Policy Exchange and Localis released their report, Can localism deliver?, at the Conservative conference on October 7. It focused on the City Region Partnership project, currently being piloted in Greater Manchester, which grants additional powers to groups of councils that pool their resources on strategic policy areas.
Town halls will need to hold a Conservative governments feet to the fire to ensure it stays true to its localist pledges, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office has admitted.
Malcolm Prowle rightly calls for an end to top-down command and control techniques via an empowered local government. This would enable Whitehall to harness the innovation and efficiency of town halls.
A group of London councils are pooling their legal resources in a move which they claim will save millions. The councils, Camden, Harrow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hillingdon and Hounslow LBCs and Kensington & Chelsea RBC, say the move will eventually save £1.4m a year.
Senior local government figures are calling for urgent talks with the Department of Health amid fears that Labours proposed National Care Service will commit councils to future funding burdens that are impossible to quantify
The Audit Commission is preparing a last-ditch attempt to prevent the comprehensive area assessment (CAA) from being abolished under a Conservative government.
Conservative council leaders are increasingly confident they will be able to convince a Tory government to adopt a new inspection model within its first year in power.
The report ‘Can Localism Deliver’, published today by Localis and Policy Exchange, is an important contribution to the debate on city regions. It is vital that policymakers take into account the lessons learnt from Manchester if we are to move forward into a new era of localism.
Major British cities, such as Manchester, should be given more freedom and powers, according to a new report from Localis and Policy Exchange. The report concludes that the current centralised performance regime – resulting in ‘earned’ powers for cities – prevents local strategic aims being achieved.
Elderly people who pay £8,000 to join the Conservatives proposed residential care scheme may still have to pay annual top-ups, The Times has learnt.