MPs hit out at lack of freedoms in council bill

25 Jul 02
MPs have slated the government for reneging on its promise to liberate councils from Whitehall control and demanded a 'major reappraisal' of the draft bill intended to deliver new freedoms.

26 July 2002

Transport, local government and the regions select committee members say that, far from devolving power, the draft Local Government Bill will in fact tighten ministers' grip on councils.

The bill was supposed to give life to the pledges in last year's white paper to grant authorities more autonomy.

Committee members say the proposed legislation will increase the already excessive regulation and inspection weighing down councils, and have called on ministers to show more trust in local government.

Andrew Bennett, the committee's chair, said the draft bill, expected to be in this autumn's Queen's Speech, should be substantially reworked before it is laid before Parliament.

'The bill does not give councils the freedoms many of us expected following the recent white paper. We hope that the government will listen to our recommendations, so that the final bill will give councils the ability to provide high-quality services that meet local needs,' he said.

The report, published on July 24, highlighted the prudential borrowing system, supposed to give councils greater financial autonomy, as an area where the reality does not match the rhetoric.

MPs say the secretary of state's ability to impose limits on borrowing 'as he sees fit', and provision for pooling capital receipts, undermines the new regime.

They also voiced serious reservations about the methodology of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, calling for 'a high-quality, transparent, trusted mechanism' for inspections to be developed to avoid the risk of demoralising council staff.

Members berated the health and education ministries for their reluctance to loosen their control over councils. 'The government promised to redress the imbalance between central and local government. This bill fails to achieve that,' the committee said. 'If we are to have effective local government, the centre must let go: not just the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister but government as a whole.'

Neil Kinghan, the Local Government Association's director of economic policy, said the report reflected many of the LGA's concerns.

'We agree that it isn't going to make a fundamental difference, but we think most of the bill is worth having in its present form. We would like to see the bill go further and the committee's recommendations incorporated into it,' he added.

PFjul2002

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