Community Right to Challenge comes into force

The provisions for the Community Right to Challenge have come into force today, with the Department for Communities and Local Government also publishing the statutory guidance in final form.

The Community Right to Challenge allows a range of people and organisations – such as voluntary and community groups, parish councils and local authority employees – to express an interest in taking over the running of local authority services.

Relevant authorities – county, district and London borough councils and fire and rescue authorities – must consider those expressions of interest.

Where they accept an expression of interest, the authorities must run a procurement exercise. There is, however, no guarantee that the organisation that made the expression of interest will win that exercise.

The DCLG also unveiled an £11.5m support package intended to help community groups through the process. The contract to deliver this programme was won by the Social Investment Business, which will work in partnership with Locality and the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations.

The support will include a dedicated advice phone line and grants to help groups use the right, which was brought in under the Localism Act 2011.

Communities Minister Andrew Stunell said: "The Community Right to Challenge gives communities another opportunity to be the driving force in the future of their local services. As the people who know their communities best and use and rely upon local services it makes sense, that where they feel they can run services better, they should be encouraged and supported to step in and do exactly that.

"Already we have seen some excellent achievements from local people taking the reins, and with these revolutionary rights now in place we can look forward to more communities getting involved in making their local areas better places to live."

Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark said: "Councils do not have to have a monopoly over the best ideas and the most creative are already welcoming innovative ideas from communities about how services can be reformed and improved to better meet local need.”

See also: The Community Right to Challenge edges closer by Mark Johnson of TPP Law.

The statutory guidance for the Community Right to Challenge can be viewed here.