By Richard Johnstone | 13 November 2013
The government has been urged to back the localisation of a host of public services to neighbourhood level as part of its devolution plans in England.
In a report examining the government’s localism agenda, the Institute for Public Policy Research North said more should be done to include parish councils in the provision of services.
It called for local enterprise partnerships, transport authorities and Work Programme providers to be given a duty to incorporate a ‘neighbourhood approach into their work’.
This would form part of a return to ‘double devolution’ agenda – set out by then communities minister David Miliband in 2006 – of localism to councils, and then to parishes and other local groups.
To do this, the government’s Community Budgets programme, which has pooled public spending in council areas and given parishes greater control over services, should be expanded.
An enhanced version of the programme could ensure central government, local authorities and other statutory bodies focus on neighbourhoods, the Love thy neighbourhood report stated.
For this to happen, pooling and aligning of budgets was needed at the neighbourhood level.
Lead organisations in individual neighbourhoods should be given the power to drive cooperation between different services. Local commissioners should be able to keep savings made through reforms, which would allow bespoke approaches to be created in local areas to tackle complex problems.
Greater incentives should also be given to local residents to approve new housebuilding through local ballots and a stronger role for neighbourhood planning.
IPPR North director Ed Cox said the government must change its localist approach to ensure economic growth can boost neighbourhoods.
‘A new approach to neighbourhoods is vital to connecting neighbourhoods to areas of economic opportunity, and to improving and transforming those places that are experiencing concentrated and complex problems.
‘Local collaboration around a shared neighbourhood vision is the key to prosperous and dynamic neighbourhood futures.’
