ACS

Communities Secretary John Denham is putting councils in the driving seat when it comes to dealing with issues that local residents clearly say they want tackled.

Mr Denham is to change the rules that require councils to get Whitehall permission if they want to create local byelaws or revoke ones not needed. Instead, the red tape would be cut away and councils would face local scrutiny and the need to get agreement from residents as a way to give them greater say on tackling localised problems.

Many problems local communities face are covered by national laws, but where this is not the case byelaws can give councils a genuine way to tackle local issues.

As part of the same concerted drive, Mr Denham also announced plans to publish a consultation on proposals to either repeal or dramatically streamline more than half of the 52 so-called 'consent regimes' - relating to, for example, housing and land use, which currently require councils to get Government approval before acting.

John Denham said: "It's right that councils should be able to fight for the interests of their residents. But having to get Government's approval can sometimes feel like unnecessary red tape when what really matters are local people's views.

"Where national laws don't offer protections for localised problems, council leaders must be fully equipped with the powers they need to act decisively and effectively to tackle issues on behalf of their citizens and communities.

"Once they have community agreement they should be trusted to get on with it - rather than having to go to someone sitting behind a desk in Whitehall who may seem far removed from the problem in hand."

Mr Denham believes that one of the great challenges at present is how to deliver high quality public services at a time of tight public expenditure constraint. He believes that strong local authorities are key and where the best arrangements are needed. The founding principle of local government is that citizens have the right to influence the decisions that affect their lives and communities.

These moves are part of a wider Government commitment to ensure decisions on local matters are made as close to the people affected by them as possible. Other significant developments include the total place programme to personalise services; plans to transform local authority scrutiny; a drive for value for money through more innovative procurement; creating new roles for local government such as tackling climate change and to open up information to the public.