Supplementary memorandum from the Local
Government Association
POWERS FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE—LGA BRIEFING
INTRODUCTION
This note follows requests from Committee members
for a list of the key powers for the Secretary of State and Ministers
that the LGA would like to see removed from the Localism Bill.
The below represent a cross-section of the unnecessary, dangerous
and centralising Secretary of State powers in the Bill, but by
no means cover all the powers we feel should be deleted to encourage
truly local thinking.
- 1. EU fines
- 2. Housing finance reform
- 3. Establishing shadow mayors
- 4. Decreeing what constitutes a "local
issue"
- 5. Micro-managing how the "Assets of
Community Value" policy will work locally
- 6. Micro-managing neighbourhood planning
1. EU FINES
Part 2, Clauses 30-34 of the Bill give Ministers
the power to force local authorities to pay part, or all, or an
EU fine given to the UK by the European Union.
LGA View
This policy is unfair, unworkable, dangerous and
unconstitutional. It allows Ministers unprecedented power
to fine local authorities extra-judicially as a result of EU laws
that councils played no part in signing up to. There is no indication
of how responsibility will be apportioned, and with issues like
air pollution it would be impossible to accurately assess fault.
This represents a new threat to council finances in a time of
significant financial strain, and the LGA offers instead to work
with the Government to help ensure that the UK is not fined at
all in the future.
2. HOUSING FINANCE
REFORMS
Part 6, Chapter 3 of the Bill abolishes the Housing
Revenue Account (HRA) system, allowing councils to buy out of
the current system and take on a level of debt. However, it also
allows the Secretary of State to determine the maximum amount
of housing debt a local authority can take on when investing in
social housing for the future.
LGA View
The abolition of the HRA should give councils a clean
break and the financial certainty to invest in and plan for social
housing. However, the power for the Secretary of State to decree
from the centre how much housing debt a council is allowed to
take on introduces a new, direct control on councils' capital
finances. It ignores the success of the prudential code which
has ensured that councils' investments are affordable, prudent
and sustainable. This power for the Secretary of State to cap
borrowing is unwarranted and will limit councils' ability
to invest in social housing for the future.
3. ESTABLISHING
SHADOW MAYORS
Schedule 2, Sections 9N, 9NA, 9NB, & 9NC give
the Secretary of State the power to order that a local authority
will operate an elected mayor and cabinet model. On a specified
date the council leader will be forced to become a "shadow
mayor" with the powers of an elected mayor, with this change
subject to a confirmatory referendum.
LGA View
Localism must allow for local people to decide on
their own form of local governance. The power for the Secretary
of State to decree that an area must have a mayor, through the
imposition of a "shadow mayor", is in stark contrast
to the localist rhetoric of Ministers. The creation of an
enforced shadow mayor model will be complex and time-consuming,
and allows central government to pre-suppose the wishes of local
people.
4. DECREEING
WHAT CONSTITUTES
A "LOCAL
ISSUE"
Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Bill lays out the procedures
for holding local referendums, with Clause 44 (6) setting out
the Secretary of State's power to determine by order what constitutes
a local issue.
LGA View
This is a symptomatic, and ironic, proposal which
gives the Secretary of State unnecessary, inexplicable power
to dictate what constitutes a local issue. True localism will
allow for local people, with their elected representatives, to
decide what issues affect them locally. It does not require national
politicians to tell local people on what issues they can petition.
5. MICRO-MANAGING
HOW THE
"ASSETS OF
COMMUNITY VALUE"
POLICY WILL
WORK LOCALLY
Part 4, Chapter 4 of the Bill lays out how assets
of community value will be decided upon and listed locally, giving
the Secretary of State power to determine the procedure for unsuccessful
nominations, how land owners will be informed that their land
has been added to the list, and the moratorium system to allow
for community groups to build bids to buy assets on the list.
LGA View
This Chapter is indicative of the huge amount of
regulatory powers that the Bill reserves for the Secretary of
State. In a Chapter focusing on local people working with their
council to determine what constitutes an asset of local community
value, there are 54 references to specific areas where the Secretary
of State may issue regulations from the centre. These include
dictating:
- how the list of assets will look;
- how entries on the list can be modified;
- how to determine whether a building has community
value;
- how to list assets that do not get on the list
despite being nominated;
- what the moratorium period on sales of assets
is to be;
- what constitutes "relevant disposal"
of local assets; and
- who is to pay compensation in connection with
operation of the Chapter.
This number does not include further, non-specific
powers for the Secretary of State to make any further regulations
in conjunction with this Chapter. The heavy emphasis here, and
elsewhere in the Bill, on centralised control is in complete
opposition to the "post-bureaucratic age" so enthusiastically
championed by Ministers, and the Secretary of State's personal
commitment "…to replace the command and control approach
to local government with genuine localism"
(Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP, 15 October
2010).
6. MICRO-MANAGING
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
Part 5, Chapter 3 and Schedules 9, 10, and 11 lay
out the new framework for neighbourhood planning including provisions
for the creation of new neighbourhood forums which will represent
their neighbourhoods and have the power to require their planning
authority to make a neighbourhood planning order and a neighbourhood
development plan.
LGA View
This Chapter demonstrates the enormous difficulty
that Whitehall has had translating Ministers' localist ideas into
legislation. A commendable idea, of helping people to get more
involved with local planning decisions, has been wrapped up in
excessive amounts of bureaucracy and red-tape and resulted
in a hugely complex piece of legislation. This will affect not
only councils but the communities that these sections are aimed
at. The powers for the Secretary of State that we would like to
see deleted from this section include:
- Power to determine what constitutes a neighbourhood
area (Schedule 2, Section 61G(11)).
- Power to determine if, and how, councils can
charge to meet expenses incurred as result of supporting neighbourhood
planning (Clause 97).
- Power to dictate how a neighbourhood development
order must look (Schedule 10 Clause 5).
- Power to dictate who should act as an independent
examiner to consider Neighbourhood Development Orders (Schedule
10, Clause 7(5)).
CONCLUSION
We will be supporting amendments to the Bill as it
goes through Committee designed to decrease the power of the Secretary
of State and increase the power of local people to decide how
their areas are run.
Amending the six areas highlighted above would
be an excellent start.
February 2010
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