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Exclusive polling for the Local Government Association by
Savanta ComRes shows that 58 per cent of MPs and 80 per cent of
Peers agree that councils should be given greater powers and
funding to drive employment and training schemes in their
areas.
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Eight in 10 MPs (80 per cent) say councils should have
more financial freedoms and powers to build homes in their area
and almost three quarters (72 per cent) say they should have
more control over local taxes.
The LGA is calling on the Government to use the Queen’s
Speech to bring forward “turbo-charged” proposals for devolution
that give all councils across country the power to meet the
challenges and opportunities facing their communities over the
coming decade.
It is councils who know their local areas best and must be
central to efforts to level up the stark inequalities that have
been exposed by the pandemic. One of the main lessons from the
COVID-19 crisis is that a centralised design and control of
public services from Whitehall does not work as well as an
approach that enables councils to innovate and create new
services locally.
There is clear and significant evidence that outcomes
improve and the country gets better value for money when councils
have the freedoms and funding to make local decisions. Council
maintained schools deliver better results for our children,
council-run public health services are improving the health of
our nation and where councils can influence the local skills
agenda, businesses can grow to play a major economic role in the
nation’s future prosperity.
Over the last decade, England has taken steps towards
greater devolution. However, progress has stalled with no new
deals announced since November 2017. As we look to help our
communities recover from the impact of the pandemic, it is
crucial this is turbo-charged to go further and faster than ever
before.
To help local areas across the whole country recover, the
LGA is calling for the Government to end the emphasis on
devolution deals designed by Whitehall and instead ensure that
all councils can support new infrastructure investment, build
more homes, join up public services and provide greater access to
jobs and prosperity.
This needs to be underpinned by ensuring that:
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Devolution deals are locally-led: there
should be no one-size-fits-all approach on governance, no
standardised deals crafted in Whitehall and those areas able go
furthest, fastest should be able to do so.
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Devolution deals leave nothing off the
table: councils should be given access to the widest
possible set of powers including fiscal devolution, such as the
local assignment of taxes, and the ability to ‘defragment’
national agencies at a local level to tackle issues such as
skills and unemployment.
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Devolution is backed by adequate
resources: any newly devolved powers and
responsibilities must be fully funded and sit alongside a
long-term sustainable funding settlement for local
government.
This will not only allow local areas to make decisions on
how money is spent and design services that work for their
communities but also help the Government meet its ambition to
level up the country and reduce demand for higher cost national
services.
LGA Chairman Cllr James Jamieson said:
“The pandemic has shown that, with the right funding and
freedoms, councils can improve people’s lives and ensure the
successful delivery of those priorities that are shared by
national and local government.
“Bringing power and resources closer to all of us is the
key for all our communities to thrive.
“Different areas of the country will need their own unique
response in the coming months and years. The Queen’s Speech needs
to empower councils to be able play a central role in levelling
up the stark inequalities the pandemic has exposed, develop a
green recovery, address skills gaps and level up the economy so
that it benefits everyone.”
Notes to Editors
On behalf of the LGA, Savanta ComRes polled MPs (between 9
Nov 2020 and 13 Jan 2021) and Peers (between 2 Nov 2020 and 4 Feb
2021) to test their support for councils having additional
funding and powers to support employment and training
opportunities in their communities. The data has been weighted by
party and region to be representative of the House of Commons and
by party to be representative of the House of Lords.
Recently published
research by the LGA compared levels of fiscal
devolution between the UK and three other European nations (the
Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland). It found that local
governments in these countries have greater revenue raising
powers and retain more of their funding locally.
