Background
The Sustainable Communities Act was introduced to Parliament as a Private Members Bill. It was sponsored in the House of Commons by Nick Hurd MP, Conservative, Ruislip-Northwood and in the House of Lords by Lord Marlesford.
The Bill was supported through Parliament by the Government and all of the main English political parties.
On 23 October 2007 the Sustainable Communities Act became law. It is the result of a five year campaign led by a coalition of 85 organisations under the banner Local Works.
A quick guide to the Sustainable Communities Act
The Sustainable Communities Act aims to promote the sustainability of local communities. It begins from the principle that local people know best what needs to be done to promote the sustainability of their area, but that sometimes they need central government to act to enable them to do so. It provides a channel for local people to ask central government to take such action. It is also a new way for local authorities to ask central government to take action which they believe would better enable them to improve the economic, social or environmental well-being of their area. This could include a proposal to transfer the functions of one public body to another.
The scope of the Act is very broad, covering economic, social and environmental issues. It does not limit the type of action that could be put forward, provided the action is within that broad scope. It is for local people to decide what they think needs to be done to promote the sustainability of their area. The Act is designed to strengthen the role of communities. It provides a simple process by which the ideas generated by local communities are fed through their local authority and a body known as the “selector” (which we envisage will be the LGA) to central government. As it will not be possible for all suggestions to be put direct to central government, local authorities and the selector will have a “short-listing” role. The government will consult the selector and try to reach agreement on which of the proposals on the short-list should be implemented. The government will respond to all of the suggestions that are shortlisted by the selector and will publish an action plan setting out how it will take forward the suggestions that it adopts.
As well as enabling local communities and local authorities to make suggestions for government action, the Sustainable Communities Act also ensures that communities are better informed about the public funding that is spent in their area. New “Local Spending Reports” will provide quick and easy access to information about where public money is spent. This will enable local authorities, their partners and communities to take better informed decisions about the priorities they choose to pursue to promote the sustainability of their local community.
From: Sustainable Communities Act 2007: A Guide
How the Act will work in practice
Proposals for sustainability
The Act requires Central Government to publish long term action plans to promote sustainability of local communities. The content of these action plans will be driven by a ‘bottom up’ decision making process which the Act sets up.
It gives every resident the right to make recommendations for that action plan through their Local Authority and requires the Government to give reasons for not accepting any recommendations made by the Local Authorities.
Before making any proposal, Local Authorities will be required to establish or recognise a panel of representatives of local persons with whom to discuss and reach agreement on potential proposals.
All proposals will be considered by the Local Government Assocation (LGA), appointed as the 'selector', in co-operation with the Secretary of State. A short-list of proposals will then be drawn up in an action plan.
Ultimately, the Secretary of State will decide which of the proposals on the short-list should be implemented, but the Act ensures that the Government has a ‘duty to agree’ and not just a duty to consult on this final decision.
Unless an action plan has been implemented, the Secretary of State must publish and present to Parliament a report describing the progress which has been made. This needs to be within one year of the publication of the action plan, and at yearly intervals after that.
Spending plans
Local Authorities now have the right to receive a breakdown of expenditure by Central Government departments and agencies on services provided for the benefit of local communities.
Having reviewed the local spending report, they can then go back to the Secretary of State and request and argue for a transfer of specific monies and their related function from central to local control.
Approximately £8 billion of taxpayers’ money is spent in Kent each year. £2 billion of this is spent by Local Government, whereas £6 billion is spent directly by Central Government organisations and quangos such as the Environment Agency or the Learning and Skills Council.
The expenditure review and local spending plans under the Sustainable Communities Act will bring more power and decision making to Local Authorities when it comes to where and how money is spent in their local areas.
An example of how the Act may work
Saving Local Post Offices
First, pressure can be put on Government to consider new policy ideas that would make it easier for post offices to flourish or reopen. For example, changing regulation to make it easier for Post Offices to offer more services and products and to become community hubs.
Second, Local Authorities may decide to review what the nationally funded Business Link Service does in their area and make a case for taking over that budget. In accessing more funds to assert local priorities, the Local Authority may decide that the best use of a budget to support local businesses is to extend the subsidy for the local post office on which they depend.