Government publishes New Burdens Doctrine guidance for first time

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published for the first time its internal guidance for Whitehall departments on implementing the so-called New Burdens Doctrine.

The doctrine “requires all Whitehall departments to justify why new duties, powers, targets and other bureaucratic burdens should be placed on local authorities, as well as how much these policies and initiatives will cost and where the money will come from to pay for them.”

It applies to all departments and covers all local authorities, including police authorities, fire and rescue authorities and local precepting authorities.

The document sets out, step by step, the processes that government departments must follow when considering new burdens. “Departments cannot expect to receive collective Cabinet clearance of proposed policies and initiatives if they fail to follow this guidance,” it says.

In a statement Local Government Minister Bob Neill said: “Between 1997 and 2010, council tax bills doubled. One of the reasons for this was central government imposed unfunded or under-funded burdens on local authorities.

“The coalition government is committed to ensuring that the net additional costs of all such new burdens from central government policy or initiatives are fully funded to help keep council tax down.”

Neill said publication of the Whitehall internal guidance for the first time reflected the government's commitment to the principle of full funding and its desire to bring greater transparency.

The New Burdens Doctrine was at the heart of the recent judicial review action brought by a group of local authorities over the academies funding transfer.

The claimants had argued that the transfer would have cost councils £148m this year and £265m the next, and the decision to implement it breached their legitimate expectations arising out of the New Burdens rules.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has recently agreed to review the plans.

A copy of New burdens doctrine: Guidance for government departments can be downloaded here.