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Proposed freedom or flexibility | Initiatives it links to
| What has been given? |
| 1 | General framework for local government:
| Local Government Bill | LG Bill Currently before Parliament
|
| | —well being power:—new powers to work in partnership;—power to work in partnerships on Best Value—order-making power for Secretary of State to remove some individual statutory plan requirements (if stands in way of more effective way of meeting local needs);
| Best ValueNew Commitment to Regeneration |
Best Value aspects being covered in consultation following 1999 Act
|
| 2 | Closer working between local authorities and health authorities:
| Health Act 1999 and health improvement agenda
| Health Act provisions now allow LAs and HAs to apply to Secretary of State to use the joint working provisions
|
| | —pooling of budgets;—integrated provision;—joint commissioning
| Health Action ZonesNew Commitment to Regeneration
| HAZs and NCR pathfinder areas are expected to be among the first to benefit from new freedoms
|
| 3 | Pooling budgets other than with Health Authorities
| New Commitment to Regeneration | Discussion has been entirely in Health Act context, but initial invitation from Government in NCR context was capable of being extended to other areas
|
| |
| | General comments from authorities indicate the issue is relevant, but absence of specifics beyond desire for no approval process
|
| 4 | Annuality rules—special and main programmes examples only on specific programmes:
| New Commitment to Regeneration |
|
| | —HIP annual cycle means only projects that are deliverable within 12 months come forward;—SRB—announcement of flexibility within annual allocations can be too late to free up resources within the period;—Current DfEE training programmes stick rigorously to annual cycle
| |
|
| 5 | TECs | New Commitment to Regeneration
| Detailed discussions took place last summer with DfEE about several issues to do with TEC budgets. But became caught up in bigger picture of Learning and Skills Council; LGA lobbying is partly reflected in a section in the LSC prospectus about its working with local authorities; and requirement in Bill for LSCs to have regard to Community Plans
|
| 6 | Benefits: | New Commitment to Regeneration
| No delivery that we are aware of |
| | NCR pathfinders have produced very detailed ideas of what they want. Some are unrealistic and miss the point about flexibility. Others are genuine small flexibilities to designed to develop the largely passive welfare system into a proactive one that helps people back into work
| New Deal for CommunitiesEmployment Zones |
Need to explore implications of merger of Benefits Agency and Employment Service
|
| 7 | Local authority participation in companies and partnerships
| New Commitment to RegenerationBest ValueRogers report on Urban Renaissance
| Tied up with post 1999 LG Act consultation (and that was the Government response when NCR pathfinders raised this issue).
|
| 8 | Disposal of public sector assets. National basis for disposals can mitigate against their use in local regeneration proposals (eg MOD rules)
| New Commitment to Regeneration |
|
| 9 | Compulsory Purchase Orders—streamlining procedures in priority regeneration areas
| Rogers report on Urban RenaissanceNew Commitment to Regeneration
| Government accepted principle |
| 10 | SRB | New Commitment to Regeneration
| |
| | —Hidden costs to local authorities acting as accountable bodies for SRB
| |
|
| 11 | Virement across budgets and agencies
| New Commitment to Regeneration |
|
| 12 | Capital finance | New Commitment to Regeneration
| |
| | —More flexibility to borrow to enable focus on outcome, rather than navigation through the capital control framework—Land restorations counting against RTIAs
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