Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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Blears challenges councils to match Government on devolution
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears today unveiled a radical re-engineering of the relationship between the state and local councils and communities bringing Government much closer to local people.
The full-set of Whitehall performance indicators that will come into force for local councils next April are published today. They show the Government has slashed the number from 1200 to just 198 giving councils major new freedoms to direct their focus and resources at the issues local people care about from tackling anti-social behaviour, cracking down on gun culture, stepping up work to improve local education standards and tackling climate change.
In a speech to the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace) in Cardiff, Ms Blears also delivered a direct challenge to local government - who have long called for greater freedom - saying they must use this "once in a generation" opportunity to deliver better services and make a positive difference in their local community.
Hazel Blears said:
"We have delivered local government unprecedented freedoms, financial flexibility and revenue raising powers. You must now step up to the mark, embrace this new responsibility and demonstrate a strengthened approach to governing.
"This represents a major re-engineering of the relationship between the state and local councils bringing Government much closer to our communities.
"We are delivering on our devolution promises - slashing Whitehall control, increasing financial flexibility and turning devolution to the town hall into a reality. Councils and communities will have more power to take action on the issues local people care about whether it's tackling guns and gangs, providing more affordable housing or improving the local neighbourhood.
"We are giving local government the space it needs to thrive - they must now make the most of this once in a generation opportunity and deliver on local peoples priorities and take the tough decisions to make a positive difference."
Ms Blears also set out other major new freedoms for local Government including:
* Up to £5billion to be transferred out of ring-fenced budgets - this will allow local councils and communities to shift resources to local priorities such as tackling crime or worklessness.
* Business Rates Supplements - a powerful new tool enabling local authorities to work with business to invest in projects that could not otherwise proceed to promote the long-term economic growth and productivity of their areas.
* From next April there will be no new mandatory targets on councils (apart from the 17 statutory targets for educational attainment and early years). The Government will not prescribe any of the targets in Local Area Agreements (LAAs), but will aim to agree them with local partners as part of the negotiation, and councils will be required to involve local communities in the process.
The new framework includes all the key areas in which local government affects our daily lives and will apply to primary care trusts and police authorities as well as councils through new Local Area Agreements.
Notes to Editors:
1. The New Performance Framework for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partners: Single Set of National Indicators is published today http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/nationalindicator
2. The New Indicator set will come into force in April 2008 and apply through new Local Area Agreements.
3. Local Authorities will also be eligible for a third round of Performance Reward Grant for their new LAAs to be announced later this year.
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