The Scope of Local Self-Government
Democratically-accountable local authorities are uniquely placed to lead the government's charge towards the devolution of power and responsibility to local level, writes Meic Sullivan-Gould. The question is: will the government give them the tools to get on with the job?
If the new Coalition Government is serious about thinking the unthinkable in respect of the role and size of the State with a view to putting the country's finances to rights then does it not need to consider rethinking the role of local government? And if the UK Government becomes (again) the proponent of subsidiarity, in terms of bringing decisions made within the European Union back to the UK, does it not need to consider what is being done at national level that ought to be done at a local level?
Not many of us in local government can now recall the co-ordination of local services that built and sustained the burgeoning cities of Victorian England but it may be useful to remind ourselves that there was a time, before the current Local Strategic Partnerships, when there was co-ordination between the demands of a growing economy for better infrastructure; in terms of water, cleaning, street lighting, sewerage, electricity and gas supply and transport with better protection for health and the weakest in society through housing, education and hospital provision, policing and fire safety. All those roles were undertaken by a single locally elected and democratically accountable Council. Not a golden age - but one where things got done.
Look at your local governance now - a plethora of boards, authorities, trusts, academies and all of them needing to work together in search of the ideal Total Place for their patch. And who brings them together? The only body with any direct democratic legitimacy, of course - the local council! How much cheaper for one body to manage the Total Place?
There is a blueprint for all this: Article 4, The European Charter of Local Self-Government 1985 (Ratified by UK 24 April 1998).
- Public responsibilities shall generally be exercised, in preference, by those authorities which are closest to the citizen. Allocation of responsibility to another authority should weigh up the extent and nature of the task and requirements of efficiency and economy.
- Local authorities shall, within the limits of the law, have full discretion to exercise their initiative with regard to any matter which is not excluded from their competence nor assigned to any other authority.
- Powers given to local authorities shall normally be full and exclusive. They may not be undermined or limited by another, central or regional, authority except as provided by the law.
- The basic powers and responsibilities of local authorities shall be prescribed by the constitution or by statute. However, this provision shall not prevent the attribution to local authorities of powers and responsibilities for specific purposes in accordance with the law.
- Where powers are delegated to them by a central or regional authority, local authorities shall, insofar as possible, be allowed discretion in adapting their exercise to local conditions.
- Local authorities shall be consulted, insofar as possible, in due time and in an appropriate way in the planning and decision-making processes for all matters which concern them directly.
It will be a really radical Secretary of State who follows up and delivers all those enabling powers and constitutional safeguards to locally accountable elected councils. It will be a really successful Secretary of State who cuts out the duplication and waste of multiple agencies trying to coordinate with one another while being accountable to different structures and organisations at regional, national and continental level.
Go for it, Eric! (And don't get too particular about where the blueprint came from!)
Meic Sullivan-Gould is Principal of Meic Sullivan-Gould Ltd, Legal and Management Consultancy for UK Local Government
This article first appeared in ACSeS' Firing Up the Passion for Leadership: Developing Future Chief Executives publication.To get hold of a copy (for a nominal £10 to cover production costs) contact the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors at Afon Building, Worthing Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1TL; telephone: 01403 788249; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
