How will new local council legislation aid the UK's recovery from recession?

PA Consulting Group's local government expert, Chris Henning comments: "This Bill goes to the heart of the perennial debate about the balance of powers between central, regional and local government. It also touches the relationship between local democracy and engagement which move beyond individual local authorities and reach across the traditional boundaries in search of a better quality of customer experience and greater value driven outcomes - such as those that the 13 'Total Place' pilots are seeking. This legislation seeks to enable a shift of economic development powers and responsibilities back towards local government - a central recognition that the 10 year experiment with Regional Development Agencies has not been a universal success.
 
"However, to assume that 'local is good, regional is bad' is equally open to challenge. The rationale for action at a pan-local government level often remains strong - economic challenges are no respecters of local authority boundaries.  The need for infrastructure to support physical regeneration and the development of a sustainable environmental approach to the economy both require regional or at the very least sub-regional strategies. In addition, a recent report (based on a methodology partly developed by PA) showed that Regional Development Agencies had generated £4.50 for every £1 they had invested in their regional economies.
 
"The Bill has the ability to provide the basis for local authorities to work effectively on economic development both within the boundaries of governance and geography as well as collaboratively within and across sectors. Its success or failure, as with many desired changes, rests on achieving the right balance between the desire for local democratic control and the desire and ability to create sustainable growth. 

"Local authorities must not think only about economic development in the ways of years gone past but recognise their position as influencers and re-think how they apply their strategic planning, place-shaping and community leadership responsibilities to support economic development. Moving towards an intelligence-led commissioning model for service delivery will enable them to access the best benefits of the private, public and third sector organisations in their locality but it will fundamentally challenge and re-design the shape of local government as we know it today.

"Surely this is the right price to pay for high quality and good value services to meet local needs."

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