The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent progress he has made on the localism agenda; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Williams
This Government has been clear about its intention to devolve power, responsibility and decision-making down to the lowest possible level. This vision underpins significant elements of our policy agenda which are transferring power and freedom to both local councils and communities, some of which are noted below.
Nearly 1,000 assets of community value have been listed and we have helped 150 organisations to acquire a community asset or obtain significant investment towards doing so. 16 local campaigns for new parish councils are being supported covering local populations of more than half a million people. Over 100 new Our Place areas are starting work within their communities to transform neighbourhood level service delivery. Community share issues have raised over £24 million for community ventures.
Nearly 800 neighbourhood planning areas have been designated, and all 13 plans which have so far reached referenda have passed with significant majorities in favour.
Local authorities are now required to pass a proportion of Community Infrastructure Levy funding to local communities so that they can directly see the benefit of local development.
Over 2013-15 £14 million has been made available for community groups to develop their proposals for Community Right to Build orders or to progress community-led development. Groups can develop their ideas on the development that they want and need in their areas.Applications for this funding continue to rise with around 60 applications received.
In April 2014 four new combined authorities were established, on the request of the councils concerned. These will support the councils to collaborate and work jointly across the wider functional economic areas on economic development, regeneration and transport to support economic growth in the areas of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Greater Merseyside and Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.
The Government wants local authorities to be more transparent and accountable to local people for how they spend money, deliver services and take decisions. We will shortly be publishing a revised local authority transparency code extending the breadth of data that local authorities must publish and will make regulations to make publication of certain data a legal requirement. Also, Regulations which will allow members of the public including professional journalists to film, photograph, audio-record and use social media to report the proceedings of meetings of local government bodies, and to access documents relating to decisions made by officers under delegation from their local government bodies, are now before Parliament.
Under the business rates retention scheme local authorities now directly retain nearly £11 billion of business rates, instead of returning it to Whitehall.
The Government has also reformed the outdated council housing finance system with the introduction of self-financing in 2012. This has given the 167 council landlords greater freedoms and the ability to plan for the long term to better meet the needs of their tenants and local area.
HomeSwap Direct – the national home swap scheme which increases opportunities for social tenants wishing to move through mutual exchange – was launched in October 2011 and since then tenants have made over 18 million searches of ‘partner’ data.
Social landlords are now free to match the length of tenancy to the needs of the household and to use their social housing stock in a way which best meets the needs of their local area. Councils have the freedom to decide who qualifies for social housing in their area and to find alternative solutions for those who do not qualify.
