ACS

New proposals announced today by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears could give communities the power to make local laws to tackle issues like community safety, vandalism and public nuisance that really matter to local neighbourhoods.

Councils will be able to 'set, sign and now sanction' local byelaws without always having to seek approval from Whitehall, but rather from their residents. Byelaws are put in place to tackle local problems which are not covered by national legislation.

Communities are at the heart of the new proposals, ensuring that local people will have a direct say about the means to tackle local problems and the local laws that will ultimately affect them through greater consultation.

A consultation published today will also ask for views on whether councils and their communities should be able to revoke old and outdated byelaws independently, and also whether they should have the option of issuing sensible fixed penalties for breach of any new byelaws that are introduced as an efficient alternative to prosecuting through the magistrates' courts.

Today's proposals will mean that councils will work even more closely with their communities to complete byelaws tailored to local problems without having to seek approval from Whitehall. This will make the system less bureaucratic, easier to understand and enforce, and devolve more power locally.

Secretary of State for Communities Hazel Blears said:

"Communities, who know their areas' hotspots and problems, are best placed to identify and find solutions to the practical issues that matter to them. For the first time councils could now be able to set, sign and now sanction local laws without central government approval. This will make it easier to tackle problems, cut red tape, improve the wellbeing of their area and devolve more power to local people."