Lib Dem calls to give more power to local people (Norwich Liberal Democrats Online)

Lib Dem calls to give more power to local people

November 19, 2008 2:41 PM

The Sustainable Communities Act

The Norwich Liberal Democrats will next week ask the City Council to use new powers to help promote local sustainability and increase public participation in politics.

The new powers come from the Sustainable Communities Act, passed last year in parliament with cross-party support. The act will help facilitate a shift in power over local matters from central to local government, and will require the active involvement of local people in Norwich.

The Norwich Lib Dems will move a motion at this month's full council meeting. Proposer of the motion, Liberal Democrat Group Leader Brian Watkins, said: "The aim of the act is to promote sustainability and reverse the decline of communities. It allows local councils and, more importantly, local people to take power back from central government. Public involvement is fundamental to the process and it should give people in Norwich a greater say in how things are run."

The act gives the government a legal duty to assist councils in promoting sustainability of local communities. Councils will make proposals to the government and the LGA (Local Government Association) will select which proposals will be given priority. In making these proposals councils must involve local people, from all sections of the community, in new Citizen Panels. Proposals could include, defending local post offices from closure, promoting local businesses by helping public bodies procure goods and services produced within 30 miles or so, or measures to promote cycling and walking.

"Politicians talk a lot about improving public involvement; it's about time they started matching actions to their words. We want the council to fully endorse this Act and make sure we take up the opportunities on offer. In the Liberal Democrats we know that local people and local councils can make better decisions than remote central governments, this is our chance to convince other parties to follow us and usher in a new era of genuine localism and sweep away the 'Whitehall know best' attitude." said Cllr Watkins.

The Act includes a requirement for the government and all quangos to publish a local breakdown of all related local spending, councils will then be empowered to claw back locally-spent money which they think they could more effectively spend themselves and also take control of some government functions.

The Liberal Democrats will move the following motion at this month's full City Council meeting on Tuesday 25th November at 7:30pm at City Hall:

Motion - Sustainable Communities Act

Councillor Watkins to move-

"This Council:

Supports the bottom up process described in the Sustainable Communities Act, which is designed to aid local communities to direct central government assistance towards reversing community decline;

notes that the Act gives local authorities the power to:-

make proposals to government on the action and assistance government must take or give to promote sustainable communities; and

argue for a transfer of public money and function from central to local control.

In the light of the Council's stated intention to make full use of the powers, the Council therefore resolves to ask the Executive to:-

(1) use the Act by preparing and submitting proposals on how central government can help by 31 July 2009;

(2) inform the local media of this decision;

(3) write to local MPs, informing them of this decision;

(4) write to Local Works (at Local Works, c/o Unlock Democracy, 6 Cynthia St, London N1 9JF) informing them of the Council's resolution to use the Act; and,

(5) strongly encourage any new Council representing the Norwich area to continue to make full use of the powers.".

An easy to read guide to the Sustainable Communities Act can be found here: http://www.localworks.org/files/localworks.org/sustainable_communities_act_2_page_guide.doc

More information on the Act and the ongoing campaign can be found here:

http://www.localworks.org/

Norwich Liberal Democrats Online