The 2010 Millennium Development Goals Review Summit

Written evidence submitted by the Local Government Association for England and Wales

October 2010

1. Local Government recommendations

1.1 The LGA recognises the significant needs of local government and their communities in the developing world, as well as the two-way benefits of international engagement. We offer to support the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in responding to the MDGs and in addressing a new global development framework beyond 2015. In particular, to support:

· The reform of aid – to ensure aid programmes take greater account of their localised impact and are more locally specific in their design. Greater inclusion of local government and their communities in aid development and delivery will improve relevance, ownership and sustained results.

· The delivery of aid - through decentralised cooperation with local government partners internationally, we will work at regional, national and local levels to help deliver the different MDGs locally.

1.2 In the further scrutiny of the effectiveness of DFID and that of its associate agencies, we invite the Select Committee to take greater account of:

· the inclusion of local government actors, local context and priorities in the development and implementation of policy and in-country programmes

· the localised impact of DFID bilateral and multi-lateral development assistance programmes in assessment of aid effectiveness.

The following paper outlines our response more specifically in relation to each of the Select Committee’s questions.

2. DFID's role in delivering agreed strategies;

2.1 We welcome the lead role that the UK Department for International Development (DFID) played in the Summit to seek to ensure that sufficient levels Official Development Assistance (ODA) from donor agencies to help deliver and incentivise the enhanced achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

2.2 We further welcome the emphasis that DFID has placed on addressing those MDG targets that are not progressing, particularly in relation to food security, gender equality, access to maternal and child health care, and education.

2.3 We also welcome that DFID has recognised local government as a key delivery partner, and would like to encourage the department to take a more practical and strategic approach to how it engages with the sector to support this view.

"We agree that local government can play a crucial role in accelerating progress on the MDGs," DFID response to LGA letter regarding the Summit, 30th Sept 2010

2.4 The LGA has long emphasised the critical role that should be played by the local government sector in poverty reduction and basic service delivery, noting that local government is at the front line of delivery of basic services and community engagement. We have also called for reform in aid programmes to better fit local priorities and capacities. In many developing countries this has not been possible, however, not necessarily due to a lack of powers or responsibility but rather due to a paucity of financial powers and resources, weak institutional frameworks and technical capacity.

2.5 Examination of the final draft resolution to the MDG Summit in September 2010 highlights a number of areas where local government will have a role to play in responding to the next phase of initiatives focusing on delivering the MDGs. The introductory elements of the agreement highlight broad themes relating to the local government role and capacity needs, in terms of:

· Local government inclusion in ‘national development efforts’ (para 17) - through their ‘broad consultation and participation’ (para 36), seeking to achieve the MDGs and support ‘sustainable prosperity’ (para 5) by 2015.

· Promoting universal access to basic services (23.f) - including better implementation and investment, through mobilizing domestic resources, as well as public-private partnerships (23.q and 39.)

· Improving capacity to deliver quality services equitably and reduce exclusion and discrimination (23.g and 23.k) - especially to enhance opportunities for women and girls (23.l), to support community-led strategies’ and ensure ‘full’ participation in decision-making (23.e and 23.i), to implement social policies and programmes, as well as build statistical capacity (23.s), including to support enhanced data for rapid impact and vulnerability analyses (para 69.)

2.6 There a numerous references in the Summit agreement that will require local government involvement their delivery in relation to each of the MDGs (See Annex 1. of this paper for the full references):

2.7 DFID, along with other donors, has continued to fail to target local government strengthening, resulting in a lack of sustainable local architecture to deliver services on the ground. Localising the MDGs will be critical to address, not only the Slum target under MDG 7, but for achievement of all the MDGs. Establishing a democratically accountable local government is vital, one that is equipped to work in partnership with local actors to deliver core services to all its local citizens, especially the poorest.

2.8 To help achieve of the Summit commitments, the LGA asks that the Select Committee encourage DFID to better support local government in developing countries, through its bilateral and multi-lateral aid programmes. Aiming to ensure that local government can become a more effective partner in achieving self-sufficiency and less aid dependency, in partnership with and accountable to its communities.

2.9 We also ask that DFID be encouraged to directly support those activities involving international local government actors, including the LGA, that aim to help strengthen local government in developing countries in their capacity to fight poverty.

3. The role of the UN, the World Bank, the European Commission and NGOs in securing and delivering Summit outcomes, and how these organisations will be held accountable for achieving them

3.1 It is important that Local Government is identified as a central delivery partner within each of these international agencies.

"there is now general agreement that a key part of any strategy for poverty reduction and for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals lies in improved delivery of basic public infrastructure and related services. This point has been forcefully made in "Investing in Development", which calls for a major increase in funding for public investments, for poor people and in poor areas - and also calls for the rapid deployment of locally appropriate and replicable delivery systems to ensure effective absorption of funds for delivery of this infrastructure on the scale required. The Millennium Project report also endorses the now widely-held view that much of this basic infrastructure is most appropriately delivered locally, through decentralized financing, planning and delivery systems, and that local government bodies should play a key role in this." Source: UN Capital Development F und

3.2 The UN Development Programme has given four arguments relating to the localisation of the MDGs:

(i) Subsidiarity - there are legitimate differences in spheres (levels) of government, and that issues should be dealt with by the level of government most appropriate to the nature of each issue. Specifically, subsidiarity suggests that implementation is likely to be more efficient locally because of local knowledge, sensitivity to specific local conditions, local ownership, engagement and participation.

(ii) Inequality - this points to the fact that national averages tend to mask significant local variations in types and level of poverty. With, in the most extreme cases, the national averages being misleading or even meaningless. Tackling the MDGs more locally reduces this danger and the engagement of local partners allows a more equitable response to MDG challenges, focusing in on the issues and priorities specific to a particular local area.

(iii) Complementarity - this case rejects the dichotomy and confrontation of national versus local, and recognises the essential linkages between national and local priorities (and, indeed, global-national-local, and vice versa). Like the subsidiarity argument, there are advantages and disadvantages attached to each level and thus greater vertical or two-way coordination is important.

(iv) Thematic integration - local government has to take a holistic approach in working at the local level and delivery of MDG -related programmes. A national perspective – often linked to the structure of national government administration – may encourage the separate ‘silo’ treatment of MDGs into gender, education, maternal health, environment etc, ignoring the fact that in practice, poor people suffer multiple aspects of deprivation. A local – and specifically a local government – perspective can better highlight the interrelatedness of different sources of disadvantage and encourages a holistic and integrated response.

Source: UNDP (2005) http://content.undp.org/go/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=1634559

3.3 According to UNDP Art Gold programme, most parts of the UN system work with local government in the delivery of the various agency programmes, however it is unclear where group learning / coordination of such work occurs. We hope that the ‘One UN’ model, adopted in some countries, can be further elaborated to ensure better coherence of UN programmes that involve local government. Agencies need to be better coordinated in their responses to local government and community priorities rather than impose development priorities from the outside.

3.4 The LGA, with other European partners (Platforma – European Local and Regional authorities for development), are currently in dialogue with the European Commission DG Development and European External Action Service about improving the way that European Commission in-country delegations work with in-country actors, including local government. We are keen to ensure they consult with and include local government – national associations and member authorities – in the development, implementation and review of the Commission’s country strategy papers.

3.4 Equally, the World Bank needs to review the extent to which they adequately take account of and report on the local context, within all of their Poverty Reduction Strategies and Country Assistance Strategies. There has been progress in the inclusion of local government in some programmes, notably its Urban strategy, and specific initiatives such as the Cities Alliance. The World Bank Institute has also supported some research into this area. For example, "Moving out of poverty: Success from the Bottom up" by Deepa Narayan (2009, World Bank) presented the views of people living in poverty from 15 developing countries. Narayan asks the 'development community' to reassess their basic assumptions, notably that ‘Responsive local democracies can help reduce poverty’. The book refers to cases of local corruption and how democracies have been 'captured by local elites', who prevent representative responses to the real needs of local people. But it also points to communities where local governments have changed positively over time, where good leaders, free and fair elections, access to information about local government activities, and people's participation are emerging. It is vital that learning from such activities is used to inform and impact policies, programmes and research throughout the World Bank group.

"We need global reach, with local sensitivity…Above all, we must look beyond an "elite retail" model of research…We need more core data across countries and time periods on health, education, infrastructure, and gender. We need more and better data on public finance, especially at sub-national levels, which is critical for better governance." Democratizing Development Economics, Robert B. Zoellick, President, World Bank Group, Sept 29, 2010

3.5 The LGA is seeking to work in partnership with various local government partners, as well as NGO and private sector actors who are already active in development programmes cooperation programmes to try and address this gap. We see this is a critical way forward in ensuring the ‘democratisation of development’ programmes and in bringing more sustained results in the long-term.

3.6 We invite the Select Committee to recommend more consistent inclusion of local government actors in UN, WB and European development programmes, not only in their formulation and implementation, but also to the review impacts and effectiveness of programmes in the local sphere.

4. The role of developing countries in securing and delivering Summit outcomes

4.1 There is a clear principle of partnership running throughout the Summit resolution, highlighting the need for.

"Fostering a greater level of coordination among national and local institutions responsible for economic and social development and environmental protection, including with respect to the promotion of investments relevant for sustainable development" Para 77 (o) of the MDG Summit resolution

4.2 This partnership relates to the formulation, delivery and review of national plans, as well as local development plans, and is in accordance with the Accra Agenda for Action on Aid Effectiveness (Sept 2008);

"We will engage in open and inclusive dialogue on development policies…To further this objective we will take the following actions:

a) Developing country governments will work more closely with parliaments and local authorities in preparing, implementing and monitoring national development policies and plans. They will also engage with civil society organisations (CSOs).

b) Donors will support efforts to increase the capacity of all development actors-parliaments, central and local governments, CSOs, research institutes, media and the private sector-to take an active role"

4.3 It is clear that better dialogue between central government and local government actors is needed. This should include national and regional associations of local government where they exist. These associations need to be better equipped to establish and communicate the role, capacity and needs of the LG sector and their communities, so that they can more effectively contribute to the elaboration and delivery of national development plans.

4.4 The LGA invites the Select Committee to encourage DFID in its role as advocate, promoting to developing country governments the value and mechanisms for central-local dialogue and coordination toward the further achievement of the MDGs.

5. Beyond 2015

5.1 Maintaining political momentum - The UN MDG report (June 2010) indicates that poverty statistics may go backwards due to the economic downturn, food and climate crises – right up to 2020. It is therefore critical that the momentum on tackling poverty across the globe is not lost. The United Cities and Local Government (UCLG) world association has built up some strong political momentum throughout its global membership to promote the delivery of MDGs in the sector. At the UCLG World Congress in November 2010 it will look at how we can support further achievement of the MDGs in a climate of economic downturn. As such, beyond 2015, it will play a critical role in promoting Local Government engagement in poverty reduction initiatives around the globe – providing a forum for political debate, policy development and shared learning.

5.2 The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF), of which LG is also a member, is distinct in that it brings together ministries and national associations of local government, as well as individual member councils. In Cardiff, March 2011, CLGF will host Summit on ‘Energising local economies – partnerships for prosperous communities’ providing an opportunity to further develop local-central partnerships in achieving and going beyond the MDGs.

5.3 Joint delivery - At a practical level, UCLG hosts the ‘Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) working group’ of local government associations from various industrialised countries, including the UK, that works to support developing country partners. CIB is trailing coordinated Local Government decentralised cooperation programmes in five developing countries: Mali, Nicaragua, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe. If successful, this work could be significantly expanded so that UCLG could take a clearer role in steering international Local Government engagement to bring about delivery of joint programmes in a number of developing countries. This would draw on the best competencies of local government actors from a range of countries to bring more coordinated programmes that directly support poverty reduction aims. As a member of UCLG the LGA will seek to expand their work with local government partners, and support the work of CLGF across the Commonwealth.

5.4 Urbanisation trend - The June MDG report found that "in absolute terms, the number of slum dwellers in the developing world is actually growing, and will continue to rise in the near future". UN Habitat suggests that rural - urban migration is a continuing trend. Progress made on urban slums has not been sufficient to offset growth in informal settlements in the developing world. At present 50.6 percent of the world’s population - or 3.49 billion people- are living in urban areas. And of those, an estimated 828 million live in slum conditions, compared to 657 million in 1990. This trend is particularly the case in the more medium-sized cities in African countries.

"Projections show that by 2030 there will be 759.4 million African urban dwellers, more than today’s total number of city dwellers in entire Western hemisphere." State of African Cities, UN Habitat 2008

5.5 Urban poverty programmes - The UN report called for a revised target for slum improvement to spur country-level action and final Summit resolution also called governments to go ‘beyond current targets’. It is clear that donors - including DFID – need to face up to this growing challenge. Donors and national governments will need to continue to address rural poverty but they must also develop targeted strategies as to how they will support urban authorities in delivering better planned, more sustainable and inclusive cities in the future.

5.6 The LGA welcomes the outcomes of the recent Select Committees inquiry into urbanisation and poverty and asks them to continue to press DFID to respond more proactively to this emerging development trend, particularly in relation to African nations.

Annex – Principal references to local context / local government / public sector

in the final High Level Resolution:

‘Keeping the promise: united to achieve the Millennium Development Goals’