Localism – the national picture James Kingston Department for Communities and Local Government September 2015
The Localism Act Powers for communities
Drivers of increased localism Financial and demographic pressure. Trust in institutions and politics is low People say they want more involvement – but they don’t always act on it.
Significant increases in uses of the community rights across the country Parishes well represented amongst users
Right to Challenge in practice community housing advice agency Concerned about reduction in specialist tenancy relations service Expression of interest proposed that the council contract out
Neighbourhood planning in practice Upper Eden allows single dwellings in rural areas, where the local plan would only allow them where there are at least 3 existing ones. Tattenhall, Cheshire: Limits size of new sites to 30 dwellings Thame Allocates sites chosen by local community
Right to bid – Stanwick Parish Council Stanwick Parish Council, Northamptonshire Nominated land in time to have it pulled from auction Purchased from reserves
Redesigning public services Local authorities looking for ways to redesign services and save money. Parish councils are well placed Much of this strength comes from effective engagement
Neighbourhood level services – efficiencies and better outcomes Appropriate geographic scale Smaller Economies of scale Co- design: Services produced between provider and user Economies of Scope: achieved through the ‘bundling’ of services Economies of density: Local knowledge means you can identify where need is greatest Economies of learning: You can respond quicker, experiment and take risks Economies of cost: You have lower cost base and simpler purchasing The outcome will be different for different services types. Larger
Economies of scale Economies of scale works in some circumstances – but not all, e.g. where there are knowledge gaps or where need is not uniform. There are other ways to achieve efficiencies
Co-design Better relationships means more engaged customers and greater user satisfaction with the services you provide
Economies of scope Bringing services together could mean sharing premises or staff; or enabling staff to better help clients with a range of needs
Economies of cost The parish tier cost base is lower… … and procurement is easier
Economies of learning You can be quicker to respond experimental take risks
Economies of density Local knowledge means you can identify best where need is greatest
Our Place – putting the community at the heart of decision making Our Place
Shrewsbury an Our Place programme area deliver highways, grounds maintenance; provide a commercial service Team Shrewsbury - a multi-disciplinary team tackling crime, antisocial behaviour and quality of life issues. Our Place- in action
Cost-benefit analysis a key part of Our Place programme Analyses show clear financial and other benefits from this way of working Our Place - analysis
Helping local authorities redesign services at the neighborhood level Themes include working with town and parish councils
Advice and support from your peers A range of support programmes My Community, My Community Network and community rights support
James Kingston Department for Communities and Local Government