5 Conclusion
73. In a previous report in this session, we
welcomed the Government's commitment to localism and decentralisation.[156]
We also commented that "some policy areas appear to have
been granted an exemption from decentralisation", noting
in particular the apparent resistance of the Department for Work
and Pensions to the devolution of power to local institutions.
If welfare reform is regarded as a case study in localism, the
results are decidedly mixed. There will be devolution of unringfenced
funds for the delivery of new forms of Social Fund and Council
Tax Benefit, but the latter within some very tight policy and
financial constraints. On the other hand, Housing Benefit, a local
authority function which is working well for customers and which
helps councils to manage their other responsibilities, is to be
centralised. Some witnesses have told us they believe there is
much greater potential for local authorities to be involved in
the administration of welfare reform, even under the banner of
the Universal Credit.
74. The concerns we have heard about these changes
from a variety of organisations emphasise some of the key lessons
to be learned about decentralisation: devolved responsibilities
must be adequately funded, they have the greatest potential when
they enhance service integration, there must be sufficient time
for planning, and careful attention must be paid to ways of ensuring
that local authorities can be held to account for the outcomes
they achieve for the most vulnerable.
75. A further lesson is that inconsistency is
profoundly unhelpful—such as seeking to incentivise councils
financially to create jobs while excluding them from the early
development of the Work Programme. The issues raised in this inquiry
illustrate the extent to which reforms to the welfare system can
affect other areas of policy, in particular housing. We intend
to return to this issue over the course of the Parliament, to
assess whether DCLG and DWP policies are in harmony rather than
working against each other.
76. We concluded in our report on Localism that
"the views of those outside Government about how the policy
should be defined have not obviously been taken into account".
We are encouraged by the assurances given by Ministers in this
inquiry about consultation and open-mindedness on several points
of policy, and we trust that local authorities will be given every
opportunity to shape this process of localisation in welfare reform.
156 Communities and Local Government Committee, Third
Report of Session 2010-12, Localism, HC 547 Back
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