Localism Bill unveiled

Localism Bill – Local politicians free to engage with developers as predetermination swept aside

After much discussion, a fair amount of confusion and two court cases, today saw the publication of the Localism Bill which is billed as bringing power closer to the people, no least in matters of planning. Prior to publication there had been some policy coverage in the Sunday Telegraph where an interview with Planning and Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark. Clark prefaced the announcement by stating:

“We want to move away from a system with significant elements of imposition from above, to one with participation and involvement at its heart – not just warm words, or a commitment in principle, but real opportunities for people to have a say”.

The Localism Bill sets out a radical programme of shifting power from the centralised state to local communities. The Coalition Government has identified six essential actions required to deliver centralisation and the Localism Bill provides the legislative foundation for these actions.

Action 1 – “Lift the Burden of Bureaucracy”

·         Regional strategies – The Localism Bill abolishes top-down regional targets, such as the Regional Spatial Strategies,  in devour of local decision-making and introduces simpler, focused local plans to reflect a local area’s vision.

·         The Standard Board – The Bill abolishes the Standards Board regime, allowing councils to come up with their own regimes to govern propriety and behaviour and empowering local people to hold their elected representatives to account.

·         “Predetermination” rules – The Bill sees the end of the situation where councillors are prevented from acting on local issues because of the risk of challenge that they are biased.

Action 2 – “Empower communities to do things their way”

·         General Power of Competence –The Localism Bill gives local authorities a General Power of Competence, allowing them to do anything which is not specifically prohibited by law. The intention is to free them up to innovate in response to local needs.

·         Community right to buy – The Bill gives communities powers to save local assets threatened with closure, allowing them to bid for the ownership and management of such assets.

·         Neighbourhood plans - The Bill will reform the planning system to give local people new rights to shape the development of the communities in which they live.

Action 3 – “Increase local control of public finance”

·         Council Tax referendums – The Localism Bill will end the central imposition of Council Tax caps on local government. Local residents will instead be given the power of veto over excessive increase by requiring local authorities to hold a referendum on rate increases above a certain threshold.

·         Business rate discounts – The Bill gives councils the power to grant a discount in business rates.

·         Community Infrastructure Levy – The Bill requires local authorities to allocate a proportion of Community Infrastructure Levy revenues back to the neighbourhood from which it is raised. The intention is to allow those most directly affected by development to benefit from it.

Action 4 – “Diversify the supply of public services”

·         Community right to challenge – The Localism Bill gives communities a right of challenge to run local authority services. This means that local communities will be able to get more involved in the delivery of public services, for example local bus services.

Action 5 – “Open up Government to public scrutiny”

·         Transparency on pay – The Localism Bill places a requirement on local authorities to produce annual statements setting out their policy on the remuneration of their chief officers.

Action 6 – “Strengthen accountability to local people”

·         Local referendums – The Localism Bill gives local residents the power to instigate, via a petition, local referendums on any local issue.

·         Elected Mayors - The Bill includes measures to provide for  directly elected mayors. 12 cities in England will have mayors from 2012, subject to local referendums.

What DCLG Ministers said

"The Localism Bill will herald a ground-breaking shift in power to councils and communities overturning decades of central government control and starting a new era of people power.

"It is the centrepiece of what this Government is trying to do to fundamentally shake up the balance of power in this country. For too long, everything has been controlled from the centre - and look where it's got us. Central government has kept local government on a tight leash, strangling the life out of councils in the belief that bureaucrats know best.

"By getting out of the way and letting councils and communities run their own affairs we can restore civic pride, democratic accountability and economic growth - and build a stronger, fairer Britain. It's the end of the era of big government: laying the foundations for the Big Society."

Eric Pickles

"This Bill will provide the enduring legislative foundation for a new, decentralised Britain, where power is returned to the people to which it belongs. We believe that communities should have the freedom to manage their own affairs in their way, and be empowered, not suppressed, by Government. The Bill will enact new rights allowing local people to shape and influence the places where they live, revolutionising the planning process by passing power down to those who know best about their neighbourhoods."

Greg Clark

"With housebuilding at its lowest peacetime level since 1924, the time is right for radical shake up of the entire system. The Bill will end top-down targets - in their place communities with the vision and drive to build more homes will be given the freedom to achieve their ambitions, and this will be backed up with powerful cash incentives for councils that allow new development in their area.

"With five million people languishing on social housing waiting lists, social housing is ripe for reform. Councils will now be able to manage social housing in a way that genuinely meets the needs of local people, and will be able to offer fixed tenancies that give people the helping hand they need, for as long as they need it."

Grant Shapps