Public Services Lab Blog

Moving towards mass localism? Not without structured support.

Laura Bunt - 10.12.2010

A radical approach to localism is not just about scaling back bureaucracy and central control. Realising its potential means re-thinking the role of government at all levels, and actively developing the right tools and methods to structure activity. Will the localism bill deliver this?

The much anticipated localism bill is due to be released on Monday. There has been lots of speculation about just how radical this legislation will be in devolving real power to local communities. We've little doubt there's huge potential. Only this week we've been evaluating the near 600 applications we've received for the Neighbourhood Challenge from ambitious localities up and down the country. The challenge is how to realise this potential and support it to grow.

More local control, local delivery and public responsibility is a feature of reform across almost all areas of public services - from GP consortia commissioning health services to neighbourhood policing and community sentencing. The details of the bill will have huge implications for how these ambitions will be realised, a key part of the jigsaw in picturing the Big Society.

The real tension in this bill - and the possible cause of its delay - is how it will make local powers a reality, and the role given to local councils. Part of this is about local freedoms to do things differently and community-based budgets to transfer financial control. Changes to neighbourhood planning regulations, elected mayors and the possible general power of competence the bill may apply to leading councils are an attempt to deliver this.

But as we've discovered working with many vibrant communities, local groups and social organisations in our practical programmes at NESTA, effective mass localism is not just about changing the locus of support. It means changing the nature of support, changing the way local initiatives are sourced, funded, supported and scaled. It implies a different - but just as critical - role for central and local government in how they help communities to respond to challenges themselves.

For central government, this means changing the perception of local solutions as a way to 'test' national solutions. Local context, networks and leadership are integral to the success of an approach, therefore the challenge centrally is in helping local areas to connect and learn from each other. For local government, this means being able to identify and pull together community leaders and teams, looking beyond the usual suspects in who they fund or commission, and supporting local groups to develop more sustainable business models that draw on different sources of finance. 

Given the Coalition's radical approach in other areas - the speed and scale of reforms whether in health, justice, policing or welfare - it is likely that the plan for such a central premise of this Government will include some bold, ambitious reforms. But a radical approach to localism is not just about scaling back bureaucracy and central control. Realising its potential means re-thinking the role of government at all levels, and actively developing the right tools and methods to structure activity.