Opinion
Featured in Bath Chronicle, May 2010:
Dear Editor,
One of the key debates in British politics at the moment from all of the parties is about localism and decentralisation. It is about taking power away from central government and giving more power to local councils and local people, boosting local democracy.
From my experience as a local councillor, one of the changes that would be most welcome would be to see more of the money we pay in taxes spent on local priorities.
For many years, the number of grants from central-government which have been ring-fenced for specific projects has increased greatly, while the Council is expected to jump through endless hoops to access Government funding. Like making a dog jump for a bone, central government has treated council funding as a way of getting local authorities to do what it wants rather than work towards local priorities.
Currently, only about 25% of B&NES Council’s revenue comes from council tax, with the majority of the remainder coming from central government grants.
This shows just how restricted the actions of a council often are, and I have had several conversations with MPs in recent years, several of whom are now ministers, persuading them of the benefits of setting local councils free.
The formation of the coalition government in Westminster gives us a timely opportunity to make this radical change, and it’s extremely welcome that the early signs are very promising.
Greater localism is an area of clear common ground between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The new Government has already announced that it is to remove the ring-fencing of over £1billion of council funding, while restrictive inspection regimes such as the ‘Corporate Performance Assessment’ are to go. This is alongside moves such as the abolition of the much-hated Regional Spatial Strategies and cutting the powers of unelected regional Quangos such as the RDA.
But this must only be the start. The new government is to have a review of local government finance in the coming months, and while budgets will be increasingly tight, we still have a real opportunity to improve the services councils deliver to residents by allowing greater freedom over their own budget and priorities.
We face big challenges over the coming years, and whilst it may be a cliché, it is also true to say that with every challenge comes an opportunity. This opportunity to decentralise, streamline and improve services must be grasped at both the national and local level.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Brook Whelan,
Conservative, Widcombe