Lgafirst#582

News and views from the Local Government Association “Local services need to be adequately funded in the next parliament if they are going to survive the next few years.�

Cllr David Sparks, LGA Chair, p2

P8-9 DevoNext

Our guide to negotiating for devolved powers

P10-11 Public Health How some councils have dived in

P12 Housing Different solutions for local needs P13 Saving our nation Fortnightly Issue 582 14 February 2015

Our costed plan for fire and rescue services

EDITORIAL

Unavoidable impact Last week’s confirmation of the Local Government Finance Settlement offered one bit of good news. We had urged ministers to reconsider their decision to scrap funding for local welfare schemes. And they listened, at least in part.

The £74 million announced last week will allow councils to continue providing a lifeline to at least some of their most vulnerable residents, but that line is fraying. The decision still amounts to a reduction of almost £100 million in government funding for local welfare.

The fact that councils still need to find savings of £2.6 billion from next year’s budgets is no great surprise, but it is short-sighted. It is unavoidable that it will have an impact on local government’s ability to improve people’s quality of life and support local businesses.

This election year is a crucial time. It will set the direction of local services for a generation to come, so we continue to press the case for no further cuts. And we remain convinced that devolving control of local finances, as set out in our “100 Days” campaign, would ensure the money we do have can be spent more effectively.

We are also pushing ahead with our “Show Us You Care” campaign (page 14) to ensure that social care is sustainable, and protected.

We are arguing for a bigger Better Care Fund, adequate funding for the Care Act, and protected funding for social care in any new government’s first spending review. Only with sustainable funding will councils be able to deliver properly preventative, personalised and coordinated care and support closer to home, to keep people fit, well and independent.

Ministers can listen. We do influence their decisions. We will continue to work hard so that any new administration will next time round fully cover the costs of protecting the interests of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Cllr David Sparks is Chair of the LGA Editor Dawn Chamarette Design Liberata Design Advertising Amanda Cowen Write to first, Local Government House,

Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ T (editorial) 020 7664 3294 T (advertising) 020 7664 3157 email first@local.gov.uk Photography Photofusion and Ingimage

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FIRST NEWS

Reserves are barrier to financial collapse

MPs voted to pass the Local Government Finance Settlement, confirming a reduction of 8.5 per cent in core government funding for 2015/16.

Ahead of the vote, Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said the amount councils have available to them in reserves and uncollected income showed it was still possible for local authorities to provide good front line services and keep council tax down.

The LGA responded saying that reserves were essential to protecting services and pointed out the high rates of tax collection councils achieve in comparison to central government.

MPs including Shadow Communities Secretary Hilary Benn, Clive Betts, Andy Sawford, Chris Williamson, Caroline Lucas and Annette Brook cited the LGA’s analysis of funding reductions and arguments on councils’ use of reserves in the House of Commons debate.

LGA Chair Cllr David Sparks said: “Local services need to be adequately

funded in the next parliament if they are going to survive the next few years.

“Reserves are all that stand between councils and financial collapse. With further cuts expected in the next Parliament along with ever-growing pressure on services, putting aside money for the difficult years ahead is prudent financial management.

“Councils work hard to ensure council tax and business rates have among the highest collection rates of any tax. The exchequer would be billions of pounds better off each year if central government’s collection rates matched those of councils.

“The Local Government Finance Settlement confirms that core central government funding to councils will be reduced by 8.5 per cent in April. These savings local authorities are finding now will be the most difficult yet, and it is unavoidable that they will have an impact on local government’s ability to improve people’s quality of life and support local businesses.”

Inside this issue 05 Policy

Under-fives

06 Letters

Land price issues

07 Opinion

Late payment to small businesses

08 Feature

Devolved powers guide

10 Feature Public health integration

13 Feature

100 Days: fire and rescue services

15 Last word

Compulsory voting

Budget should devolve and protect Ahead of this year’s Budget, the Chancellor is being urged to protect public services, endorse place based finance and engage in a true, meaningful devolution of funding and decision-making powers to local areas.

The LGA was yesterday (Friday) due to send its pre-Budget submission to the Treasury.

It forms part of our Future Funding Campaign which is calling for the protection of public services in England backed with adequate funding to ensure these can be provided locally.

The LGA is calling for the Chancellor to use the last Budget of this Parliament to protect adult social care funding in a similar way to health spending. He should fully fund the cost implications of the Care Act and recent ruling on Deprivation of Liberty safeguards while fully integrating the commissioning of care and health.

Other key policies the LGA is arguing for ahead of March 18 include: • Fully fund council tax support (acknowledging that the scheme to date has taken millions of pounds out of funding for council services), provide longer term certainty for

local welfare assistance funding at a level that is responsive to demand, and maintain funding for Discretionary Housing Payments.

• Reverse the 48 per cent cut in the Early Intervention Grant to councils as this was a false economy that will increase costs elsewhere in the public sector.

• Implement funding and policy commitments in the Growth Deals swiftly without imposing bureaucratic hurdles.

• Work with local government to improve the business rates retention system, including managing appeals and avoidance risk, and introducing a larger locally retained share of business rate revenue while equalising for need.

• Implement a range of financial freedoms, flexibilities and reforms to improve the financial sustainability of local authorities such as lifting the housing borrowing cap and greater local control over council tax, fees and charges.

The LGA’s full budget submission can be read online at www.local.gov.uk/ finance

Recycling services extended

News in brief Care Act ‘tragedy ‘of £650 million withdrawal plan

Elderly and disabled people may face a greater threat of having to sell their homes to pay for care if government goes ahead with plans to reduce funding for vital reforms of the care system by £650 million. The LGA warning came as the Department for Health revised down the funding it will give to councils for Care Act reforms. Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “The Care Act is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people who rely on care and support, and to protect people from huge care costs. It would be an absolute tragedy if insufficient funding jeopardised these desperately needed changes.”

Smoking proposals would save taxpayers billions

Radical new proposals are being outlined to cut smoking rates and save the public purse billions. In a key report called “Tackling tobacco and nicotine dependency,” the LGA outlines a raft of measures which councils would like to take to tackle smoking. These include: allowing trading standards teams to do more proactive work with shopkeepers so they understand the law about under-age sales; enabling councils to work more closely with Customs officers to cut the use of illegal tobacco and carrying out more preventative work in schools, colleges and community settings to raise awareness about the harm smoking causes.

Lords debate LGA amendments on CCTV parking enforcement

Cllr Ron Davis Executive, Board Member for Contracted Services, Environment and Health on Wychavon District Council is pictured squirrelling away recyclable waste as the council announced an expansion to its recycling centres. The centres will now also take textiles and shoes and the sites will point to how residents can dispose of small electrical items. Wychavon also announced this week an extension of its fortnightly garden waste collection scheme to an additional 4,000 customers.

As first went press, Lords were set to debate LGA amendments – with cross-party Peer support – to government plans to ban the use of CCTV parking enforcement. They centred around ensuring vital exemptions to allow it to be used on zig-zag markings outside schools, at bus stops, in bus lanes and on red routes to be included in legislation. The LGA was also calling for them to be extended to cover pedestrian crossings, unlawful parking within 100 metres of a school entrance and stopping on clearways.

FIRST NEWS

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SOLVING COMPLEX LOCATIONAL PLANNING PROBLEMS

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FIRST ADS

orhltd.com 30/01/2015 12:04

firstpolicy Smith Square Debate

Planning

Training with CABE

In partnership with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), the Planning Advisory Service has created a councillor briefing session on planning and design.

You can work through it yourself, or it can be delivered in a session. It covers: where design fits in the planning system; help with understanding the basics of good design and what makes good places; and local authority good practice approaches to design. To download the sessions visit www.local.gov.uk/ebulletins.

Public health Transfer of under-fives’ care The LGA is supporting councils to prepare for the transfer of commissioning responsibilities for public health services for nought to five-year-olds from NHS England to councils, which takes place on 1 October. This marks the final part of the overall public health transfer which saw wider duties including responsibilities for five to 19-year-olds successfully transfer to councils in April 2013. As part of this work, upper tier local authority chief executives are being invited to complete a light touch selfassessment. The questions recognise that councils will be at different stages in their journey, and therefore acts as a stocktake of readiness, an opportunity for councils to

flag concerns and a prompt to help councils plan and deliver the transition and transform services. Signposts to guidance and other information is also included. The LGA asks that councils complete the self-assessment to inform individual preparations as well as identify issues that need to be addressed by national partners. See details at www. local.gov.uk/childrens-publichealth-transfer.

Improvement Consultation The LGA is gathering responses to a major consultation launched this month on what councils think about the organisation’s sectorled improvement service, and how it can be adapted to meet the financial challenges and

trends in local government.

The LGA provides tools and support to help councils drive their own improvement and also maintains an overview of the performance of the sector to identify potential performance challenges and opportunities.

Government funding to local authorities (including fire and rescue services) will have been cut by 40 per cent in the five years up to May 2015, and with more cuts to come, public expectation remains high. The consultation continues until 13 March and we urge individual members and senior officers to respond. All leaders and chief executives have been sent their own unique link to the online response form. Anyone else wishing to submit a response can generate their own unique link by visiting http://bit. ly/1uRWs5E

Devolution Senior representatives of the main political parties will come together to discuss whether their parties will offer local government the ‘devolution revolution’ councils are calling for at the general election.

Lively discussion and views are expected at an evening debate hosted by the LGA. Posing the question: “The devolution revolution – does the general election matter for local government?” the free event takes place on Wednesday, 25 February at the LGA’s offices in Smith Square, Westminster. Confirmed speakers are Baroness Pinnock, Liberal Democrat Councillor, Kirklees Council; Lord Glasman, academic and founder of Blue Labour; Rt Hon John Redwood MP, Chairman of the Conservative Economic Affairs Committee and Amelia Womack, Deputy Leader of the Green Party and PPC for Camberwell and Peckham.

Councillors, council officers, MPs, Peers, think tanks and parliamentary researchers are among those attending. To book a place please visit www.local.gov.uk/events

Benchmarking LG Inform The LGA’s data service provides easy access to up-todate published data about local areas and the performance of authorities, and allows users to make comparisons with similar authorities.

Recent metrics added to LG Inform include: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims in payment; Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP); Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England; Monthly Situation Report on Acute and Non-Acute Delayed Transfers of Care by Local Authority.

For more information visit: www.local.gov.uk/lginform

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sound bites Jeremy Hughes (CEX, Alzheimer’s Society) “@CllrDSparks right to say on @BBCr4today that there’s an inadequate amount of funding for a civilised level of social care.” www.twitter.com/JeremyHughesAlz Cllr Mary Lewis (Con, Surrey) “Full Council at Surrey County Hall today. 1.99% council tax rise proposed to pay for inc demand for services: school places/social care.” www.twitter.com/LewistoryMary Reuse Matters “Today is a good day for #keepthesafetynet campaign – LAs now have responsibility to ensure £74m is used to help people in crisis @LGANews.” www.twitter.com/FRNUK

Cllr Elizabeth Parr (Lib Dem, Uttlesford) “Seen a huge drop in 17yr olds registered in my ward. Figuring out what I can do to help @BiteTheBallot and get more registered before May.” www.twitter.com/LibDemLizzy Do you have a blog or a Twitter account we should be following? Let us know. Email first@local.gov.uk

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Councils are not the rump of our planning system Cllr Keith Sowden wrote about the “bureaucratic, obstructive and incredibly expensive planning system” which he says “prevents builders from building houses at a price people can afford” (first 581).

I have served on Burnley’s Planning Committee, latterly known as the Development Control Committee, for the best part of 25 years. I have also served as Executive Member for Planning and Development, and in that time, very few applications for housing developments have been turned down. When we have, we have had good reasons to do so.

Cllr Sowden seems to think that the whole of the planning process, and the officers who run it, are not only too expensive to contemplate but that they constitute a waste of time and effort. He is, I would assume, a disciple of Eric Pickles, wanting to

reduce local government to a rump, but, there again, Mr Pickles is using the planning system to turn down the applications which go to appeal and of which he does not approve.

I have had a few friendly “run ins”, with planning officers, but we should consider what might happen if there was no planning system and no professional staff to run it. The public have the right to be consulted, the expertise of officers is valuable and members our councils have an important role in the process.

Lastly, the price of houses, and the numbers built are determined by factors other than those listed by Cllr Sowden whose simplistic solutions to the housing crisis are not the way forward.

Cllr Roger Barstow Frost (Lib Dem) Burnley Council Photo: iStock

Cllr Ralph Berry (Lab, Bradford) “So why is most of the Priority Schools money go into the South...Is there a different geographic standard for Northern kids. #JustAsking.” www.twitter.com/CllrRalphBerry

letters

OPINION

Compounding the homes crisis

I agree with virtually everything Cllr Keith Sowden (first 581) says regarding the poor quality housing being built across the country.

However, I cannot agree that it’s all the fault of the planning system.

The major cause of our housing quality crisis is the price of the land.

The owner of a field can increase its agricultural land value by a hundred fold for commercial development and two hundred times for residential. Little wonder that, despite allocating land in a local plan, councils see the land remain undeveloped because the owner is holding out for top dollar.

Developers, desperate to stay in business, pay a premium and then build to the lowest possible standards they can get away with. Private roadways, parking courts, no storage for wheelie bins, and narrow access roads that demand pavement parking are now the norm. All this to be greeted by, as Cllr Sowden says, the smallest living spaces in Europe. It is these “minute details” planners and planning committees have to spend so much time battling against, often with little success.

Sadly, instead of dealing with the land price issue, government has given it a boost by introducing the viability test, which allows developers to avoid contributing to essential infrastructure and affordable housing.

Cllr Roger Gambba-Jones (Con) South Holland District Council

Energy efficiency combats arrears

I would add to the point that Julia Unwin, Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, made in her opinion piece when she states that homes need to be truly affordable by costing less to run (first 580).

All councils should be doing what they can to increase the stock of affordable housing, but they need to go one better and ensure that these

are affordable to heat. By building more energy efficient housing with high levels of insulation and renewable energy measures, we can ensure that tenants will be less likely to get into rent arrears and more likely to afford their living costs.

Councils should get people out of fuel poverty into affordable, energy efficient housing and prove the economic case for genuinely sustainable housing.

Cllr Rachel Eburne (Green) Mid Suffolk District Council

Quality housing enables social care

The essential role of social housing in tackling poverty is highlighted by the Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Julia Unwin (first 580). But quality social housing has the potential to deliver far more than good financial outcomes.

As providers or commissioners of social housing, local authorities should view their stock and the service they provide as an opportunity to mitigate some of the pressures imposed by government austerity. Integrating health and social care services is seen as the key to funding the needs of our ageing population. Likewise, early intervention from frontline staff embedded in the local community is central to delivering good outcomes for residents and reducing demand on services.

A quality home that meets an older or disabled person’s needs enables them to live independently for longer.

And we must have local homes that health and social care staff can afford.

These will improve the wellbeing of residents and help address the growing cost of health and social care services.

Of course, we must build more homes and ensure more private developments include sufficient and genuinely affordable housing At the same time we need to better utilise the resources we already have.

Cllr Jackie Meldrum (Lab) London Borough of Lambeth

What do you think? You can comment on these letters online at www.local.gov.uk/first-letters or submit your own letter for publication by emailing first@local.gov.uk. Letters may be edited and published online

Government must stamp out late payment The UK’s poor payment culture is a challenging and complex issue to address. We acknowledge government’s attempts to find a solution, including in the Small Business Bill, but the situation is deteriorating despite the economic recovery, and more decisive action must be taken.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling for a wide ranging independent inquiry, led by an eminent industry figure, to define clear actions and the progress needed to address late payment and supply chain bullying in one place.

This call follows an encouraging meeting at Downing Street, where the FSB and some of its members directly affected by late payment met with government, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and leading FTSE 350 members.

Following the Downing Street meeting, government has suggested consulting again on the issue. At the FSB, based on our experience of the issue and the pain poor payment culture causes our members, we firmly believe we need bolder action. That’s why we are calling for a comprehensive, wide ranging independently led inquiry. It should report in the autumn with recommendations in time for the next government to act early in the next Parliament.

Poor payment practices like “pay to stay” and late payment are damaging for many small businesses, putting their profitability and viability at risk. In extreme cases, it forces viable business to the wall with the loss of valuable jobs. Many of our members, across a number of industries, tell us they are suffering from these sharp practices. And a culture of fear is keeping them from going public.

Small firms are the UK’s biggest private sector employers. They’ve created four out of five jobs in our local communities in the past three years and they need to be supported for the UK to have a diverse and vibrant economy.

We have seen the UK’s payment culture significantly deteriorate in the past five years. The gradual creep of payment terms from 30 days to well over 100 days in some cases, coupled with debilitating contract terms, can be disastrous for a small firm.

We need fresh thinking and bold steps to be taken to change culture and ensure that larger companies fully recognise the value their supply chain brings.

John Allan is National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses

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The LGA has launched an online resource that provides guidance, a planning toolkit, a register of case studies and updates for councils interested in devolution at www.local.gov.uk/devolution.

The DevoNext hub is the place to find out what has been achieved, what is possible, and how your council can develop a case for taking on greater powers.

Councils across the country have secured significant breakthroughs, but more remains to be done to make the LGA’s 100 Days vision a reality.

A tour of DevoNext The Government has pursued a model of devolution based on negotiating individual “deals” with places dependent on a number of factors, including its assessment of local need, the case for change and the level of preparedness. This has meant the scale and scope of devolution has varied across public services, types of devolution, vehicles for devolution, and governance models.

Devolution Register The LGA’s Devolution Register shows more about what councils have worked together to deliver.

Sort the information by the different public services, types of devolution, vehicles for devolution, and by place; and identify key breakthroughs. The Register is a baseline to help councils understand what’s possible.

Devolution Summary The Devolution Summary is a planning tool that captures experiences from the devolution

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negotiation processes in a format that suggests questions councils should consider in their devolution negotiations. It summarises key trends for each of the six service areas – transport, employment, skills, enterprise and growth, energy and environment, and use of assets.

Governance comparisons and checklist DevoNext hub’s section on governance sets out the current options and details their similarities and differences, from statutory status to financial powers. The Centre for Public Scrutiny also outlines the principles of governance which provide a checklist when developing your own governance models: • Clear and effective decisionmaking.

• Clarity about lines of responsibility and accountability.

• A unified and streamlined system of governance to avoid duplication of resources.

• Robust internal challenge.

Stay in touch Let us know what is happening in your area by contacting your local LGA Principal Adviser.

Contact details are on the sector-led improvement section of www.local.gov.uk

The right model Austerity measures have given additional momentum to finding new ways for councils to work together to deliver public services, save money and promote local economic growth.

The governance section of the DevoNext hub focuses on arrangements where more than one council is involved. It includes examples of non-statutory and statutory set-ups.

The way councils have found to do this range from memoranda of understanding and shared service arrangements to shared public service boards, joint committees, economic prosperity boards and combined authorities.

Whatever the arrangement, all participants will need to know how to make decisions and determine accountability for those decisions.

Whatever the arrangements councils make, partnership working will play an important role, although other public services have their own governance boundaries which are rarely contiguous with council boundaries.

The main governance frameworks available to councils are: 1. Joint Committees of two or more councils, are relatively quick to set up but have no legal status, so are restricted in what they can do.

2. Combined Authorities have a statutory footing and operate to promote the economic development of an area and must comprise councils forming an economic area.

3. Economic Prosperity Boards are the subject to the same conditions as combined authorities but cannot take on transport functions.

4. Directly elected Mayors with powers across more than one council.

Breakthroughs Councils across the country have secured significant breakthroughs, but there remains more to be done to make the LGA’s 100 Days vision a reality. Here are some of the successes that could form part of the baseline for councils’ future negotiations.

They include: • Transport Cornwall: bus network review and commitment to a bus and integrated transport strategy; Greater Manchester: responsibility for franchised bus services and smart ticketing across all transport modes; Solent: work with local partners to create Strategic Land and Infrastructure Board, including joint planning of transport.

• Skills Sheffield City Region: devolved adult skills budget; Greater Birmingham and Solihull: funding for 3,500 apprenticeship grant for employers.

• Employment Greater Manchester: a joint commissioning role in the next phase of the Work Programme; Greater Ipswich: funding and partnership commitment to create a youth jobcentre.

• Enterprise and growth Sheffield City Region and Greater Manchester: devolved business support budgets.

• Public land and use of assets Bristol City Region: commitment to a joint public property board to manage assets collectively; Sheffield City Region will be involved in all decisions on the use of public assets.

• Housing Swindon and Wiltshire, and Enterprise M3: increase the Housing Revenue Account borrowing limit to help support the development of affordable homes • Finance Nottingham: using tax increment funding models to boost regeneration; Bristol City Region: will retain 100 per cent of business rate growth from the West of England Enterprise Areas.

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Since public health was transferred in April 2013 to local authorities, councils have developed a culture in which health is at the heart of integrated service planning. They have progressed with improving health and wellbeing while steering better value commissioning alongside the NHS and other partners. In the week of the annual public health conference, organised by the LGA and the Association of Directors of Public Health, councils shared their experiences.

Adding value to dealing with health needs Councillors’ budgets ignite engagement. I have noticed that since the public health team moved to the council they are much more in tune with the needs of the people we seek to serve. Good working relationships with our elected members mean that the team has a better opportunity to understand the diversity of the county’s population.

As a cabinet member wanting fellow councillors to better understand the public health agenda, our most exciting initiative has been the Active Together project.

This allows each councillor £40,000 for their own area plus a pool of £10,000 per member, which addresses issues right across their borough.

It has been really exciting to chair groups of members who are now all talking about health issues. Some councillors have allocated their allowance to local organisations which promote physical activity and social interaction for young people.

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Others are supporting projects to tackle anxiety and social isolation of older people and some are supporting cooking projects and healthy walks.

I’ve never known such engagement from elected members on public health issues – it has been like a breath of fresh air.

Some of my own allocation is going on improving a play area for pre-school children and I’m working with a local school to encourage more young people to take up sports activities, as well as working to see how we can improve activities for older people, such as walking football teams and lunch groups. The public health team has given us all great advice at our planning meetings.

All in all, it has become a sound partnership between local councillors and public health.

Having the public health team right at the heart of the council is getting everyone thinking a lot more about public health – councillors and officers alike, and that is very good news for people in Gloucestershire.

Cllr Andrew Gravells (Con) is Gloucestershire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities

Staff enjoy scope for change Wigan Council: some public health outcomes and key features • Improvements to outcomes have accelerated since the transfer; • In 2008/9 Wigan was ranked 34th out of 39 North West local authorities for obesity; in 2013-14 it had improved to 11th.

• The gap in smoking prevalence in adults between Wigan and the England average reduced from 4.7 percent in 2010 to 1.8 percent in 2014.

• The local life expectancy gap for males closed from 11.1 years in 2013 to 9.4 years in 2014.

• Health, care and wellbeing are tackled on an integrated basis across the council, the NHS and other partners; • Staff are given time, space and training to identify flexible solutions.

Wigan has taken every opportunity to appoint the right staff to support transformation, and two of the most important attributes are energy and motivation for change.

Innovation is key to progress, and staff must be given the time and space to try new things and to make mistakes at times and learn from them. Using the assets of individuals and communities is fundamental to how Wigan operates.

There are many examples of how care packages can bring better outcomes for individuals and families, and can also be much cheaper than traditional services such as home care and day care.

To connect individuals with communities and develop community assets, frontline workers need the time and expertise to shift their thinking from traditional services. The council and the clinical commissioning groups are funding training in ethnographic methods (observing and listening to people in a non-directed way to communicate with them on their own terms) as an invest to save initiative; this has already taken place in adult social care.

A similar holistic approach is being used in re-commissioning integrated health and wellbeing services so these are based around the wider health needs of individuals, rather than tackling single issues such as smoking.

ailable ies are av d Season tickets to sporting activities, tu s e s a gov.uk Detailed c ww:local. w support to pursue hobbies, using t a d a lo for down n individual’s skills to help others, have all sformatio ealth tran h alue lic v b g u been used to help people improve their in “P d • on: ad s th n o m lives. Also, a “perfect week” exercise in twenty needs” cal health a GP practice looked at alternatives to to tackle lo e sin sses g with bu clinical care and found examples of how of our • “Workin the health e v ro p im people could be better supported by to y” social interventions like financial advice communit and help tackling isolation.

Wigan is a sporting town, and the people involved in running amateur sports clubs can have a wider role in promoting healthy lifestyles, Cllr Keith Cunliffe (Lab) such as helping to tackle is Wigan Council’s Portfolio childhood obesity. Public Holder, Adults and Social health has been involved in Care and Chair, Health and developing capacity in sports Wellbeing Board clubs.

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The LGA’s 100 Days campaign includes a call for the next government to devolve more freedom to councils to help them plug the housing crisis.

In the meantime, local authorities are developing innovative schemes within existing restrictions to build homes in a bid to deal with local demand and various needs.

Streets ahead

Norwich City Council: partnership working Norwich City Council entered into an agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency to form the Norwich and Homes and Communities Agency Strategic Partnership (NAHCASP).

The partnership procured Orwell Housing Association, which working with its partners, helped to deliver just over 100 affordable homes on 18 small housing sites across the city.

The sites identified were brownfield sites, with the majority providing garages

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or car parking. An Affordable Housing Grant was provided for Orwell Housing Association at a rate to enable £500,000 capital receipt to the Council to be added to the NAHCASP funds.

The regeneration benefits to residents and the local area are: New homes for residents on the housing waiting list; improvements to derelict sites and areas problems of anti-social behavior; eight firsttime jobs for local people.

Essex Partnership: using public sector land Essex Partnership Board saw an opportunity for public sector partners to work together to meet the need for general, affordable and specialist housing (for independent living) across Essex.

Linking with the One Public Estate Programme funded by the Government Property Unit (GPU) the project identified a number of potential sites suitable for housing development, and feasibility studies have been under way. Where these are viable, the next steps will be to confirm arrangements to finance develop and manage housing that meets local needs.

Land has been identified by partnerships working which has included Braintree District Council, Epping Forest District Council, Essex County Fire and Rescue, Essex County Council, Essex Police, NHS, Rochford District Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Tendring District Council.

A financial appraisal approach has been developed that looks beyond the maximum capital value that can be achieved and takes into account revenue savings achievable by developing housing that helps improve outcomes and reduce demand and costs elsewhere.

For example, property that is suitable for those who might otherwise find themselves in residential care, but by building specialist housing residents, they be able to live more independently.

Kettering Borough Council: affordable housing “escalator” Kettering has renegotiated affordable housing requirements on a large scale development and have been successful with a phased approach that increases the amount of affordable housing in the later stages of development.

The council approved 5,500 homes to the East of Kettering. The process of agreeing the required developer contributions resulted in a “soft start” on affordable housing commitments for the developers, with a requirement for only 10 per cent affordable housing for the initial phases of the scheme, slowly escalating to achieve an overall agreed level of 20 per cent. This was 10 per cent below the council’s policy position: the final 10 per cent “will only ever be achieved if land values recover significantly”.

Photo: iStock

Stoke-on-Trent City Council: £1 homes scheme In April 2013, Stoke City Council announced plans for a pioneering regeneration scheme funded by the city council and government to revamp empty council-owned properties which have fallen into disrepair.

The city council will initially cover the cost of refurbishing the homes and will sell them for just £1 to local residents.

However, buyers meeting the eligibility criteria will have to pay back the cost of the refurbishment over a set period.

This is the first phase in a £3 million renovation and re-occupation programme which will see 124 long-term empty homes in the council’s Portland Street and Bond Street vicinities brought back into use, followed by projects to foster a sustainable community.

The LGA and the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) have developed costed policy ideas which are relevant not only to the fire and rescue sector, but to the wider local government family.

“Making the Nation Safer” presents specific asks and offers to the next government as part of the 100 Days campaign.

Making our nation safer

Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) and their services make a major contribution to the country’s shared prosperity, protecting people and places from harm and creating the conditions for economic prosperity.

The main focus of the new policy ideas is to broaden and deepen the prevention work for which the service is well known – from reducing road traffic collisions, to legislation for the installation of sprinklers, to preventing unnecessary deaths and injuries, which in turn mean less demand and reduced costs for public services.

There are also proposals to cement the fire and rescue service as a key partner within other blue light services and to guarantee it receives the recognition it deserves, whether it be from ensuring the service has the legislation it needs, to a share in the proceeds of crime, to helping to look after our ageing population and improve its well-being.

The LGA and CFOA are asking the next government for costed measures that include: • Help to ensure four million households in private rented properties are safer by making it mandatory for all electrical systems in these properties to be maintained annually in line with gas certification requirements.

• Lowering the drink-drive limit to bring it into line with those in Northern Ireland and Scotland, reducing

fatalities and providing savings of as much as £285 million a year; and introduce a graduated licensing scheme for young drivers up to 19 years old. Combined, these two measures will lead to a reduction of up to 9,434 casualties, with savings of £509 million.

• Making 500,000 sheltered housing properties safer by extending the Regulatory Reform Order to ensure there are regular audits and inspections of the entire premises, preventing hundreds of fires a year, and ensure that these vulnerable residents have the same protection as care homes.

• A commitment to provide £200 million to fund all national resilience assets (such as high volume pumps) when they come to end of their life in 2016/17.

• Injecting £114 million a year into a much needed programme of capital

investment to ensure equipment and appliances remain fit for purpose as part of the Government’s responsibility for securing national resilience arrangements.

• An incentive for businesses to install sprinklers by implementing a reduction in stamp duty in new or renovated properties that are fitted with sprinklers, reducing the £1.29 billion a year cost of these fires.

• Returning just 1.5 per cent of the £2.9 billion in stamp duty collected on commercial properties annually would meet the cost of installing sprinklers in the 8,000 commercial premises that caught fire in 2012/13.

The LGA’s annual fire conference takes place 10-11 March in Gateshead. Details at www.local.gov.uk/events

FIRST FEATURE

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PARTNERS

PARLIAMENT

Saving lives of Show us you care, private tenants Parliament

Around half of all domestic fires in Great Britain arise from electricity, killing one person each week and seriously injuring 350,000 each year. Yet regulations around electrical safety in the private rented sector (PRS) – where a third of properties fail to meet basic standards – are piecemeal and ambiguous.

Electrical Safety First is a campaigning charity dedicated to preventing deaths, injuries and damage caused by electricity. We have lobbied hard to bring electrical safety in the sector more on par with gas, which requires landlords to provide an annual gas safety certificate. We have called for mandatory, five yearly checks of the electrical installations in all PRS properties (along with any electrical appliances supplied), and for residual current devices, which help prevent electric shocks, to be installed.

The charity successfully pushed for these requirements to be included in the recent Scottish Housing Bill and we are lobbying Westminster and Wales to follow suit. We also support empowering local councils to deal with PRS issues in their area.

We have engaged with councils considering various PRS approaches and encouraged them to make electrical safety checks a key part of any local PRS licensing schemep.

Our report “House Proud: how councils can raise standards in the Private Rented Sector,” which explores various approaches, found there is no “one size fits all” solution. In some areas, a partnership with landlords can be effective, in others, a formal licensing scheme might be required. But what was clear was the need for councils to be able to deliver an approach that worked locally, without having to engage with central government bureaucracy.

Electrical Safety First has also created various tools to help landlords and tenants. These include a detailed guide for landlords, a smartphone app, which allows a basic visual check of a property and a socket overload calculator, which can help prevent the risk of fire.

Phil Buckle is Director General of Electrical Safety First www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

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FIRST POLITICAL

According to the latest opinion polling health care remains among the most important issues for voters heading into the general election.

An interconnected issue is the future of adult social care, which alongside the NHS has seen an increased profile this winter due to pressure on services. These concerns are unlikely to abate before polling day as the future of health care becomes a key battleground for all the parties.

The long term financial position of social care is of concern and the LGA’s campaign, “Show Us You Care” aims to highlight this point. In Parliament, we are working closely with MPs and Peers to build support for the campaign and its recommendation that adult social care be put on a sustainable financial footing.

A recent House of Commons debate in Westminster Hall provides a good example of how the LGA works closely with parliamentarians.

Led by George Mudie MP, the debate focused on the future of adult social care and the impact of funding cuts on councils. The LGA’s analysis was quoted extensively, with the lengthy discussion between MPs showing the importance of the issue.

The committee system within Parliament offers further opportunities for the LGA to provide evidence and enhance the messages of local government. Recently, the Health Select Committee, a cross-party panel appointed to examine the policy and administration of the Department of Health and its associate bodies, held a session on the performance of accident and emergency services this winter.

The Committee urged The King’s Fund and NHS England to consider seriously how health and social care can better integrate, as the current relationship contributes to strain on accident and emergency services and delayed discharge.

This supported the LGA’s concerns that while the Better Care Fund is a step in the right direction, much deeper integration is required between health and social care.

In addition to social care, local government has responsibility for encouraging healthy living in their communities. The LGA has been promoting the work of councils and achieved a cross-party Early Day Motion (a motion for debate that allows Members to draw attention to a topic or to express an opinion) sponsored by MPs Keith Vaz, Sir Bob Russell and Sir Peter Bottomley, calling for the Government to support recommendations in an LGA report “Tackling the Causes and Effects of Obesity”. This is a positive endorsement for the work of local government and our calls for a fifth of VAT raised on unhealthy foods to go back to councils to fund health and leisure facilities.

Parliamentary debates, select committee inquiries and parliamentary motions are important ways in which the LGA and local government can engage with Parliament. In advance of a general election, these tactics are providing a platform on which the LGA is able to communicate its campaigns and build cross-party support nationally for our policies.

See www.local.gov.uk/parliament for more information

BY-ELECTIONS ANALYSIS

LAST WORD

Thursday tradition takes a back seat Since 1983, when our records of local council by-election results begin, just over 100 contests from a total of more than nine thousand, have been held on days other than the traditional Thursday. Is that trend changing?

Last July, for example, Craven held two contests on a Wednesday to allow the town of Skipton more time to prepare for the imminent arrival of the Tour de France. Last December, Adur moved the contest for the St Mary’s ward to a Friday. Now, it is the turn of West Berkshire, which selected a Wednesday to invite electors to the polls in the Purley on Thames ward.

Since the ward’s establishment in 2003 the Conservative party, which captured 45 per cent of the vote at the inaugural election, has gradually consolidated its grip. By 2011 its share had risen to 67 per cent and following the death of Dave Betts, one of its two councillors in the ward, it was always expected to retain the seat.

The presence of a UKIP candidate for the first time did not dent Conservative control but rather contributed towards a decline in share for both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The resignation of two Conservative councillors representing the Marshalswick South ward in St Albans serves to highlight the sometimes controversial nature of candidate selection processes. Both Heidi Allen, a councillor for the ward since 2012, and Seema Kennedy, chosen for the first time by the voters only last May, resigned their seats after each was selected as a prospective parliamentary candidate. The former, having failed in her attempt to win the Conservative nomination for

Cambridgeshire South West later secured the Cambridgeshire South vacancy following Andrew Lansley’s retirement.

Seema Kennedy, who fought the safe Labour seat of Ashton-underLyne at the last general election, was selected for the South Ribble constituency less than two months after being elected for Marshalswick South. This led to local criticism that she would be unable adequately to represent a ward in St Albans whilst cultivating support in Lancashire.

Although the ward in its current guise was established in 1979 this is its first by-election. This may explain the relatively high turnout, although as the general election nears we might also expect added interest in the battle for votes. Although the Liberal Democrats captured the ward during the 1990s it has, over the past decade, become safer for the Conservatives and will be critical in determining whether the party retains the parliamentary seat this May. In the only other contest Labour easily secured the Brimington division on Derbyshire county. As perhaps a sign of the times, the UKIP candidate finished in second place and appears to have taken votes away from the established parties with the two parties of the coalition placed in lowly fourth and fifth positions.

Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher are Directors of Plymouth University’s Elections Centre

Local by-elections Authority

Ward

Berkshire

Purley On Thames Hertfordshire Marshalswick South Derbyshire Brimington

Result CON HELD 2 CON HELD LAB HELD

Swing % from/to (since) 4.9% Lab/Con (2011) 5.7 Con/LD (2014) n/a

For more statistics, see this story at www.local.gov.uk/first-news

Turnout % 26.6

It’s time for compulsory voting Voting is the most basic form of political participation in a democracy like the UK. Yet, voter turn-out has declined sharply, from about 80 per cent in the 1951 general election, to 64 per cent in the last one. Of those aged 18 to 24 only 44 per cent bothered to vote in that election.

Turn-out is even lower in council and Euro elections and even referendums. Our country is not alone; low levels of electoral participation features in other liberal democracies such as America.

To many political experts, significant nonvoting threatens the democratic legitimacy of any elected body. There is a big debate as to why 40 per cent of the electorate don’t bother to vote, despite the increase of postal voting.

It’s generally assumed that apathy is a major cause and that compulsory voters – with nonvoters being fined – would help. The argument for compulsion is attractive, especially when other methods of raising the turn-out haven’t been highly successful, such as postal voting and voting online. It’s practised to some extent in several nations including Australia, Austria, Belgium and Greece and seems to work well.

Others have rightly pointed out that if turnout continues to fall (which is likely to happen in the forthcoming general election), it raises the possibility that extremist candidates will be elected.

Yet many are strongly against compulsion.

Apathy may not be the main cause of nonvoting. It could be confusion and lack of knowledge about politics or the lack of any candidate representing the voter’s views. Apathy could arise from distrust of politicians and the political system. There’s survey evidence to indicate that lots of people have little faith in elected politicians, especially at national level.

If so, it’s argued, we should not blame and punish non-voters, but make politics cleaner, more relevant and more idealistic.

Lastly, some point out that compulsion is anti-democratic because it takes away freedom of choice.

In light of the sharp demise in electoral turnout, I’m now of the view that the time has come for the UK to adopt compulsory voting with fines being administered to those who can’t be bothered to vote.

37.5 21.9

Cllr Stephen Lambert (Lab) is a member of Newcastle City Council

FIRST POLITICAL

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Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing Conferences 19 March 2015 (Manchester) and 31 March 2015 (London) These conferences will help councillors and officers to understand how the licensing process can be used to protect the public, and provide an opportunity to discuss innovative and emerging local practice.

They will also provide an opportunity to consider how the next government should take forward the recent Law Commission recommendations for overhauling taxi and private hire licensing.

The conferences will also explore: • The impact of the Deregulation Bill clauses to permit sub-contracting and three-year licences • Implications of the use of licensed vehicles in child sexual exploitation cases and what we should be doing to prevent this • Best practice in issuing licences where the vehicle is likely to operate in other council areas

Visit www.local.gov.uk/events for more information and to book your place