Joining up a wide range of local services and bringing organizations together to build partnerships is a critical element of the vision of local government ten years on, presented by Local Government Minister Nick Rainsford. He drew the vision against a changing background of an ageing population with more people aged over 65 than under 16, the rapid growth of one person households and technology developments. Other factors driving change include the growth of the regional agenda, neighbourhoods and pressures on finance.Local councils are the natural leaders of the area and a focal point for partnership working. In areas such as health, education and community safety, the growth of partnership working will challenge traditional accountabilities and responsibilities. Councils will need to find new ways of influencing, shaping and contributing to key objectives which are not delivered directly.

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Chancellor Gordon Brown, in his Budget Statement, revealed how the Prime Minister’s vision of a transformed Civil Service outlined in a speech last month is to be put into effect. All central departments are to cut their budgets by 5% by 2008 and this will result in running costs being reduced to 3.7% compared to the 1990s average of 5.7%. Staff cuts of 43,300 posts have already been identified.In securing these efficiency gains there will be a strong emphasis on using normal staff turnover and the Government is examining options for strengthening the current arrangements for civil service staff to be redeployed across administrative boundaries.

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This paper is a response from the Local Government Association to Kate Barker’s report on housing supply. Publication of the Barker report provides an opportunity to take a fresh look at how charges on land development can be paid locally so that community services don’t bear the burden unaided. New development puts pressure on roads, schools, health and other local facilities and the Association wants to see money from the increase in land value ploughed back into these services. It outlines radical plans to overhaul the way money from new building projects is collected and distributed. It argues that tax on profits from new development should be ploughed directly into local communities.Published by the Local Government Association http://www.lga.gov.uk

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