Pickles consults on statutory guidance requiring fair deal for third sector
The Communities Secretary has launched a consultation on a “social responsibility deal” under which he will scrap 56 pages of statutory guidance on local priorities in return for councils giving greater support to voluntary and community groups.
Eric Pickles said the draft Fair Deal for the Voluntary and Community Sector would require councils to:
- seek to avoid disproportionate reductions in funding
- give at least three months' notice if they plan to reduce or end funding or other support
- work with the organisation to shape the future of the service, and
- speak to the organisation and community “about other ideas about how the service could be continued in a different, or more efficient, way”.
The minister said the “minimal, light touch Best Value statutory” guidance, once published, would apply to all best value authorities, including councils and national park, transport, waste, police and fire authorities.
He added that central government departments would be signing up to the same principles.
The guidance being axed – Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities – covers a range of duties and associated issues around how local authorities should agree their priorities, engage their citizens, lead their communities and commission public services.
Two main remaining statutory duties covered in – the Duty to Involve and the Duty to Prepare a Sustainable Community Strategy – will also be repealed.
According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the change will “remove barriers and burdens which Ministers believe currently forces councils to focus more on working to top down priorities than on serving their local communities”.
Pickles said: "I'm offering a social responsibility deal for town halls: I'm tearing up the unreasonable Whitehall red tape that costs them money and wastes their time. In return, local councils should treat local community groups with the full respect they deserve.
"I'm not asking councils to do anything that I wouldn't do myself, so all central government departments are also signing up to these fair new standards."
Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: "This guidance is a welcome step forward, as it makes clear that councils need to avoid making disproportionate cuts to the sector and sets out what voluntary and community organisations should expect from working with local government.
“In the current climate, it is more important than ever that local authorities and voluntary and community organisations work together effectively, to ensure the best possible outcomes for individuals and communities."
In a speech last month to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Communities Secretary warned local authorities that ministers would use “statutory force” against councils that failed to conduct themselves within the government’s reasonable expectations over their dealings with voluntary and community groups.
The new best value guidance can be found here.
