Local government secretary, Eric Pickles, has told town halls they will no longer have to ‘come to Whitehall with a begging bowl’, once he has devolved new financial powers.

In his speech to the Local Government Association conference in Birmingham on 30 June, Mr Pickles said the coalition had already overseen a ‘decisive, fundamental and irreversible change in England’s political geography’ by ‘taking power away from Whitehall and putting it back into the hands of councils and communities’.

Citing the un-ring-fencing of council budgets, the eradication of central government targets and forthcoming powers contained in the new Localism Bill, Mr Pickles claimed government progress against its decentralisation commitments had been swift.

But, he told delegates: ‘The first year is only a start. There is much more to do and much more to come.’

Proposals to loosen the Government’s grip over council finances, outlined in a speech to the LGA by deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, last week, he said, would provide local areas with even greater autonomy.

As expected, Mr Clegg revealed that the imminent Local Government Resource Review would hand councils greater control over local business rates and powers to borrow against expected business rates revenues, through tax increment financing (TIF).

‘You will have greater autonomy to plan and control your finances,’ Mr Pickles said. ‘When I was a council leader, I found you could only get more money for your area by talking it down, stressing weaknesses and not strengths.’

The new financial powers, which also include the new homes bonus and the community infrastructure levy, would allow local areas to grow, ‘unleashing a new wave of municipal activism’, Mr Pickles said.

Responding to the speech, one local authority leader said he welcomed the Government’s plans to empower town halls further. But, the leader added: ‘The question is, once the local government cuts are implemented in full – exactly what will remain for us to control?’

Mr Pickles in part gave his view during his speech. ‘This is not the time to wring our hands,’ he said. ‘It is the time for everyone in local government to look forward and be ambitious.’