The Local Government Act 2007
In October 2006 the Local Government White
Paper ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’ set out a range of
proposals designed to:
- strengthen local communities
- devolve more responsibility to local
authorities, whilst placing a duty on them to cooperate with other
statutory partners at a local level
- engage with other partners including the
voluntary and community sector.
This was followed in December 2006 by ‘The
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill 2006/07’
which makes legislative provisions for the proposals outlined in
the White Paper.
The White Paper talked about ‘a new settlement
with local government, communities and citizens’ which is intended
to:
- give local authorities a stronger role in
leading their communities
- bring services together to address local
needs and problems
- reduce central government’s role, allowing
more freedom and flexibility at the local level.
The Council is expecting a number of real
changes as a result of the White Paper being implemented. From
2008/09, for example, the number of relevant national performance
indicators will be reduced from 103 down to 57. This means that the
Council can focus its attention on issues that are key to the
delivery of quality local services.
The White Paper specifically affects the
Medium Term Financial Plan by changing the Local
Government Finance Settlement. Changes include the:
- amalgamation of specific grants previously
received by the Council directly into the General Grant
- introduction of new Area Based Grants, which
were outlined within the Government’s Comprehensive Spending
Review.