News analysis Sceptics wary of draft Bills half measures

20 Jun 02
There may have been relief when the draft Local Government Bill published with requisite fanfare by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott last week finally emerged.

21 June 2002

But it was tempered with a deep undercurrent of suspicion that the final Bill may be no more than a sop to councils' ambitions.

Local government leaders allowed themselves a nod of approval when the government at last gave tangible evidence of moving towards implementing the reforms outlined in December's white paper, Strong local leadership, quality local services.

But it was swiftly followed by a resurgence of fears that Whitehall may regard the proposals as the last word on local government reform: a few changes prior to sidelining local authorities and banishing them to obscurity.

Many in the sector have occupied themselves in recent weeks by scrutinising ministers' pronouncements – trying to divine their true intentions.

The upbeat assessment is that the draft Bill, unveiled on June 12, heralds a new era of freedom from central control that will allow councils more flexibility in how they provide services.

This view was boosted hours after the draft Bill's publication when local government minister Nick Raynsford promised CIPFA's annual conference that there would be 'no backsliding' on implementing the white paper's proposals.

But sceptics say the reforms amount to mere tinkering at the edges. They insist that a much more ambitious programme – involving fiscal autonomy and freedom to decide local service priorities – is needed.

Subscribers to such a viewpoint see the draft Bill as a ploy that allows ministers to argue they are acting on councils' concerns and are making progress towards implementing reforms, without committing themselves to a definite timetable.

The refusal to indicate when a Bill will be introduced to the Commons, beyond the 'when-Parliamentary-time-allows' formulation, adds credence to this school of thought.

While many in local government would like to join the ranks of the optimists, they nevertheless have nagging doubts about the real extent of the reforms and the government's motives in introducing them.

Professor Gerry Stoker, chair of think-tank the New Local Government Network, summed up these feelings of ambivalence.

'The new draft Bill is welcome,' he said, 'but the issue is whether it is an overture of new freedoms and flexibilities that will signal positive changes, or a swan song as local government is shunted aside within the new reality of emerging regional assemblies and centralising measures such as the Comprehensive Performance Assessment.'

Officially, the Local Government Association has welcomed the draft Bill as 'a step change in relations between councils and Whitehall'.

Its warm words closely resemble those contained in the preamble to the draft Bill, which proclaims it as 'a milestone in the history of the relationship between central and local government'.

But, at the same time as the LGA was signalling its approval, it was also lobbying Prescott to hasten the introduction of the 'freedoms and flexibilities' for high-performing authorities promised in the white paper.

These will be delivered under the CPA regime, but while a lot of work is being done to draw up the framework little has been said on exactly how high-scoring councils will be rewarded.

A report on the draft Bill, which was due to be considered at a meeting of the LGA executive on June 20, made clear the sector's frustration at the government's failure to deliver 'earned autonomy'.

The report states: 'There is a certain amount of frustration at the lack of progress in making promised freedoms and flexibilities available. The important thing now will be to identify additional worthwhile freedoms and make them available for councils to use.'

And there lies the rub. Councils are champing at the bit to have the reins of central control loosened. If the government fails to deliver, and deliver soon, it will lose the good faith of local government, and its cherished aim of improving local services will fail.

PFjun2002

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top