31 January 2007
Local authorities should be given a clearly defined lead role in promoting sub-regional economic prosperity and freed from the bureaucracy and partnership overload that haunt Regional Development Agencies, according to CSS.
The assertion comes in CSS’s response to the Lyons Inquiry into local government which has asked key stakeholders for further comment on the implications of the Eddington, Barker and Leitch reports.
CSS, which represents local authority chief officers responsible for economic development issues, welcomes the “fresh thinking” which underlies the new questions posed by Sir Michael Lyons. It believes the three new reports strengthen the case for the local government to take on a pivotal “place-shaping” role.
“The strategic tier of local government has a key role to play in shaping and delivering improvements to quality of life,” says CSS President, John Deegan. “Government does not always recognise this fact. Our members can see the big picture and have the capacity to focus resources while retaining local flexibility and effective locality working with partners at all levels.”
“There is a need for real devolution of responsibility for economic development based on the principles of democracy and subsidiarity. Government rightly has the responsibility at national level. At sub-national level, this should rest primarily with sub-regional and local partnerships, with local authorities given a clear responsibility and accountability for taking the lead role.”
CSS says that too much power currently rests at the regional level with unelected and unaccountable Regional Development Agencies. While they do have a role, CSS says it is essential that there is greater transparency in their decision-making, better communication with stakeholders and greater accountability within their regions.
Promotion of the economy should, says CSS, now become a statutory duty for local authorities, but it stresses that there are a number of barriers that need to be removed for the new arrangement to be successful.
It is particularly concerned about the way in which resources are managed and spent by Regional Development Agencies through sub-regional partnerships involving over-complex bureaucracies and decision-making which together handicap real progress. It believes too much filtering of funding through too many layers of bureaucracy inhibits local solutions for local problems and says the issue should be investigated by the National Audit Office / Audit Commission.
CSS also believes that too many partnership requirements imposed on local authorities often lead to “partnership overload and fatigue”. Excessive staff resources are said to be taken up by “time consuming and uncertain competitive and other bidding processes”, while gaining access to different funding streams necessitates “jumping through too many hoops”.
CSS says that a defined local authority lead could “reduce the conflicts inherent in a range of partners coming together to tackle problems at the local level”. It believes its lead could overcome the problems that arise through the unwillingness of partners to bend funding and priorities to meet local needs. A “local up” perspective which requires the key agencies at national and regional level to respond, could be a powerful influence on place-shaping.
ends
Media contacts
John Deegan, CSS President and Strategic Director of Environment and Economy Directorate at Warwickshire County Council. Tel 01926 412022;
email: johndeegan@warwickshire.gov.uk
Barrie Hedges, Daybreak Communications. Tel 0845 644 3845; mobile 07899 923756; email barrie.hedges@daybreakcomm.co.uk
Notes to editors
1 CSS represents local authority chief officers who manage some of the most pressing issues facing the UK today. The expertise of CSS members and their vision is paramount in dealing with fundamental issues that affect all our lives, including sustainable communities, the environment, strategic planning, transport and travel, waste management and economic development
2 The CSS membership is drawn from all four corners of the United Kingdom. Its members are responsible for:
- providing professional services for three quarters of the road network
- two-thirds of the land area
- just under half the population of England and Wales.
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Membership