Queen's Speech: Communities and local government

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Legislation due to be introduced includes a Public Bodies (Reform) Bill, a Decentralisation and Localism Bill and a Local Government Bill.

Public Bodies (Reform) Bill

The Public Bodies (Reform) Bill will ensure that there is a greater degree of transparency and accountability for all public bodies. Under the legislation, ministers will be provided with the powers to abolish, merge or transfer functions.

The government plans to both cut the overall number of public bodies and make year-on-year savings of £1bn by reducing the cost of bureaucracy. This is in line with the coalition’s aims to reduce the deficit by spending cuts, rather than tax rises.

Stakeholder Response: John Stone, chief executive, LSN

With the much anticipated 'bonfire of the quangos' now beginning to catch fire, attention now turns to what arrangements, if any, will be necessary to replace them. In July 2009 David Cameron set out three criteria which could justify a continuing role for an arms length agency.

Is political impartiality required? The Research Councils were given as an example. Is there a requirement for specialist technical advice? Here Cameron referred to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. The third test referred to cases where data transparency is required. "We have seen how information, once in a politician's hands, can be distorted to score a political point". Examples quoted included the Office for National Statistics and the proposals for the Office for Budgetary Responsibility.

Many bearers of familiar acronyms in our neck of the woods might claim they had a case, but in the current climate the need to save money seems likely to trump even the most compelling of arguments. They may find they have few friends as those closer to the front line breathe a sigh of relief that the axe, at least for the time being, has fallen elsewhere. Wild celebrations, however may be premature.

There is no real saving if the costs of a quango are simply transferred back into the civil service, out into the private sector or simply doled out as tasks for providers to take on from themselves. There is a risk that as the system readjusts, real and opportunity costs will mount and the projected savings will melt away. Without significant reform and simplication of the complex edifice of systems and controls which these quangos represent, any long term financial benefits could be difficult to realise in practice.

Stakeholder Response: Dame Margaret Eaton, chairman, Local Government Association

Local councils have long been calling for a bonfire of the bureaucracy that all too often suffocates local innovation, and a radical scaling back of the quango state.

We have published plans that would save taxpayers £22.5 billion over this Parliament, without damaging vital front line services. But that could just be the start. There are enormous opportunities to save billions more if we grasp the nettle and cut out the middlemen who tie up huge sums in needless red tape. We are determined to work with the Government to deliver long-overdue reform.

Decentralisation and Localism Bill

The Bill follows on from the coalition programme which committed the government to devolve greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities control over housing and planning decisions.

Stakeholder Response: Dame Margaret Eaton, chairman, Local Government Association

We need nothing less than wholesale reform to give power to locally-elected people who are closest to the residents they serve.

It is good that the government is bringing forward a Bill to devolve power to councils and we will work with the government to shape the details. Greater devolution would save billions, help maintain front line services and give local people more say over what happens where they live.

Stakeholder Response: British Retail Consortium director general, Stephen Robertson

We look forward to examining the details of this legislation. Retail has the broadest possible geographical base and taking a more localised approach to decision making could be appropriate in many cases. But there need to be safeguards to ensure the localism approach doesn’t undermine national businesses. Coping with hundreds of different regulatory regimes across the country could impose unnecessary costs and uncertainty.

Stakeholder Response: Dr. James Cooper, head of government affairs, Woodland Trust

The Trust believes that the planning system should enable both the creation of new native woods and protect our most valuable habitats such as ancient woodland. By devolving planning powers as part of the wider localism agenda, the Trust hopes that local government will be empowered to deliver new woodland creation as a means of supporting regeneration, improving public health and protecting ecosystem services. We see the Bill having an important role in gearing up community action around the very welcome national tree planting campaign announced in the coalition's programme for government.

As a complimentary action we would like to see local government encouraged, through revisions to the planning system, to protect environmental assets such as ancient woods and trees. Ancient woodland covers only 2 per cent of the land area, is home to more threatened species than any other UK habitat, and once lost it cannot be replaced. The Trust therefore believes that local government needs to play a central role in the protection of ancient woods, otherwise their legacy may be lost forever.

Local Government Bill

The Local Government Bill follows on from the coalition programme in putting a stop to uncompleted plans to create unitary councils.

Top of the agenda will be to revoke structural change orders that established unitary authorities in Exeter and Norwich from 1 April 2011 and to prevent the implementation of the Suffolk unitary proposals that remain outstanding.

Keep track of the bills via our legislation page.