ConservativeHome's Local Government Blog

10 years on: Devolution has largely failed

Cllr Cameron Rose, a Conservative councillor on Edinburgh, says that as measured by results devolution has been nothing to boast about.

The tenth anniversary of devolution in Scotland was celebrated last week. Last month the Calman Commission on devolution in Scotland recommended a range of additional powers (including tax raising powers).

The foundation of its recommendations is the assertion that ‘devolution has been a remarkable success’.  To be fair to the Commission, such was the tenor of many of the submissions the committee took. But whilst many of the recommendations are reasonable the basic assertion is cosy and self congratulating and needs to be challenged for the sad lack of ambition it reveals.

The report recalls the purpose of devolution: ‘Its purpose is to serve the people of Scotland and to make their lives better’.

Certainly it has provided a closer link between citizens and elected representatives. There have been a few useful pieces of legislation and it has enabled Scotland to set the pace in some areas such as anti-smoking  policy (though it would have come to Scotland anyway) and Climate Change legislation (if you are one of the reducing band who think that is a good thing).

Councils planning policies block new private schools

Given the desperate challenge of parents like Mrinal Patel to get their children into good schools, this piece in The Economist this week about prospects for expansion of private schools is topical. Councils could do more to encourage new private schools to open, and existing ones to expand, by making this an objective of their planning policy. It is true that new schools, even small ones, create pressures in terms of traffic. But planners could identify particular sites or districts where this pressure would be manageable.

The Economist says:

Nor can new competitors easily creep in and undercut incumbents. In big cities, where people want private education most, property is scarce and dear, and local officials are obstructive. “Planning departments put all sorts of obstacles in your way,” says Robert Whelan of Civitas, a think-tank that runs three rare low-cost “New Model Schools” in London. (Fees, at just over £5,000, are little more than half the average for private day schools in the capital.) “They
seem to care more about their traffic plans than anything else.”

Some Councils might not wish to encourage new, low cost fee paying schools to open. Their concern being that if parents have a greater choice of good schools then fewer of them will be willing to use the worse LEA schools. This desire to thwart competition strikes me as the wrong attitude.

Death trap tower block "was listed building."

Very upsetting story about six people, including a three-week-old baby girl, being burnt to death in the 12-storey Lakanal House, which is on the Sceaux Gardens Estate in Southwark.

The BBC report quotes one resident, Carol Cooper who lives in the seventh floor, saying the tenants had called for the block to be demolished two or three years ago "but had been told it was a listed building and had to be preserved." If true that is a complete scandal.

The block has one central stairwell. The stairwells in such blocks are often a focal point for gangs of youths to cause trouble - so inevitably there is suspicion the fire was started deliberately. But how can it possibly be justified for these hideous death traps to be "listed buildings"?

Mark Wallace: It is time to abolish the Local Government Association

Mark Wallace of The TaxPayers' Alliance calls for the abolition of the Local Government Association. You can join the TaxPayers' Alliance for free here.

This week saw the taxpayer-funded festival of self-congratulation that was the annual conference of the Local Government Association. Among the usual back slapping and spin seminars, the speech made by Cllr Margaret Eaton, the Conservative chairman of the LGA, was particularly interesting.

Instead of discussing why council tax has become Britain’s most unpopular tax, or how to help pensioners forced to choose between penury or prison by exorbitant tax bills, Cllr Eaton decided to take the Gordon Brown approach by retreating to her bunker and going for the negative core vote strategy. How best to look good at an LGA shindig? Why, lash out at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, of course.

The TPA, she announced to half-hearted applause, “knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing”. She would perhaps have been wise to note the large cost to the taxpayer of the LGA’s conference, which is itself of highly questionable value.

The problem with Cllr Eaton and the LGA as a body is that they simply do not get it. If no-one cared about the problems and the waste our research has identified in local government, then she surely would not need to devote part of her most high profile speech of the year to attempting to dismiss them out of hand. The public are deeply angry at the vast increases in council tax in recent years, they are strongly opposed to the various service cuts they have received in return and as a result they do have a strong interest in the work that we do.

Mark Wallace of The TaxPayers' Alliance calls for the abolition of the Local Government Association. You can join the TaxPayers' Alliance for free here.

This week saw the taxpayer-funded festival of self-congratulation that was the annual conference of the Local Government Association. Among the usual back slapping and spin seminars, the speech made by Cllr Margaret Eaton, the Conservative chairman of the LGA, was particularly interesting.

Instead of discussing why council tax has become Britain’s most unpopular tax, or how to help pensioners forced to choose between penury or prison by exorbitant tax bills, Cllr Eaton decided to take the Gordon Brown approach by retreating to her bunker and going for the negative core vote strategy. How best to look good at an LGA shindig? Why, lash out at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, of course.

The TPA, she announced to half-hearted applause, “knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing”. She would perhaps have been wise to note the large cost to the taxpayer of the LGA’s conference, which is itself of highly questionable value.

The problem with Cllr Eaton and the LGA as a body is that they simply do not get it. If no-one cared about the problems and the waste our research has identified in local government, then she surely would not need to devote part of her most high profile speech of the year to attempting to dismiss them out of hand. The public are deeply angry at the vast increases in council tax in recent years, they are strongly opposed to the various service cuts they have received in return and as a result they do have a strong interest in the work that we do.

Should councils sue parents who lie to get their children into good schools?

Harrow Council has dropped a prosecution under the Fraud Act against Mrinal Patel after she applied to get her son in Pinner Park First School. This is a schools for 3-8 year-olds which is judged "outstanding" by Ofsted. Mrinal Patel denies lying and the case was dropped after Harrow Council decided the legal costs would be too great in going ahead with it.

Are parents morally justified in lying to get their children into a good school? Lying about their address? Lying about their religion? The answer is no. But it is a dilemma. The sort of issue that could crop up on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze. In the past Michael Gove would have been one of the panelists pontificating on the matter. Let us hope that next year he will be in Government and able to tackle the situation which causes it to arise. Gove proposed to allow huge numbers of state funded, independently run, new schools on the Swedish model.

What should Councils do in the mean time? In the interests of fairness there does need to be some vetting so those using bogus addresses are spotted and turned down. But prosecuting such parents is going too far. Councils should instead take note of their desperation. They should tackle the underlying causes. They should do what they can to start good new schools and allow existing oversubscribed schools to expand. This will mean taking some tough decisions to close bad schools. However bad a school is, however low the school roll, however poor its results, there will invariably be protests at the Town Hall if a proposal is made to close it. Councillors should persist because it is the right thing to do. This is the way to deal with the problem - not hounding Mrinal Patel through the courts.

Another council byelection result

Ferndown Central, East Dorset.

Conservative. 510 (51.67%. -25.17%.)

Independent. 477. (48.37%.)

Con Hold. (The Lib Dems got 23.16% last time but didn't contest the byelection.)

Congratulations to Cllr Lesley Dedman on her victory.

Council byelection result

Sutton LBC Nonsuch Ward 

Lib Dem - 1,665 (50.6% +3.5%)
Conservative - 1,329  (40.4% -7.4%)
BNP - 211   (6.4%)
Lab - 88     (2.7% -2.5%)

Lib Dem gain from Con.

Cameron calls on councils to be more transparent

The Conservative leader David Cameron gave an excellent speech at the LGA Conference yesterday telling local councils what they could expect from a Conservative Government. He said the good news was they would have "a lot more power." The bad news was "there won't be a lot more money." He promised "…the process targets, the Comprehensive Area Assessments, the regional strategies and plans… we’re going to scrap them and let you get on with the job."

Cameron added:

All that ring-fencing that makes you budget with one hand behind your back...we’re going to phase it out to allow for real local discretion on spending. All those quangos, like the Standards Board, that has just become a forum for pointless and vexatious complaints …we will scrap them.

In place of the old centrally-controlled regime we’ll have councils empowered to exercise their own judgement. One change that will have an incredibly big effect is our plan to give you, in the legal jargon, a general power of competence. This means that councils can do literally whatever they like as long as it’s legal.

So if there is a valuable local service that’s in financial difficulty and you can find a way of saving it – you will be able to just do it, rather than endlessly ponder whether there is a legal basis to take action. We’re going to give you much greater control over your budgets too, with the power to levy business rate discounts if you feel it would boost growth……and the right to retain the benefits of that growth.

Housing and planning powers are going to be stripped from regional government and given to local, democratically-elected government…and what’s more you’ll have the power to form local enterprise partnerships so that you can abolish the regional development agencies and reclaim more money for economic development.

But now for something we won’t be doing. Under a Conservative Government there will be no more of the endless, pointless, top-down, soul-sapping reorganisations that have disrupted local government for the last decade.

Is Surrey Council socialist?

Cllr Andrew Povey, the new Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, has been outlining his priorities. Among his proposals is to give £1 million to Surrey Police specifically to tackle speeding. "Surrey Police has noted that it comes top of the concerns expressed to them by the public," says Cllr Povey. This is surprising. In my experience people want police to get out of their patrol cars and back on the beat. They want a lower priority given to chasing after motorists and a higher priority tackling muggers and burglars. Perhaps the view in Surrey is different to elsewhere.

Recruitment of social workers is another area being flagged up with bursaries of £1,500 a year for 50 students whose family home is in Surrey who are studying social work. Also sponsorship for ten existing members of Council staff to train to become social workers. It will be interesting to see how this works. I can see the benefit of social workers having local knowledge of where they are working. But what would there be to stop them taking the bursaries and sponsorship and then working for another council?

Should council officers be allowed to wear shorts and T shirts?

Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, has suggested to employers that they should relax the dress code in the heat. That staff should be told they can work in shorts and T shirts. This seems reasonable and I think Councils should accept his advice where council officers are not meeting the public.

The alternative is having the air conditioning blasting away at full throttle - with terrible implications for the energy bills and the carbon footprints of local authorities.

Bundred calls for bolder approach on spending cuts

The Audit Commission chief executive Steve Bundred isn't the most obvious pin up for the Taxpayer's Alliance. He was a Labour member of the GLC in the 1980s when he was a staunch supporter of Ken Livingstone and the agenda to waste as much money as possible.

But Bundred had some robust comments on spending cuts at a New Local Government Network event at the LGA Conference. Bundred said:

“Both political parties have pledged that whatever happens they will protect health and education. I think that’s a big mistake. Health and education are the two services that have been most
generously funded over the past decade but they are among the most inefficient services.

Speaking to the Local Government Chronicle afterwards he added:

“It would seem perverse to assume that there is no scope for greater efficiencies in those services or that any scope would be limited to the back office. We have seen that there are huge variations in unit costs between comparable bodies at the front line and those services should not be exempt from the demand for greater savings.”

On Tuesday the Audit Commission published a report that suggests schools could save £400 million a year if they bought desks and equipment more sensibly. A primary school in my ward called John Betts is outstandingly successful. The children stay in the same classroom for all their lessons. Rather
than sharing tables, copying each other's answers, they sit at their own old-fashioned wooden school desks (with a cupboard at the front and a flap over it to put all the books in). This avoids time being wasted drifting from class to class and gives the children a sense of space. Of course it's not the only reason the school succeeds or even the main one. But I think it's one reason. The school certainly doesn't spend money getting new desks all the time.

Kent increases allowances by 8%

Conservative-run Kent County Council has increased their councillor allowances by 8%. It was in line with a proposal from the independent remuneration panel, they haven't had a rise for four years and they promise not to give themselves another rise for another four years. But even so. Does it pass the "smell test" to do this in the middle of a recession and just after an election?

Labour councillor for Ramsgate, Cllr Liz Green, voted against the proposal which takes the basic allowance up to £13,290. She says it is "appalling." I have good news for Cllr Green. She doesn't have to take the increase. She can ask the accounts dept to continue paying her at the old rate.

Margaret Eaton attacks Taxpayer's Alliance

Cllr Margaret Eaton, a Conservative councillor and the Chairman of the Local Government Association, has used her speech to the LGA Conference to attack the Taxpayers Alliance. (You can see a live webcam here as an alternative to Wimbledon.)

Cllr Eaton says: "The Taxpayers Alliance know the cost of everything and the value of nothing."

I know the cost of my Council's annual membership sub to the LGA. It is £48,125. When it comes to its value to the residents of my borough who have to meet this cost I'm afraid I do go a bit hazy.

Winning the argument on grammar schools

Nick Seaton of the Campaign for Real Education, welcomes the reignition of the grammar school debate by David Davis.

Tim Montgomerie has already covered last week's Spectator debate on grammar schools, so sorry to harp on.  But it exposed yet again a festering sore in the Conservative Party that will not go away.  It's
not just about whether or not we should have more grammar schools. It's also about preserving those we still have: 164 in England and 69 in Northern Ireland.

Like them or not, they are excellent schools and extremely popular. Yet all 69 in Northern Ireland and perhaps 1 in 4 of those in England are under some form of threat from socialist ideologues – thanks, in part, to the Conservative leadership's lack of support (see for example, www.savestbernards.co.uk )  The socialists' behaviour is normal. But why should they be allowed to take advantage of lukewarm Conservatives who offer an open goal to the enemies of good schools bent on undermining or destroying them as soon as possible?

Social housing rule changes proposed to thwart BNP

After "British Job for British Workers" we have a new slogan from the Prime Minister: "Local Homes for Local People." Local families will get priority over newcomers. Those on the waiting list the longest will get priority than new applicants in greater need.

I suspect that as with the earlier slogan it will be more about spin than reality. The current system of social housing has dependency in its DNA. As I've said before this will inevitably lead to resentments that groups like the BNP will exploit. Tinkering around the allocations policy will not solve this.

Nobody benefits from the present system - least of all those locked in dependency despite the billions spent on them. Surveys show most Council tenants would like to be home owners if they had the chance. They have no desire to be supplicants of the state languishing in soullesss monolithic "housing units." The rival socialist parties can argue about housing allocations. Conservatives should be a real alternative.

Standpoint magazine attacks Brighton

The new issue of Standpoint includes the following comments by Peter Whittle about Brighton:

Brighton. Shouldn't a visit to our most famous southern seaside resort, with its Pavilion and Theatre, be a harmless day out? If your idea of fun is an eternal Camden Market, then maybe. It is rather as if somebody tipped the 1970s on their side and everybody who rolled off ended up here. Achingly alternative, with a fair amount of New Age-ism around the edges, it feels as if it's in the middle of a perpetual student union meeting — a real city of lost causes. The seafront was mugged by some of the worst modern architecture ever inflicted on a small town. On a recent trip, I saw more tattoos and nose-rings in one day than in a year in London, a sure sign that the egocentric but talentless have come to rest here having fled the capital. How Julie Burchill tolerates it is a mystery. Antidote:Aldeburgh.

I am writing to Cllr Mary Mears, the Conservative leader of Brighton and Hove Council and Cllr Roger Warren and Cllr Marianne Fellowes, who represent the Aldeburgh Ward on Suffolk Coastal Council, inviting their reactions.

Mark Wallace: Councils must resist the demands of local NHS nanny-staters which would have the effect of banning Popeye for under-18s

Mark Wallace of The TaxPayers' Alliance says that local councils must ignore the demands of some increasingly zealous primary care trusts.

Long-standing readers may recall Eric Pickles' admirable call last year for councils across the land to refuse to collaborate with the stealth taxes and schemes of central government. As one city has demonstrated this week, it is also necessary for councils to be constantly resistant to the nannying tendencies of organisations more close to home than the national government.

Unbelievably, Liverpool City Council has been confronted with a demand from its local Primary Care Trust that all films showing smoking except in an unremittingly negative light should be automatically issued with 18 certificates. This means, as the Liverpool Daily Post acutely ascertained, that any future film about Popeye, for example, would be adults-only viewing unless the heroic sailor died of lung cancer as a result of his smoking habit.

It is a bizarre anachronism that councils have the power to increase the age restrictions on films being shown in their area. The vast majority of councils are absolutely right never to use the power at all. The only result of them attempting to force their personal tastes onto local cinemas would be to harm those cinemas by driving their customers elsewhere and then to make the council itself a laughing stock.

Torbay, for example, banned The Life of Brian in 1979 to protect the people of the town from what the council felt to be an anti-Christian message, and that ban was only lifted last year. Is Torbay now notably more God-fearing than any other comparable town in the country? Did the ban succeed in preventing Torbegians (I’m guessing, but I hope that’s their official name) from being exposed to the supposed evils of Monty Python for 29 years? Of course not – the only result was that local cinemas missed out on ticket and popcorn sales for one of the most popular film releases of that decade.

Cllr Edward Lister: Lessons from Wandsworth for David Cameron

Cllr Edward Lister is Conservative leader of Wandsworth Council.

There’s lessons for David Cameron in this week’s survey results on people’s attitudes to their local authority and the place where they live.

In Wandsworth’s case the Government’s Place Survey gave us approval ratings to die for – top in the country on value for money (73 per cent) and top again for satisfaction with the council (75 per cent).

In London average satisfaction scores fell – down to 49 per cent. So what is Wandsworth doing that is different?

Well we do have the clear advantage of the UK’s lowest council tax – but that’s only one component. When residents are judging us on value for money they are influenced by their overriding perception of what the authority is about.

How was I treated last time I dealt with the town hall? Does the council share my concerns on quality of life issues? And how does it look after the local area?

The Wandsworth formula has been finely tuned over the years. Through a rigorous process of scrutiny and challenge that stretches into every corner of municipal activity we make sure we get the last pound of value from every service.

And like any sound business we don’t just do this once – it is a constant process of review which keeps asking why things are done the way are – and whether they could be done differently.

Boris on his "tough week"

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has had some problems. He has dealt with them well - tackling them openly rather than denying their existence or refusing to comment. Here is his email message to supporters:

It's been a tough week this week. I was angry and disappointed to learn that my former deputy had made some very serious errors of judgement when it came to expenses. He rightly stepped down and we must now move on.

I won't gloss over my own issue with expenses. Despite being a fanatical cyclist, I have had to use taxis over the past year to travel to official functions as Mayor. To be honest, I always prefer using the bike, even to very posh functions. However, sometimes using a taxi is unavoidable.

When I was elected, I promised that I would be open and transparent - for good or for bad. Even though the release of information about expenses can be and has created negative media stories, I believe that is a price worth paying for a truly accountable mayoralty. And it is important to focus on our broader efforts to run an open and value for money City Hall. We have made significant savings, such as cutting the media budget by £700,000 and closing down the office in Venezuela, saving £100,000.

We publish all spending over £1,000 and, more importantly, City Hall no longer spends money on narrow political causes. I am pleased to report we have not held any lavish lunches with South American dictators!

All this has enabled us to freeze our share of the council tax for the first time in 8 years.

So, I believe we have a good record when it comes to respecting your money, using it with care and in a transparent manner. I will always be in favour of shining a light into dark corners, and one thing I will promise is that you will never see anything blacked out when it shouldn't be in any document we publish.

Hope you have a good weekend

One local government by-election result from June 25th 2009

It would appear there was only one local government by-election yesterday, in Scotland, the result of which was as follows:

Monifeith and Sidlaw ward, Angus Council
SNP - 2,486 (68.6%, +14.3)
Conservative - 698 (19.3%, +0.8)
Lib Dem - 439 (12.1%, +4.9)
SNP hold

Hat-tip: Luke Akehurst

John Denham gives Tory Ealing "Best Achieving Council" award

Communities Secretary John Denham presided over the Municipal Journal Awards which included the award of Best Achieving Council to Conservative-run Ealing. Congratulations to Ealing which has recently given residents a Council Tax rebates and introduced a bold experiment in scrapping unnecessary traffic lights.

Denham announced that his Department would sponsor an award next year for: "Environmental sensitivity in waste collection." This was a response to the Daily Mail's campaign against wheelie bins.

Some awards had curious titles and I can't find details on why particular awards were given. My council, Hammersmith and Fulham, won the prize for: "Most Effective Political Team Achievement." Thanks very much, Mr Denham. We have certainly been in the political firing line, not least in terms of the barrage of lies told about us by DCLG Ministers. But we march towards the sound of gunfire.

Canterbury Council cleared of anti-gay charge

Canterbury City Council has been cleared by the Local Government Ombudsman of an accusation that it is not "gay friendly." This followed a complaint from the group Canterbury Pride. Their seem to be two defences to the charge. The first was that it was untrue - for instance that Canterbury Council had funded gay events in the past and was willing to do so in the future.

The second was that there is presently no statutory requirement on local councils to promote "Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender culture" to use the jargon description. According to Pink News this will change if the Equality Bill passes in its current form as it imposes "a duty on all public bodies to promote equality and diversity which will include LGBT issues." Should it? What would it mean in practice? An excuse for councils to employ LGBT Officers spending their time attending LGBT Conferences discussing LGBT Issues with LGBT Officers from other councils? Then writing long impenetrable reports nobody reads. Wouldn't the gay (as well as straight) residents in Canterbury rather lower Council Tax bills and a focus on getting the dustbins emptied?

In Canterbury the complaint seems to be a particular organisation that used to get funding and doesn't anymore. It is also demanding funding for a "community drop in centre for the LGBT community." Canterbury Pride also complains that there are no gay bars in Canterbury. Surely that is a matter best left to the market. If the demand is there then let them buy an existing bar or start up a new one. Perfectly reasonable to expect equal treatment from the Licensing Department in the way any application is treated. But not to demand a subsidy.

Then there is the democratic argument. Each time a "duty" in imposed from Whitehall on a Council to do something the decision is taken away from those elected locally.