Localism – the national picture James Kingston Department for Communities and Local Government September 2015

The Localism Act Powers for communities

Drivers of increased localism Financial and demographic pressure. Trust in institutions and politics is low People say they want more involvement – but they don’t always act on it.

Significant increases in uses of the community rights across the country Parishes well represented amongst users

Right to Challenge in practice  community housing advice agency  Concerned about reduction in specialist tenancy relations service  Expression of interest proposed that the council contract out

Neighbourhood planning in practice Upper Eden allows single dwellings in rural areas, where the local plan would only allow them where there are at least 3 existing ones. Tattenhall, Cheshire: Limits size of new sites to 30 dwellings Thame Allocates sites chosen by local community

Right to bid – Stanwick Parish Council Stanwick Parish Council, Northamptonshire  Nominated land in time to have it pulled from auction  Purchased from reserves

Redesigning public services Local authorities looking for ways to redesign services and save money. Parish councils are well placed Much of this strength comes from effective engagement

Neighbourhood level services – efficiencies and better outcomes Appropriate geographic scale Smaller Economies of scale Co- design: Services produced between provider and user Economies of Scope: achieved through the ‘bundling’ of services Economies of density: Local knowledge means you can identify where need is greatest Economies of learning: You can respond quicker, experiment and take risks Economies of cost: You have lower cost base and simpler purchasing The outcome will be different for different services types. Larger

Economies of scale Economies of scale works in some circumstances – but not all, e.g. where there are knowledge gaps or where need is not uniform. There are other ways to achieve efficiencies

Co-design Better relationships means more engaged customers and greater user satisfaction with the services you provide

Economies of scope Bringing services together could mean sharing premises or staff; or enabling staff to better help clients with a range of needs

Economies of cost The parish tier cost base is lower… … and procurement is easier

Economies of learning You can be quicker to respond experimental take risks

Economies of density Local knowledge means you can identify best where need is greatest

 Our Place – putting the community at the heart of decision making Our Place

 Shrewsbury an Our Place programme area  deliver highways, grounds maintenance; provide a commercial service  Team Shrewsbury - a multi-disciplinary team tackling crime, antisocial behaviour and quality of life issues. Our Place- in action

 Cost-benefit analysis a key part of Our Place programme  Analyses show clear financial and other benefits from this way of working Our Place - analysis

 Helping local authorities redesign services at the neighborhood level  Themes include working with town and parish councils

 Advice and support from your peers  A range of support programmes My Community, My Community Network and community rights support

James Kingston Department for Communities and Local Government