A new report published by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) suggests that the new performance framework governing local authorities and their partners on local strategic partnerships (LSPs) reinforces the responsibility to deliver sustainable development to the point where it cannot be ignored.

It also  highlights the potential and actual benefits gained by those local authorities and LSPs which are already adopting a sustainable development approach. These include saving money, improving the local economy, improved partnership working and more joined-up service delivery.

Local Decision Making and Sustainable Development  argues that the different elements of the policy framework for local areas combine to create an overwhelming  imperative for local authorities and LSPs to get to grips with sustainable development.

These include:
· Sustainable Community Strategies  -  required to be genuinely sustainable(1), with Local Area Agreement’s (LAAs) as their delivery plans
· Plans for sustainable development to be ‘integral’ to the forthcoming Comprehensive Area Assessment(2)
· A set of existing responsibilities for sustainable development to be at the heart of the local planning framework
· Enabling powers such as the power of wellbeing and the Sustainable Communities Act

The combined impact and reach of the bodies represented on LSPs - spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors - means that LSPs have enormous potential to contribute to sustainable development. The report highlights the work that many LSPs are already doing, including Birmingham LSP, which has signed up to a Sustainable Procurement Compact to ensure that the combined spending power of the LSP partners - estimated at £6bn - is used to support local businesses and communities.  

The report is the result of a year-long project involving a range of national, regional and local bodies looking at the steps needed for sustainable development to be embedded in local decision-making, focusing in particular on LSPs, Sustainable Community Strategies and LAAs. It sits alongside a collection of 11 good practice case studies to provide a practical resource for local authorities looking to make decisions which will benefit their communities in the long term.

Alice Owen, Commissioner for Local and Regional Government at the Sustainable Development Commission, said: “The current economic situation has hit LSP partners hard, but this doesn’t negate the need to put sustainable development at the heart of their work. Far from it; increased pressure on funding and resources makes a long-term, integrated and sustainable view of decision-making even more vital than ever.

“Forward-thinking local authorities and LSPs will have noticed the extent to which sustainable development is now required of them under a host of different policy initiatives. The smart ones are already getting to grips with this - not just to get ahead of the game in policy terms, but to reap the benefits for communities, services, the economy  and the environment.”

The report also highlights current initiatives to support the LSPs in delivering sustainable development from a number of national and regional organisations, including Defra and CLG in Central Government, and the Audit Commission and improvement bodies. It also makes a number of recommendations about where further support is needed. 

These include:
· The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) to consider mainstreaming sustainable development into specific work on the Climate Change Best Practice Programme, procurement and LSP leadership, as part of the capacity building work programmes. This should also apply to the new Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs), as their potential contribution to achieving sustainable development could be massive, if prioritised from their inception
· Government Offices to consider how they might support time and resource-poor LSPs and local authorities on delivering sustainable development
· Support and improvement bodies to allocate more dedicated resources to support sustainable practitioners in local authorities, LSPs and LSP partner organisations

Local Decision Making, and Sustainable Development is available to download, along with 11 good practice case studies at www.sd-commission.org.uk.