21 November 2008
By Paul Dicken The Local Government Association has rejected suggestions that local authorities are not doing enough to support communities. Speaking at a County Councils Network conference on November 17, local government minister John Healey said councils were not making enough use of their ‘wellbeing power’. This was introduced in 2000 to enable them to act in the interests of their community. Healey said: ‘The wellbeing power could be used to tackle some of the very real problems faced by communities during this economic downturn. Some councils have shown the way, using it to drive investment in their area, get local people into jobs or make savings by delivering more efficient services. ‘I’m determined that more of them see this potential.’ The Department for Communities and Local Government has published two reports on the use of the wellbeing power, flagging up examples of the one in 12 councils that uses it. Nottinghamshire County Council used the power to create a non-profit renewable energy company, while Greenwich Council in south London formed an employment agency to support an existing community training agency. A spokesman for the LGA told Public Finance that it ‘would utterly refute any suggestion whatsoever that local authorities aren’t doing absolutely everything they can to help business and people through tough economic times’. He said the government’s emphasis on economic policy at a national and regional level was misguided and called on ministers to implement the Sub-National Review, which gives local authorities a greater economic role. This comes as research carried out for the LGA by Public and Corporate Economic Consultants into the impact of recession on individual areas was published. This showed that London was likely to be the hardest hit region, with the Southwest the least affected. Cities such as Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester were also predicted to do better than the capital. The research did warn, however, that ‘very strong variations in performance are likely within individual regions’. The report, From recession to recovery: the local dimension, said: ‘National and regional policies cannot... target fully the areas which are most likely to be affected by the slowdown. Decisions about economic interventions need to be taken at the level of the functional economic area.’
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