Hello!
Happy New Year from us. There is so much going on, and we wanted to share a quick roundup of where we are with local government right now. We also briefly reflect on Research for Action in 2024, before it gallops away in the rear-view mirror, before sharing some things we are looking forward to which you might be interested in too.
– Councils in crisis, councils in flux –
It is an incredibly busy time for those of us following local democracy. We are working on a long-term research project on council ‘bankruptcies’ and their implications for democracy and accountability; the magnitude of the crisis keeps evolving by the week. Into this comes crashing the new Government’s agenda on this sector, with announcements, debates, legislation and consultations almost daily. We have already seen: a new framework for English devolution, including the abolition of district and parish councils and the creation of new unitary areas, with elected mayors; a new funding settlement; proposals for a Local Audit Office and a related consultation. Headlines in the last few days tell of elections delayed (due to reorganisation) and council tax rises in 6 areas (so far).
The English Devolution White Paper in December announced the biggest overhaul of local government in decades, and we have concerns about what that means for accountability. For example, will the amalgamation of existing authorities mean a larger consolidated debt? Will the burden of that debt fall to residents? How can a structure with fewer elected representatives per person mean greater local power and control? And how does this restructuring intersect with the catastrophic audit backlog? For an excellent critique, this article hits the spot.
Meanwhile the Government recently ran a consultation on their plans for local audit reform. We are happy to see that after years of delayed commitments and plans to merge local audit regulation with private sector audit, the new government has heard our concerns and is planning to establish a regulator for local audit – the Local Audit Office. We will be following the developments closely, and have submitted a response to the consultation.
On the council tax issue, Andrew Hill has written a guest blog on our website exploring how referendums on ‘excessive’ council tax increases have not come about, in a curious case of shifting goalposts.
In the Spring, we will publish an accessible, clear explainer on councils in crisis and government interventions. Keep your eyes peeled.
– Research for Action in 2024 –
Fearless Cities
Our winter highlight was the Fearless Cities conference we co-organised in Sheffield with Opus Independents, Citizen Network and Steve Rushton. International Fearless Cities summits are at the heart of the international municipalist movement, supporting connections between cities, organisations, communities and citizens who are building new public commons and deeper forms of local democracy and care, from Naples and Barcelona to Rosario to New York. The South Yorkshire summit brought together people from grassroots movements with established civil society and council actors to develop shared ideas about what it means to engage politically on the local level, and how dialogue between political institutions and citizens could look like. We really enjoyed meeting so many old and new allies – thank you to everyone who came along. You can read more about our motivations to be involved in Fearless Cities here.
Council Scrutiny report
Our report outlining councillor experiences of scrutiny in local government was published in October. It paints a picture where scrutiny is undervalued and often politicised; it also shows ways in which councillors have been able to make a difference in taking an active scrutiny role. While we would like to see our recommendations implemented across all local authorities, it is also worth pointing out that only a very few of them would need to be implemented centrally: local authorities do have autonomy to change many practices and cultures around scrutiny, and many councillors are already doing so.
Democratising Governance report
In the spring, we published a report based on our action research project in Glasgow and Sheffield.. The project examined the relationships between local governance and local activism, and we heard widely shared concerns about local democracy and governance which we are glad to have documented in a report. Do also check out these posters if you haven’t yet – we worked with artist Reece Thompson on the project. You can also print them out black and white and colour them in. You can read the report on our website – there is a summary report, and a longer one with and without the co-learning conversations in the appendix.
Citizen Auditors meeting in London
In March we convened a meeting of the Citizen Auditors’ network to share research, understand each others’ work better and move towards collaborating on shared aims and projects. We continue to work in small groups and partnerships, acting as a network to signpost and support on citizen scrutiny.
– Upcoming Events –
NotWestminster
15th February, Huddersfield
Notwestminster is about finding the people, ideas and energy we need for a stronger democracy, so that we can grow our trust in each other and share our aspirations for what our everyday democracy can be. We find practical ways of working together to improve our lives and local places.This event offers workshops, quick-fire talks, conversations and inspiration. This event is free. More here
Centre for Governance and Scrutiny conference: Bold Governance and Courageous Scrutiny
20th March, Birmingham
We are pleased to be part of the CFGS conference this year, on a panel asking ‘Who Owns Scrutiny’. This is a paid ticketed event mainly for the local government sector. Find out more here.
FInally… social media update
We are on BlueSky and we love it. Don’t be scared- it’s just like how Twitter used to be. Give us a follow and say hi! We are also on Mastodon. We will be leaving X/Twitter very soon.
With best wishes and snowdrops,
FJ, Megan and Gloria