Labour says Localism Bill will give ministers 100+ new powers
The Localism Bill gives ministers more than 100 new powers, the Shadow Communities Secretary claimed today in an attack on the draft legislation ahead of its second reading in the House of Commons.
Describing the Bill as a “sham”, Caroline Flint said: “Despite [the government’s] promise to devolve power to communities and local authorities, they're actually taking power away from local people and giving more to Whitehall ministers.
"Not only does the Localism Bill propose giving ministers over 100 new powers, it also places extra burdens on local government when councils up and down the country are already being weighed down with Pickles' diktats telling them what to do.”
The Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, insisted that the Bill was one of the most radical pieces of legislation to be debated for decades, claiming it to be “a triumph for democracy over bureaucracy”.
His comments came as the government published a plain English guide to the legislation in a bid to ensure that the general public and community groups can fully understand its effects.
According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the guide “seeks to translate complex legal language used in the 207 clause Bill in a transparent and reader friendly way, so anyone can understand how the Bill will devolve greater power and freedoms to councils and neighbourhoods, establish powerful new rights for communities, revolutionise the planning system, and give communities control over housing decisions”.
Pickles said: "[The Localism Bill] will fundamentally shake up the balance of power in this country. It represents everything this government stands for and is the cornerstone for everything we want to do. It will revitalise local democracy and put power back where it belongs - in the hands of the people.
"For too long, government has believed that Whitehall was the centre of the universe. We genuinely believe in local democracy, in local communities, and in local solutions.
"This Bill will give councils the power and the authority they need to make sensible decisions for the area – a shot in the arm for local democracy – and it will give people new rights, new powers, new opportunities to act on the issues that matter to them.”
Decentralisation Minster Greg Clark suggested the Bill represented "nothing less than a reshaping of the constitutional settlement – a new page in the relationship between the people and government”.
Ministers also claimed new backing for the legislation from “a wide range of organisations, from civic and community groups and business leaders to housing and planning professionals and local authorities”.
Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: "There has been a lot of hysterical comment on the impact of the localism agenda on the property industry. The Bill has gone some way to countering this and whilst there is still much that remains to be resolved we are re-assured by the emphasis that the government is now placing on growth and the way in which localism is to be used as the vehicle for encouraging communities to opt, not for nimbyism, but for the sustainable development of both the homes and commercial property that our economy so desperately needs."
The plain English guide to the Bill can be downloaded here.
