A one-stop shop helping councils deliver their place-shaping aspirations – or a new super-quango, taking power away from local government?
Local authorities and other interested bodies have until 10 September to give their views on proposals to bring together the work of the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships and a number of DCLG functions under a new body called Communities England.
Launching consultation on the establishment of Communities England at the annual Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) conference in Harrogate, communities secretary, Ruth Kelly said: ‘It offers the opportunity for a more strategic, more effective approach to housing and regeneration that is vital to the quality of life in all our communities.
‘It will help local government step up to its place-shaping role, build local authority skills and offer expert support.’
Communities England will combine several billions of pounds of regeneration and housing resources, two-thirds of which is currently spent on common objectives, such as estate renewal. It is likely to absorb DCLG responsibilities for Decent Homes, Housing PFI, Housing Market Renewal, Housing Growth, capital investment on homelessness, the National Land-use Database and the Academy for Sustainable Communities.
A transition team has been set up, and stakeholder consultation events are under way. A chief executive will be appointed as soon as possible and the new agency is due to go live in April 2009.
Communities England will be a named partner for councils to consult when preparing sustainable communities strategies and Local Area Agreements, as well as developing and delivering strategic plans for an area, according to the consultation document.
It is expected to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ to support local authorities in place-shaping and strategic housing activities. It will be a member of Local Strategic Partnerships and a partner in joint ventures.
Relationships between local authorities and non-departmental bodies – including English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation – have not always been easy. And in answer to fears that the new, non-elected body could swallow up local autonomy, Ms Kelly assured: ‘Our goal in creating Communities England is not to centralise. It must complement the work of local councils and their delivery partners, not replace it.’
LGA programme director, Martin Wheatley, told The MJ that when plans to launch a new agency were first announced in January, there were concerns a large body with wide-ranging powers would be running counter to the local government White Paper’s emphasis on community leadership.
‘We have argued since that councils need a strategic view, and Communities England should have a supporting role,’ he said. And while he was pleased Ms Kelly’s speech seemed to have taken that on board, the LGA would keep up pressure to avoid risks to councils. ‘There is a temptation for a body with a very big budget to want to wade in and do everything itself,’ he said.
Local government representation on its board must be assured.
Mr Wheatley thinks joining up resources could be ‘an opportunity to ensure programmes get shaped around individual places, and fund proposals that councils bring forward, rather than them having to go cap-in-hand to a range of different funding programmes.’
CIH had concerns the new agency would not include some key roles and responsibilities and end up being simply an investment vehicle for a new homes programme. But deputy chief executive, Sarah Webb, said: ‘At this stage we are pleased with the direction of travel.’ She added: ‘One issue we will be particularly interested in is how the Government will encourage joint working between local authorities and Communities England… It is a fundamental area to get right, if the new agency is to be successful at community level.’
In her view, the proposal to simply name Communities England as a partner local authorities needed to consult with on key plans might not be enough during the first few years of the new organisation.
She also warned resources must not be diverted from tackling current issues for the process of establishing a new agency.
A DCLG spokesperson said that while nothing was finite at this stage, assurances had been given to staff in existing bodies that there would not be job losses. w
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