Local authorities to give people a say in spending decisions

3/11/10

A pioneering project designed to give people a say in how mainstream local authority budgets are spent is being launched today by The Big Society Network and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), with support from the Participatory Budgeting Unit.

‘Your Local Budget’ will work with ten local authorities across the country to develop new ways to involve local people in tough spending decisions, building on the pioneering approaches to Participatory Budgeting that have been developed around the world.

The aim is to harness the knowledge, ideas and capacity of local people to find more innovative and effective solutions to the financial and other challenges that face public services.  It will also increase public engagement on vital issues and improve trust.

Paul Twivy, CEO of The Big Society Network, says: ‘In times of economic hardship, greater public involvement in local budget priorities is vital to ensure that difficult decisions reflect the needs and circumstances of local communities. This project will stimulate innovation in public services and increase people’s engagement in their design and delivery. Co-designing products and services with end users has become popular and valued in the commercial world and should now be applied to public services.’

Philip Colligan, executive director of NESTA’s public services lab, says: ‘The best councils have always worked hard to get local people involved in decisions, but the scale of the financial challenge means that we need to go much further, quickly. By supporting a group of pioneering authorities to develop radical new ways of working with their citizens, we want to provide practical tools and techniques that can be used by all councils.’

Whilst previous projects have explored how citizens can have a say in the allocation of additional resources, ‘Your Local Budget’ will take the idea a step further, examining how individuals can have a direct and meaningful say in spending decisions about mainstream funding.

Local authorities taking part in the project will be selected in the next week. Throughout the project, these pioneering local authorities will work closely with the Big Society Network, NESTA and the Participatory Budgeting Unit in evaluating the success of the project.

To coincide with today’s launch, NESTA is publishing a report called ‘Your Local Budget’ which sets out the ambition behind the Your Local Budget programme and how it fits into the wider context of ‘people-powered public services’. To download the report, visit www.nesta.org.uk/yourlocalbudget

Notes to Editor:

For further information please contact:

Oli Henman (Big Society Network) on 07803 169 074 / oli@thebigsociety.co.uk
Jan Singleton (NESTA) on 020 7438 2606/ jan.singleton@nesta.org.uk

About Big Society Network

The Big Society Network is a newly established independent organisation with the mission to turn the Big Society into a practical, accessible and rewarding reality of everyday value to citizens, enabling them to successfully take action in their local areas. www.thebigsociety.net

About NESTA

NESTA is the UK’s foremost independent expert on how innovation can solve some of the country’s major economic and social challenges. Its work is enabled by an endowment, funded by the National Lottery, and it operates at no cost to the government or taxpayer. NESTA is a world leader in its field and carries out its work through a blend of experimental programmes, analytical research and investment in early-stage companies. www.nesta.org.uk

About the Participatory Budgeting Unit

The PB Unit is a project of Church Action on Poverty, a registered charity, and supports and promotes the implementation and development of PB in the UK.  In addition to contributing to numerous conferences and workshops, it provides a range of support services for practitioners, including delivery of training, consultancy support to projects, facilitation of steering groups and design workshops. www.participatorybudgeting.org.uk

About Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting is an approach to involving people in the economic decisions that affect them. It is much more than consultation and puts real power in the hands of citizens, enabling communities to work with budget holders to define local priorities, identify available resources and allocate these accordingly. A method that originated in Brazil at a time of economic hardship, Participatory Budgeting has since been adopted in various forms in authorities across the UK over the last ten years. To date, however, Participatory Budgeting exercises in the UK have focused primarily on decisions on additional investment (such as discretionary grants) rather than main public service budgets.