which can be taken to national parties and implemented by cities and borough groupings.

We will be forming a clear evidence base which demonstrates the social and economic issues that will have to be addressed by future English city regions, and how devolution of funding and powers will tackle them and enhance both national and local prosperity

The tight timescales involved in influencing party manifestos for the 2015 general election and that year’s comprehensive spending review mean it is right to focus on a relatively small

The LGA has changed its governance structure to create two new boards covering cities and non-metropolitan areas. Here, Sir Richard Leese looks at the work of the new City Regions Board while (right) Cllr David Hodge sets out an agenda for the People and Places Board

number of areas in which we can make a difference. We have set out an ambitious programme prioritising work on skills and employment, international trade, public service reform and infrastructure.

EvidenceWe have also agreed to support the Royal Society of Arts’ City

Growth Commission (see www.thersa.org.uk), which is currently taking evidence across the country. But we’ll be casting our net for evidence further afield too. The board’s work will include an international challenge element, of using successful practice in other countries to make the case for change here.

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that localised approaches to public spending and public service design would deliver better outcomes and value for money.

All too often central government policies and interventions do not respond effectively to the complex issues and needs that city regions are grappling with.

Our challenge now is to root out the resistors in Whitehall and challenge them.

The test for the City Regions Board will be what we can do to make a positive difference over the next 12 months for jobs and growth.

Cllr Sir Richard Leese is Chairman of the LGA’s City Regions Board and Leader of Manchester City Council

9FIRST LGA

Non-metropolitan areas account for about half of England’s economy. This means that their economic contribution and growth potential are just as significant for the nation as that of the cities.

ResearchThe changes to the LGA’s board

structure allow us to reflect both the metropolitan and the non-metropolitan agendas. Together, we can make the national economic cake larger so it can be more fairly shared.

World-beating multi-billion pound British businesses like JCB or Vodafone choose non-metropolitan places for their headquarters, and research and development crucial for the nation’s economic future is taking place at science parks and universities across the country.

The mix of businesses, and the challenges, in areas of less dense population are, however, different from the major urban areas, and so is the pattern of governance. Non-metropolitan areas attract skilled workers with their distinctive quality of life. The right investments in those areas can deliver significant positive returns for public money. Different challenges – both economic and administrative – need different solutions.

This is why we have set up the Independent Commission on Economic Growth and the Future of

Public Services in Non-Metropolitan England. The Commission, chaired by Sir John Peace, Chairman of Standard Chartered Plc, will review the particular strengths and challenges of non-metropolitan areas and publish its recommendations in the autumn.

Over the coming months, the LGA’s new People and Places Board will liaise with the work of the commission while undertaking its own programme of work.

ResidentsI believe the role of our new board

will be twofold. Firstly, we will consider how planning and infrastructure provision, publicly-funded skills and employment programmes, and housing might be better deployed in a non-metropolitan setting to drive growth.

Secondly, we will examine how public services, including better integrated health and care, together with greater use of joined-up public funding, might help to drive transformation and improve efficiency in services, to the benefit of residents.

Within those two aims, our priorities are:• public service reform – non-

metropolitan areas, with their particular governance arrangements, geographies and demographics, will need to find appropriate local solutions for the challenges of integrating services

and funding, and reaching a local consensus on fiscal incentives and local spending.

• housing – there is a national consensus that we need to provide more suitable, affordable homes, in a sustainable way, than the current arrangements make possible. The principal constraint is not planning or land supply but the need for councils and business to work together to unlock difficult sites and address financing problems.

• planning and infrastructure to support growth – to be successful, councils will need to work together across local authority boundaries, and engage effectively with local enterprise partnerships.

• jobs and skills – one of the great disappointments of the Heseltine Review was the failure of ministers to devolve responsibility of skills to the local level. With major welfare reforms underway and the Work Programme due to be re-let after the election, a major opportunity is coming up to improve the way we help people get into, or back to, work.

Over the coming months the board and commission will work together to develop greater clarity on the role of non-metropolitan areas in economic growth and public service transformation. More information will be available on the LGA website and via e-bulletins as our work programme develops.

Cllr David Hodge is Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board and Leader of Surrey County Council

10 FIRST FEATURE

The need to redesign services to meet the needs of our communities while managing decreasing budgets is something district councils have not shied away from.

DeliveryRecent analysis by the District Councils’

Network found that district councils are involved in 688 shared services, an average of three each. These involve everything from shared management and legal or audit partnerships, to kennelling of stray dogs.

Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils have come together as a single delivery organisation but retain the sovereignty of two councils. Net

annual revenue savings of 9 per cent have been achieved, together with a focus on a

leadership culture that empowers staff to try new ways of working and work

confidently with external partners. To improve services for business

as well as making efficiencies, the six district councils in Worcestershire and the county council have been operating as a single shared service for environmental health, licensing

and trading standards since 2010. Worcestershire Regulatory Services

continues to deliver significant efficiencies and cost savings, with

customer satisfaction at over 90 per cent. The focus is on providing regulatory services

in a more joined-up way, and encouraging people to seek information and advice through its website.

PartnersDistrict councils are already excellent at being

efficient, making savings, and joining up services with partners in local areas to deliver for residents. The latest statistics for the Troubled Families programme show that district councils have helped turn around 5,312 families, by working in partnership with schools, Jobcentre Plus, voluntary and community organisations, county councils and social services.

Districts are also looking at ways to become more commercial, to raise more income to protect

District councils are sharing services, becoming more commercial and working their assets, writes Cllr Tony Jackson

services from funding cuts. Rushcliffe Borough Council has generated nearly £700,000 from a new approach to green waste involving more efficient collection routes, using apprentices rather than agency staff for new jobs, and fines for graffiti and fly tipping. The council also charges for a green waste collection from homes.

HousingWest Lindsay District Council is focusing

on bringing empty homes back into use in Gainsborough where, in early 2012, more than 10 per cent of the private housing stock was classed as empty. The council has secured funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government and will purchase some homes and renovate them, before selling or leasing them. The council can also lease homes from the owner, renovate them, and then lease them to new tenants, paying the home owner a small lease payment but with the majority of rental income returning to the council to recoup the renovation costs. The council hopes to rejuvenate the local area as well as provide more homes for people locally.

Finally, districts are actively reviewing their assets to make sure they are getting the best possible value from them. Some councils are investing in commercial property, such as Maidstone Borough Council, which offers affordable rental space in incubator units to start-up businesses and businesses moving from home-based operations. Not only does this boost economic growth and support businesses, it provides a rental income for the council as well.

District councils are positive about the future and are seeking creative and innovative ways to become more financially independent from central government. We continually seek to make further efficiencies and develop new approaches to delivering services that have our residents and businesses at their centre.

Cllr Tony Jackson (Con) is the District Councils’ Network Lead for New Ways of Working and Leader of East Herts District Council

11FIRST FEATURE

Councillors should be spearheading procurement reform in local authorities, writes Cllr Shirley Flint

Cllr Shirley Flint is Deputy Chair of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board

Local government spends around £45 billion – over a quarter of its annual expenditure – on procuring goods and services from third parties.

Councils have long recognised the importance that procurement can play in ensuring value for money. This is particularly important when the sector is dealing with a 42 per cent reduction in funding across this Parliament.

But according to MPs, there is still room for improvement.

LeadershipA recent report from the

Communities and Local Government Select Committee estimated councils could save millions of pounds a year, by collaborating more with each other when buying goods and services.

And councillors – not just cabinet members – should be leading this improvement because “achieving change requires procurement to be seen not as a niche activity for specialists, rather as the essential activity under-pinning service delivery”, according to the committee.

Among other things, it recommends councils should produce an annual procurement report; identify a lead cabinet member and senior officer responsible for ensuring procurement is as efficient as possible; and ensure frontline councillors have a “clearly identified role” in reviewing and scrutinising procurement.

We all know that local government procurement is not always straightforward as there are often competing demands and pressures, from rising demand and reducing funding to trying to drive local economic regeneration and being answerable to our local residents and communities.

We need to be able to respond to local circumstances which may

not be the same in other councils or recognised as a national priority. The select committee report helpfully champions the right of local government to procure to deliver local strategic priorities, including social, economic and environmental objectives, by letting contracts locally on the basis of wider best value – not simply lowest price.

Councillors have a key role in championing procurement excellence within their authorities. They play a key leadership role in both executive and scrutiny capacities and are in a pivotal position to ensure that, among other things, procurement and contract management continue to deliver savings and support the local economy including small firms and voluntary organisations.

Social valueAnd there’s a lot of good

practice out there. For example, Birmingham City Council has focused on increasing the social value that commissioning and procurement can deliver to local people and businesses. Its policies support the local economy and third sector, help deal with climate change, and create local training and job opportunities.

My own council, North Kesteven, is part of a shared service partnership of eight local authorities, called Procurement Lincolnshire. Together, the partner authorities spend in

excess of £590 million a year on procuring goods, services and works, and we have a duty to make sure that this spending represents value for money.

By working together, Procurement Lincolnshire and its partner authorities seek to deliver year on year efficiencies (but not at the cost of quality) while developing and embracing socially responsible procurement, engaging with local and regional suppliers to promote the local economy, and taking account of the social and environmental impact of spending decisions.

The select committee has set out the challenge; it is now for councils to respond. Councillors must advocate a strategic approach to procurement within their authorities, recognising and realising the benefits of cost savings and improved social value.

• The LGA has published ‘A councillor’s guide to procurement’, see http://is.gd/ZHVoC5. It is also consulting on a national procurement strategy for local government that will be launched at the LGA’s annual conference in July – email tina.holland@local.gov.uk for further information

Collective energy switchingFind out more about our switching framework to help you reduce energy bills for your residents and SMEs.

To nominate your council please email: productivity@local.gov.uk

Residents and SMEs signed up to council run collective switching schemes

300,000

To keep up-to-date with available support make sure you’re signed up to our regular improvement and innovation bulletin. You can also visit our website for more information about all of our productivity schemes:

www.local.gov.uk/productivity

Improving your productivityThe Local Government Association (LGA) is supporting councils to become more productive and efficient. If your council is not already involved in one of our programmes, get in touch as you could be missing out on some dramatic results.

Productivity expertsSo far over 50 councils have been given the funds to enable them to engage an expert in their field. For example, an investment of £10,000 has seen Allerdale Borough Council save £2.5 million through renegotiating their biggest contracts.

Shared servicesTake a look at our interactive map to find out more about the 386 shared service arrangements that are already in place, together saving £357 million per annum.

Commissioning AcademyRun jointly with the Cabinet Office over 100 senior commissioners from councils have so far enjoyed £2,500 free tuition each.

13FIRST FEATURE

A council-owned bonds agency would showcase local government ambition and innovation – and save money, writes Carolyn Downs

Establishing greater financial independence for local government is vital to us being able to meet many of the challenges we’ll face over the coming years.

Politicians of all parties pay great lip service to localism but all too often the bold rhetoric of national politicians has failed to translate into the genuine devolution of funding and powers from Whitehall that we urgently need.

It was good to hear Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband earlier this month endorsing the principle of devolution. We in local government know that for devolution to happen, we need to drive it, and where opportunities present themselves, we need to seize them.

Last year, as part of our Rewiring Public Services campaign, we set out ambitious plans for a local government municipal bonds agency. The introduction of a council-owned competitor into the lending market can be a great showcase for the huge ambition within local government to innovate, set the agenda and demonstrate the very real benefits of local independence.

It could also save councils a lot of money.At the moment, the Treasury’s Public Works Loan Board

accounts for three-quarters of all council borrowing. It borrows from the capital markets – through government gilts – and lends on to councils at a mark-up which changes at the Treasury’s whim.

By ending its monopoly over council borrowing, we could save the local government purse more than £1 billion while creating a new and better way to raise money to invest in infrastructure like homes, roads and business hubs.

Every type of council from across the country has expressed enthusiasm for the bonds project and an appetite to use the agency. We also know that the markets are keen to invest in these bonds.

So last month, we published a revised business case and decided to move forward from proposals to a set-up plan.

We are now recruiting council backers. By the time of the LGA’s annual conference in July, we hope to have enough buy-in to be able to confirm that we can proceed towards the agency’s launch. By the start of the next financial year we aim to have issued the first bond.

If we really want a truly independent local government we must show ambition, tackle our problems head-on and seize the opportunities we have. With this small but significant first step into the bonds market we have the potential to start a momentous shift towards financial independence.

• The LGA has commited £500,000 to the mobilisation phase of the programme and is now looking for matched contributions from councils totalling £400,000 by July. For more information contact aidan.brady@local.gov.uk

Carolyn Downs is Chief Executive of the LGA

14 FIRST POLITICAL

PARTNERS

Help with school meals

PARLIAMENT

Queen’s SpeechWe are less than two months away from all the pageantry, pomp and ceremony of this year’s Queen’s Speech, due on the 4 June.

Aside from being a display of regal splendour, the Queen’s Speech is constitutionally important as it officially opens the next session of Parliament. It is the ceremony during which the monarch brings forward the new parliamentary session by announcing the Government’s proposed legislation and programme of work.

The 2014/15 parliamentary session, the last before the next general election, is another important opportunity for local government to make its case to Parliament. At the LGA we are expecting a raft of new legislation, potentially including a local government ombudsman bill, parking and children’s bills, and legislation to change the way pensions are managed.

In addition to these new proposals, existing bills, such as the Deregulation Bill, will be carried over from the current parliamentary session.

The Deregulation Bill, which will almost definitely form part of the Government’s parliamentary programme, is a high priority for the LGA. The Bill is being positioned by Whitehall as the “latest step in the Government’s ongoing drive to remove unnecessary bureaucracy”.

We are arguing that the Bill could go further in removing red tape that currently limits the work of local government in supporting economic growth and building the housing our nation desperately needs. That is why the LGA is calling for new clauses on right to buy, lifting the housing borrowing cap and reviewing unnecessary licensing.

Legislation on parking, children and pensions are all expected. Of these, parking and child care costs remain particularly high profile concerns to the electorate.

We anticipate that the Government will introduce legislation to remove the ability of councils to enforce parking restrictions through the use of CCTV. Road safety campaigners, schools, disability and pedestrian charities and the LGA

have all warned the Government that banning CCTV parking enforcement will put school children and disabled pedestrians at risk and worsen road safety.

Alongside this, the Government is likely to introduce measures to tackle the cost of childcare through a tax-free childcare scheme. Any new measures to help parents meet the rising cost of childcare are of course very welcome to hard-pressed families. There have also been reports that the Government is looking to criminalise emotional abuse to children, which could form part of the same bill.

Most political analysts expect less legislation in Parliament this year as Westminster prepares for the forthcoming election contest. While it may be true that there will be fewer bills going through Parliament, it is still a vitally important year as local government works with Parliament to ensure that any new legislation gives councils greater freedom to pursue the policies which are important to their residents.

• See www.local.gov.uk/parliament

A new project for junior, secondary and special educational needs schools and academy trusts has launched to help increase take-up of school meals by those who need them most.

The project, led by the Children’s Food Trust and its partner organisations, is available to local authorities in the South East, South West and East of England as part of the Government’s school food plan.

The project includes a series of ‘train the trainer’ courses which will give local authority and academy trust staff the expertise to deliver the Children’s Food Trust’s Small Step improvement programme to eligible secondary schools, and the Food Dudes’ dining room experience to eligible junior schools.

For secondary schools, there is also a tried and tested package of training to help them deliver an effective marketing programme to ensure their menus and dining facilities appeal to the pupils using them. The course is delivered by leading experts in school food, Elygra Marketing Services.

Often schools just need a little bit of help to make a big difference, and with their expertise local authority staff are the best people to deliver this support. Whether it’s improving the catering services, the dining rooms experience or how pupils perceive the meals, this project will give local authorities and schools the ability to get more children eating school meals.

Local authorities and academy trusts can find out more and get in touch with regards to the project by visiting www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/increasetakeup, by emailing increase.takeup@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk or calling 0114 299 6930.

The Children’s Food Trust can also provide tailored, expert advice on rolling out free school meals to all infant pupils in England by September – a huge challenge for many schools. For more information, see www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/schoolfoodplan.

Linda Cregan is Chief Executive of the Children’s Food Trust

15FIRST POLITICAL

The first Nick Clegg/ Nigel Farage debate on Britain’s future in Europe took place earlier this month.

Media commentary and subsequent polling suggests that Farage edged both this and the second encounter the week following. Has Clegg’s gamble in debating with UKIP’s leader affected the parties’ standing among local voters?

The by-election result in Pendle captures the pre-debate position. Both parties stood candidates, having ignored the previous contest, although the Liberal Democrats had contested the ward since its inception in 2002 before withdrawing in 2011. The result – Liberal Democrats finishing behind UKIP – reflects the tide of current electoral opinion.

And after the debate? Further evidence that UKIP has become the haven of choice for voters frustrated with three-party politics.

In the Coal Ashton ward of North East Derbyshire, there was yet another by-election without a Liberal Democrat standing and with almost one in five of those voting supporting UKIP. If Clegg’s acceptance of a national debate was designed to galvanise his party then we should see more candidates standing in future.

Two contests in Labour-held territory may also provide clues about patterns of voting in May. In Flintshire, UKIP leapt to second spot courtesy of the again absent Liberal Democrats and a collapse in Labour support.

And UKIP’s John Stanyer contributed to an even larger decline in Labour’s vote in Cumbria.

A number of conclusions were

made after the 2009 European Parliament election. The rise of UKIP would hurt the Conservatives most but it was unlikely that an avowedly anti-European party would have much traction at local government level. Furthermore, the promise of an in/out referendum would see support for UKIP erode.

While UKIP has captured mostly Conservative-held territory, the evidence shows that it is also attracting votes in Labour areas. UKIP is averaging 17 per cent vote share in Conservative-held council by-election seats but just a percentage point lower in Labour-controlled wards.

Last May, UKIP shocked the Conservatives by successfully converting votes into seats across shire counties in eastern and southern England.

Labour will not lose seats in the same way. But when its expected windfall of votes from former Liberal Democrats fails to materialise the party will struggle to convince that it is on course for a general election victory.

In the one remaining result, the Conservatives retained their seat on Vale of White Horse despite the former councillor, John Morgan, being imprisoned for theft. The party’s new councillor, Julia Reynolds, won the ward in 2007 but fought then under Liberal Democrat colours.

BY-ELECTIONS ANALYSIS

Frustrated votersLAST WORD

Lonely lives

Cllr Shelagh Marshall (Con) is Older Person’s Champion at North Yorkshire County Council and Chair of Age Action Alliance’s Isolation and Loneliness Working Group

The Campaign to End Loneliness (www.campaigntoendloneliness.org) is a coalition of organisations and individuals, working together to combat loneliness and inspire individuals to keep connected in older age.

I would like to focus on loneliness and why we should all be aware of the detrimental effects on the health of those who are lonely.

Surveys have shown that many people are living out the later years of their lives feeling lonely. Loneliness is about social participation and young people may also feel the effects.

However, the effects on our health in later years can be as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and the latest research has concluded that the effects are twice as bad as the effects of obesity.

Should we change the priorities of local government’s emerging public health strategies – putting loneliness higher than obesity as our major challenge?

We shouldn’t choose the option based on the fact that it’s easier to identify obesity, loneliness being unseen. Imagine sitting in one chair all day and the only person you see is the carer who may come in two or three times a day.

Loneliness is associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, poor sleep and dementia. I was recently asked how many people have died from loneliness. But it isn’t the loneliness which kills, it’s the effects.

Risk factors in later years are retirement, bereavement, hearing or sight loss, declining mobility, and lower incomes: all contribute to isolation and loneliness.

There is a growing awareness that some older people who attend their GP surgeries are describing symptoms which subsequently are medically unproven. The lack of connecting with people is the cause. People living alone are very vulnerable to their thoughts.

Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups are in the best place to tackle this unseen epidemic.

The integration of health and social care, the absorption of public health into local authorities, and the soon to be published ‘Preventative strategies’ all offer the best chances to tackle the growing numbers of lonely older people living in our communities.

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

Authority Ward Result Swing % from/to (since)

Turnout %

Cumbria Belle Vue LAB HOLD 10.8% Lab to Con (2013)

25.8

Flintshire Flint Trelawny LAB HOLD n/a 33.0

North East Derbyshire

Coal Aston CON HOLD 1.4% Con to Lab 2011

40.4

Pendle Blacko & Higherford CON HOLD 2% Con to Lab (2011)

38.3

Vale of White Horse

Wantage Charlton CON HOLD 3.9% Con to LD (2011)

25.2

Local by-elections

For more details, see this story at www.local.gov.uk/first-news

Event listings

Councils are already dealing with a 43 per cent cut in funding from central government. This has led to reductions in local services and local government is currently facing a funding gap of around £15 billion by 2019/20. Entrepreneurialism is a fast-growing response to local government’s challenging financial circumstances and a way to offset cuts to protect services.

A large number of councils are now thinking through a more commercial approach to their activities – and being councils, that also means ensuring better outcomes for their citizens.

Rather than increasing fees and parking charges, many councils are using their assets, trading services with others across the public and private sector and selling commodities to generate income.

Identifying opportunities that are significant in scale and have a clear fit with councils’ corporate plans is essential.

So the LGA, with regional partners and The Whitehall and Industry Group, has organised two workshops on ‘Innovations in income generation for local authorities’ – one in Manchester on 5 June, the other in Bristol on 19 June (see www.local.gov.uk/events).

Both events will feature a panel of experts from the public, private and voluntary sector including Capita, BDO, Northgate and Catch-22, discussing how cross-sector partnerships can help councils generate income. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and contribute your observations during round table discussions, and to share learning during a networking lunch.

The speakers include Cllr Shirley Flint, Deputy Chair of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board; Eric Robinson, Deputy Chief Executive of Staffordshire County Council; and LGA Chief Executive Carolyn Downs.

EVENT FEATURE

Income generation for local authorities

EVENT NEWS

Community safetyThe Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 places a duty on councils and their partners to implement a ‘community trigger’.

The trigger is designed to ensure a better response from local partners to cases of persistent anti-social behaviour, especially where the victim is vulnerable or at greater risk. It gives victims and communities the

right to demand action to deal with anti-social behaviour.

Three free LGA workshops (York, 4 June; London, 27 June; Birmingham, 16 July) will give delegates the opportunity to hear from the four areas that piloted community triggers and others that are already implementing them. To book, go to www.local.gov.uk/events

Integration, inclusion and acquiring talent12 May, LondonAn interactive half-day focusing on the many challenges involved in developing truly integrated public sector workforces.

Our Place: introduction to cost benefit analysis11 June, Bristol17 June, YorkThese workshops are aimed at areas involved in Our Place, which is encouraging very local collaborations between citizens, councils and other organisations to generate new solutions to the biggest local challenges.

Achieving local outcomes through heritage and the historic environment11 June, BirminghamThis free event is designed to enable portfolio holders responsible for heritage, and heritage champions, to better advocate for the contribution heritage can make to council priorities. It will involve sharing the latest good practice and considering the skills required to influence more effectively within councils facing difficult budget decisions.

Schools’ workforce policy and employment law conference18 June, York23 June, LondonOne-day conferences providing information and perspectives on the latest changes to teachers’ pay and conditions, including the new arrangements for heads’ and other school leaders’ pay.

Book or view events at www.local.gov.uk/events

www.local.gov.uk/events