Very recently someone said to me “the problem with local government is that it is not very local and it is not government”. This somewhat trite comment may actually point to the root of the problem. When the coalition Government refers to local government it means “the Council” when it should mean “local Councillors”.
With the forced introduction of the Executive/Scrutiny split 10 years ago, many councillors, particularly those in opposition ceased to have any decision-taking role apart from planning and licensing. One of the reasons they became Councillors was taken away from them under the pretext that they would be free to spend more time in their ward and less in the Town Hall. This has failed.
Now, Councillors need to reposition themselves in the middle of their communities and cease to be ‘from the Council’ which is (or will be) but one of a range of service commissioning/delivery structures in an area. I believe it is time to pass to them the leadership of their ward in the fullest sense:
- Where decisions relate to very local matters, let them work with individuals and representative resident associations to reach decisions reflecting local opinion. “Gold Standard” (accountable, active) RAs could be trusted and asked to run consultations, feeding conclusions to ward councillors and being part of decision-taking.
- Let Ward Councillors act as accountable brokers as appropriate services and funding are passed down to community groups.
- Where consensual broking fails, let Ward Councillors take decisions. Only they have democratic accountability and a right to speak for others.
- Let them work with local people and groups to bid for delegated budgets to set and achieve local priorities.
- And where decisions are not micro local but strategic, let them act together with other Councillors and take collective decisions. You could call this grouping “a Council” but as separate from services as Parliament is from Government.
With a redefined role for ward councillors (maybe even applying it as their title: City Mayor, Borough Leader, Ward Councillor) at the epicentre of their area we have the people to encourage, initiate, support and, yes, accountably lead the Big Society.
Many Ward Councillors have ended up in an elected role having initially campaigned or worked at a local level often on a single issue. A new role and recognition for Ward Councillors may well attract a wider range of people to stand for election and with decision taking being more local and clearer to track, more likely to increase democratic involvement and election turnout.
( 10 comments ) Tags: councillors, Councils, local, Local Government, ward
Comment by MisterClive on August 26, 2010 at 3:30 pm
I agree with every word. I wrote a related piece earlier this year: http://tinyurl.com/322tj87
Comment by Tom I Balmain on August 26, 2010 at 7:01 pm
In many cases it is one solution to fit all when it should be based upon local circumstances and then the constituents would have more faith in the elected Councillor. E>G> parking charges may be right for one part of the but not suitable to another but up to now it has been the case that what applies to one area has to apply to all parts of the Borough. Mind you parking charges have been a cash cow for many councils who should look at more efficient and productive ways of working and the culture has to change as well. If a Council was a business then it would need to produce a surplus which would be pass as a reduction in Council Tax. Now that would make the punters come out to vote.
Comment by Timothy Bell on August 27, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Bottom line is you need to get the competancy of your typical local cllr up. Many are not capable of understanding governance and leadership issues . On Barrow Borough Council there is not one prfeesional type like a solicitor, doctor, Architect or MD instead older people seeking a purpose in life with no management skills to offer.
The officers therefor run rings around us and give us very limited information with limited minutes of meetings
The so called safety net – The Audit Commision is not prepared to become involved in leadership or Governance issues, for example our CEO has no appraisal process, the leader does not effectyively exist as his role is not in teh Constitution and there are no detailed stratwegic objectives.
The Councils key priorities do not accomadate election pledges.
May be we call this British but we do need to find a way of attracting proffesionalpeople to be councillors, in teh meantime having experts on O/S committees to give independant advise to members
Cllr Bell – Barrow Borough Cllr.
Comment by Ray Turner on August 29, 2010 at 8:54 am
My biggest issue with Local Government is that we have too many tiers.
Where I live, we have to support the Town Council, Borough Council and County Council. Not to mention Emperor Kens Hampshire Senate, an unelected body designed to help integrate the three tiers.
Why not just have a single tier of local Government and be done with it.
That’ll save lots of money…!
Comment by M on August 29, 2010 at 1:21 pm
What happens in instances when local councillors/thier extended families are courrupt and have a self agenda/motive of why they beacame councillor in the first place? Thats is to say, in comparison to those that wish to become, or have become councillor to serve the community, residents, public and national interest. whilst many councilllors in the nation may be fit to undertake such leadership there are many that are clearly not and it would be a massive unreversable danger to the local communities by giving these councillors yet more power/control. Prime examples/evidence available on request if you wish to make contact.
Comment by Cllr Anne Hall on August 30, 2010 at 11:43 am
I fully agree with the notion “councillors not Council” My success in Wards of Rural South Lakeland District has been just that, in as much as I work with and instill confidence into Communities and Parish Councils. Together we have got planning for 30 much needed homes,Parish gained Quality Status, funding for Museum extension, taken over a threatened Information Centre which as a local Not for Profit Co. became the TOP TIC in Cumbria and 2nd best in NW ! Challenged Planning laws with new Policies being formulated. Worked with a parish who wanted to provide a wooden bridge to redirect footpath for safety – that became a £100K stainless steel art designed much aclaimed structure now adopted by County. I use County/ District Officers and members of the opposition who control purse strings (yes also 3 tiers of Govt) but our successes shows it can be done and we did not wait for ‘Big Society’ Some ideas took 10 yrs but if we get there in the end it is worth the work. Cllrs have to be in touch with the electorate to be elected in the first place AND keep listening and lobbying at whatever level hereby making changes the communities want and often at better value.
Comment by Darren on August 30, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Why so many tiers? Do we really need a parish / town council, a district / borough council and a county council? No wonder people are so reluctant to get involved – it’s so complicated! “The council” often means at least three! Let’s have just one local council in every part of the country. How about a “City and County of (place) Council” in all non-metropolitan areas? Simple!
Comment by Nick on August 31, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Give more powers to some councillors and they’ll have bridges built for mice to cross the road at a cost of 180k of tax payers money, yet they won’t fix a pot hole/damaged cross over’s/dying trees or address residential issues such as rat running traffic, illegal buildings being built without planning permission or building regulations. Some councillors pass planning permission requests purely because their families are in the building, skip collection trade or perhaps even with immigration links (Cheap construction labour). Whilst councillors do need to get out and work for the area they SERVE – the issue is not just ‘councillors over councils’ but the ‘right councillors’ whom have to be vetted, monitored and scrutinised and most importantly trusted! IF MP’s can claim for duck houses, adult movies, second homes and so on then what would stop councillors doing the same if given more power, I dread to think? There is already an issue with the IPSA and MP’s..MP’s and Councillors these days are not in the game for the reasons they should be, moreover its about what they can get for themselves. Why politics needs change big time. Bring back the old days when your local councillor and MP was valued by real people/residents instead of the talk of the town being how corrupt they all are. This comments is not aimed at all wards just the ones I am very familiar with. There are councillors out there that are superb, unfortunately none of whom have been elected in our area, the ones that have are all close friends and virtually related to each other, they are all labour – monopoly. Our councillors have no idea of the concept of public service, more like self service.
Our local LABOUR MP also tells us one thing and one thing alone, that he has no power to do anything to help, so why is he an MP????
Comment by Red, White and Blue on September 1, 2010 at 12:58 pm
This message is not really for publishing but you are welcome to, Could Cllr Merrick Cockell please contact us as we wish to pass some information to him relating to an issue that relates to comments on his blog that he may be able to help with and may be interested in. The issue affirms commments made on this blog and goes someway to providing clear evidence for the feeling of corrupt labour councillor comments alreay been used.
Comment by John Kelly on September 25, 2010 at 8:32 pm
I wish to bring to the attention of the Government plight of the Hackney carriage & Private hire trades at the hands of Local Government Licensing departments and committees across the United Kingdom.
All councils when charging for a service must seek to levy a charge for that service that encompasses all costs associated with the provision of the service provided, however they may not set a charge that is in excess of those costs as this would constitute a profit.
In 1996/7 the Licensing committee of Northampton Borough Council passed a resolution to increase the vehicle licence fee to £70 p.a. to cover claimed increased administrative and enforcement costs associated with the licensing function for Taxis & Private hire vehicles, presumably the committee agreed that £70 per vehicle licence per annum was sufficient in the aggregate to achieve this aim.
However within six months the committee decided to vary the terms of the licence again, this time they decided to reduce the term of the licence from a 12 month licence down to a six month licence, as it is unlikely that the cost of providing the licensing function could have risen appreciably in that short space of time, one would expect that the existing cost of the 12 month licence would have been divided equally across the two shorter licence terms (2 x £35 – £70).
Alas the committee bizarrely decided to set the fee for each six month licence at £70 effectively increasing revenue by 100% at a stroke.
At the same time the committee decided to factor out an essential component of the licensing function namely the councils duty to perform an inspection of each vehicle to determine if a licence be granted or renewed to a third party MOT testing station who would make a separate charge for this service payable directly by the vehicles owner for each licence granted.
This is one three components that the Local Government (miscellaneous provisions) Act 1976, Chapter 57, Part 2, Section 70 expressly names as items to be funded directly from the within the licence fee. As a result of this action the financial burden that fell upon the vehicle owners was actually in the region of 243% above that incurred the previous year.
The Local Government (miscellaneous provisions) Act 1976, Chapter 57, Part 2, Section 70, sub section 2/3, lays out in detail the legal duty of a council that makes variations to a licensing function that it must publicise the variation in at least one local newspaper and post details of such a variation in the town hall for the period prescribed by law. Northampton Borough Council did not carry out this duty, presumably because the price of each licence was unchanged.
I have checked with Northampton Borough Council, The Northampton Chronicle & Echo & The County Records Office and have not been able to find any evidence that the Council complied with the law in this matter, as such I must conclude the action of the licensing committee was therefore unlawful at that time and that all subsequent licence charges may also be unlawful.
I ask you to investigate this matter on behalf of the Hackney carriage & Private hire trades as this licensing regime directly affects approximately 1000 drivers in Northampton and all other Licensing authorities in the UK.
It is time that full reform of this archaic legislation.