Campaign launched to give power to the people
LGA media release 9 February 2012
Today in Parliament a new campaign is being launched to consider how to make the roles of Whitehall and councils clearer to local residents.
The aim is to improve democratic accountability and give greater power to local people, by making it clearer who is in charge of their public services. The campaign is an initiative between Graham Allen MP, Chair of the Political Constitutional Reform Select Committee, and the Local Government Association (LGA).
Currently, local people are unclear about who is ultimately responsible for funding and delivering their public services. MPs and councillors involved in the campaign want to see changes that will make it clearer who is in charge, and consider the merits of entrenching the independence of councils from Whitehall. At present, the role of councils remains loosely defined and they could in theory be abolished by central government.
Councillor Sir Merrick Cockell, Chairman of the LGA, said:
"For too long local people have been left out of the loop on who is running their public services. It's right that we now look to increase accountability by devising ways of clarifying the relationship between Whitehall and councils.
"I urge those interested in improving democracy in the UK to get involved in the debate and help voters feel that they are in charge."
The LGA is seeking to encourage debate on the merits of formalising the relationship between Whitehall and local councils. There has been an ongoing consultation by the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee in Parliament and the LGA will be responding to this in full before it closes later this year.
Reforming our democratic constitution is right at the forefront of political debate at present. Changes to the House of Lords are actively being considered, a referendum was last year held on changing the voting system and the Scottish Government has plans to hold a further referendum on independence.
Local councils are elected to oversee a range of vital services for residents – such as care for the elderly, housing and children's services – meaning that their role in our democracy is a key part of any constitutional debate.
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Author: LGA Media Office
Contact: LGA Media Office, Telephone: 020 7664 3333
Notes to editors
- The LGA and Graham Allen MP, Chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform (PCR) Committee, are holding a drinks reception in Parliament to mark the launch of the Committee's consultation on ‘The prospects for codifying the relationship between central and local government: next steps' on Thursday 9 February at 5.00 pm. To attend, please email: Daniel.Shamplin-Hall@local.gov.uk
- The PCR Committee announced back in November 2010 an inquiry into the prospects for codifying the relationship between central and local government. At present, the committee has published a draft code, on which they have taken no view and have put this out to public consultation. Both draft code and the inquiry are available on Political and Constitutional Reform Committee web pages.
- The relationship between central and local government remains uncodified, leaving councils to continually adapt to the Government of the day. Evidence submitted to the PCR Committee has suggested that the relationship between central and local government was unbalanced towards central government, and that a previous attempt at regulating the relationship, the 2007 Central Local Concordat, had been a failure.
- Along with Graham Allen MP, the LGA is seeking to develop a blueprint for how this relationship between Whitehall and councils can work in practice. The LGA has asked MPs and councillors to share their view on how this can be made a reality, with a pamphlet to be produced shortly.
2 May 2012
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