Localism is at the top of the agenda
NCVO chief executive Stuart Etherington examines the developments that will challenge our sector at a local level.
We are now 10 months into the Coalition and the priorities for the new government – and its agenda – are beginning to take a clear shape. We have known for some time that we would be faced with public-spending cuts on an unprecedented scale. Local authorities are putting the final touches to their budgets, and many voluntary organisations are only weeks away from the moment when the most dramatic cuts will start to bite.
There is, quite rightly, real concern about how these cuts are being implemented, about how individuals and communities and, indeed, about how our own organisations will be affected. NCVO is not immune from these cuts, and we have been making substantial changes to ensure that we can continue to support our members and represent their views at the highest level during these difficult times. I know that many of you will be doing the same and I encourage you to use the resources that NCVO and others have made available.
One of the overriding themes of the Coalition has been the government’s desire to see a shift in power from the centre to the local level. Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has repeatedly set out his three guiding principles for reform as ‘localism, localism and localism’. This is important because, for the majority of voluntary and community organisations, the primary – often the only – relationship with government is at the local level.
NCVO supports these efforts to devolve power to local people and communities as part of building a vibrant civil society. We have long argued that power and decision-making should be devolved to the local level where possible, and that public services should be commissioned and delivered in partnership with the people and communities they serve. But this will require significant change in practice. National government policy has always set the context: ring-fencing the funding; setting targets; and giving local government agencies policy direction. This will all change with the Decentralisation and Localism Bill, currently being considered by Parliament.
However, if local people and communities aren’t supported and encouraged to play a greater part in society, then there is a danger that the real ambition of this agenda will fail. All that will occur is that power and decision-making will devolve from central government to local government. And the voices of local people – particularly the marginalised or disadvantaged – will still not be heard. That is why it is more important than ever that strong local partnerships are developed – uniting public sector agencies, the private sector and civil society organisations; making sure the voices of all are heard; and enabling the skills, expertise and resources of all to be used to benefit the local community.
I am not naïve enough to think that all local authorities will work well with their voluntary groups. There will be problems and disputes – there always have been, even when there has been strong central control. We will need to ensure that where relationships fail, mechanisms are in place to help to tackle those problems – starting with local compacts and, where necessary, through the Local Government Ombudsman. But any halfway-decent local authority knows that, at the best of times, it cannot do everything for its local community itself; it needs to work with local people and with local voluntary and community groups. In turn, however, we have a responsibility to ensure that we try to make these partnerships work.
At our Annual Conference on 1 March, two overriding themes were addressed: the impending cuts and the implications of the localism agenda. It was a timely opportunity to share experiences and look to the coming year. I do not doubt we will hear many more examples of good and bad practice across the country. As the demand for our support and services intensifies, I would urge the sector to come forward with real-life examples. It will be more important than ever for us all to speak truth to power and send a message to government about the realities of our sector and our potential. We need to ensure that any ongoing decisions on policy and spending are informed by a proper understanding of the contribution we make and the impact that decisions taken by local authorities have on our ability to contribute.
The government looks set to take forward the localism agenda in areas previously considered the natural preserve of the state, such as education, healthcare and policing. It will be the role of the voluntary and community sector to be vocal about where this can and cannot work. Despite these very real fears, the localism agenda offers an opportunity to put power in the hands of the communities we serve.
