Ministers' rhetoric on localism has displayed ambition. The government has set the bar high, and insofar as removing central burdens is concerned, the coalition's first year has been a success. Planning regulations relaxed, inspection regimes removed, ringfencing ended.
The government has done a good job when it comes to increasing councils' negative liberty - their freedom from central interference has increased in the year since the coalition came to power (although ministers still seem determined not to lose control of waste management); it is to the question of councils' positive liberty that ministers should now turn their minds. The Localism Bill is primarily focused on empowering communities – with the specific role of elected local bodies within this yet to be properly defined.
What we need to see in the coming years is ministers understanding that the agenda must comprise more than simply getting central government out of the way. The challenge for local government leaders is to give clear direction to the sector; particularly when it comes to renewing and reforming services. These need to better reflect the realities of a changing legislative, financial and governance landscape. It is this challenge on which our Commission on Next Localism is focused.
There are indications that the Localism Bill will make headway, but it would also be a mistake to view this Bill as a 'one-man-band' fighting the forces of centralism. As my NLGN colleague Charlotte Rose argued in In defence of localism, the Bill is not a panacea and more substantial freedoms for councils will be needed.
Councillors should press for the current Local Government Resource Review to substantially increase the sector's financial autonomy – there are discussions to be had around business rate localisaiton, variable local charging, financing capital investment and the viability of a local income tax. Likewise, if communities are given the right bid to take control of council services, should communities or councils not have the same right to bid for Whitehall responsibilities?
Measures within the Bill including the General Power of Competence and elected mayors have the potential to reshape local government, but at this stage – partially because of the ministerial desire for less central direction – clarity of purpose is lacking.
The fundamental task then for Next Localism is to redesign local authorities around the new financial reality and through the prism of radically changed and changing powers of local government.
There are massive challenges to be addressed around the appropriate roles for councillors and citizens, and around how elected local bodies mediate this fluid relationship to ensure a stable environment within which to experiment and innovate new policy choices. These issues go beyond the remit of the Localism Bill.
In a way, the first year might turn out to be the easiest – destroying what’s already there is inevitably easier than replacing it with something better. Spending cuts will shortly become increasingly visible and painful. This will simultaneously make it harder, yet more important, for local government to have a clear vision of its role, responsibilities, powers and of the relationship it wants with Whitehall and citizens.
The Localism Bill is a good start; the policies within it provide a space within which to operate; but there is much thinking left to do and progress left to make. Ultimately, the fate of localism will not be determined by this Bill, but by how the government continues to pursue its localist ambitions.
Nigel Keohane is head of research at the New Local Government Network. The NLGN’s ‘Commission on Next Localism’ will be launched in June
