[cma-l] DCLG - Concordat to unleash potential of local communities

[julian at 10radio.org]

Hi

Huge potential for community radio  in delivering local
engagement?...... (assuming of course that it's not all hot air and spin)

Julian
- -
http://www.10radio.org/


--- begin forwarded text

Subject: (CLG) Concordat to unleash potential of local communities

Link: http://tinyurl.com/ysttwm

Communities and Local Government 12/12/2007 15:08

Communities and Local Government (National) (CLG) Concordat to unleash
potential of local communities

An historic new written agreement which will radically transform the
relationship between central and local government and which sets out
unprecedented new freedoms for local areas and communities has been
signed by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and LGA Chairman Sir Simon
Milton today.

The Central-Local Concordat is the culmination of months of careful
negotiation with local government and meets a key commitment in
delivering what Gordon Brown has called a fundamental transformation in
the way we govern, shifting more power to local communities and away
from the state.

It commits Government to reducing unnecessary intervention saying that:
'Councils have the right to lead the delivery of public services in
their area and shape its future without unnecessary direction or
control' and that both local and central government have the
responsibility to 'devolve power and engage and empower communities and
individual citizens - in debate and decision making and in shaping and
delivering services.'

It commits central and local government to work together towards giving
people a clearer understanding of what public money is spent in their
area, and towards giving councils greater flexibility in their funding,
for example by reducing ring-fencing of money and through the proposed
Business Rate Supplements. The Government remains firmly of the view
that the council tax is an effective local tax and that the current
local government finance system is guided by the principles of
transparency, clarity and accountability. The Government also remains
committed to ensuring that taxpayers are protected from excessive
council tax increases.

The Concordat commits local government to provide strong leadership, to
work with their partners and to collaborate in delivering national targets.

It is explicit for the first time that 'there should be a presumption
that powers are best exercised at the lowest effective and practical
level'.

It spells out key priorities which central and local government will
deliver together - this includes tackling anti-social behaviour and
crime, delivering good local services, more opportunities for young
people, promoting enterprise - and how the two should work together.
It makes clear that central Government has the right to set national
policies including minimum standards of services. But central Government
also has a responsibility to collaborate with councils and make it
easier for them to deliver these priorities at a local level - making a
commitment to reduce the burden of appraisal and approval regimes and
the ring-fencing of funds for specific purposes as well as ensuring that
central guidance is proportionate.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said: "Local devolution is no longer
a fringe pursuit but now right at the centre of the Government's agenda.
The historic shift outlined today will help unleash the potential of
local communities, giving them new freedoms in delivering what local
people want.

"For local authorities, it promises the progressive removal of obstacles
that prevent them from pursuing their role. And for local communities,
it provides the springboard for giving local people more power and
control over their communities and their own lives."

Notes to Editors
1. The Concordat is available here:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/centrallocalconcordat 



2. The Concordat meets a commitment in the Governance of Britain green
paper (July 2007). Paragraph 179 on page 52 states:
'Creating a more participatory democracy requires a healthy
representative democracy at local level. It also requires citizens to
understand the roles of central and local government, and who can b held
responsible for the decisions and services which affect their lives. The
performance of local authorities, as measured through the Comprehensive
Performance Assessment, has improved greatly in recent years. The
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will now work
with the Local Government Association to establish a concordat to govern
the relations between central and local government. This will establish
for the first time an agreement on the rights and responsibilities of
local government, including its responsibilities to provide effective
leadership of the local area and to empower local communities where
possible.'

3. This commitment was repeated in the Prime Minister's speech to the
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) on 3rd September
2007, when he said:
'I want to see a vibrant, reinvigorated local democracy - from
neighbourhood level engagement and community calls to action, to a
renewed focus on the devolution of powers and responsibilities to local
government and the accountability of our local police and health
services to their communities.
In this way, people can connect neighbourhood meetings, local ballots
and elections, and new forms of community action, with decision-making
and the exercise of power over issues they care about in their daily lives.

As part of a new concordat between local and central government Hazel
Blears will be working on proposals for the extension of local democracy
and decision making in these areas.'

Public Enquiries: 020 7944 4400;
News Releases: http://www.communities.gov.uk