The forthcoming Localism and Decentralisation Bill will contain measures to help councils stimulate local growth through business rates, Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles announced today.
Greg Clark, Minister for Decentralisation, gave a speech at Localis in which he outlined the government’s plans for a less confrontational and more locally shaped planning system.
The government is planning to use a happiness index to steer government policy, a move Localis has advocated in past publications including ‘Small State, Big Society’
In a consultation launched yesterday, the Department for Communities and Local Government suggested giving councils the power to recover the true costs of processing planning applications by varying their fees.
The government has set a target for councils to offer personal budgets to one million social care service users by 2013 as part of its vision for social care, unveiled today.
A group of councils is to submit radical proposals to the Treasury detailing how a shake-up of capital spending rules and estate management could save some 50bn across the public sector.
Details of the forthcoming Localism Bill revealed in the government’s business plan for DCLG indicate that local residents will be given powers to challenge councils on a range of issues
Councils’ annual performance assessments (APAs) that rate adult social care are to be scrapped after this year’s ratings are announced later this month.
The Department for Communities and Local Government have announced trials focusing on local flexibility in service provision and community-based budgets
Twenty areas are to investigate the scope for ?budgets focused at a very local level? and community-designed-and-delivered services, ministers have announced.