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Winchester T: 01962 893 893 F: 01962 893 883
London T: 020 7812 6490 F: 020 7812 6677
info@remarkable-engagement.co.uk
Find out more about Localism visit localism-agenda.com
The new leader of the Labour party Ed Miliband announced his shadow cabinet last week, handing the role of shadowing the Department of Communities and Local Government to Caroline Flint, the former housing minister.
Ms Flint resigned from her position in Gordon Brown's cabinet, launching a stinging attack on the then prime minister by accusing him of treating the women in his cabinet as "window dressing". She will now take the task of shadowing Eric Pickles - heralded by many commentators as one of the success stories of the cabinet - at the DCLG, the department responsible for implementing David Cameron's localism and Big Society agendas.
Working under Ms Flint at the DCLG will be Alison Seabeck, the MP for Plymouth Moor View, Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley and Eccles South, and Jack Dromey, MP for Birmingham, Erdington and husband of Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour party. Mr Dromey was formerly Deputy General Secretary of the Transport and Workers Unions and Labour Party Treasurer.
The creation of the shadow cabinet will mark a return to business as usual for parliament, as the Labour party has been largely preoccupied with its own internal leadership election since the formation of the coalition government.
Ms Flint will take her place in time for the Devolution and Localism Bill to begin its passage through parliament, expected later this autumn. The bill will formalise the changes already made by Eric Pickles to the planning system under delegated legislation and implement much of the Conservative's green paper Open Source Planning, published at the beginning of the year.
The Big Society and localism have remained high on the Conservative agenda, and this bill will put into statute many previously touted policies. Mr Cameron returned to the theme during his conference speech in Birmingham earlier this month, despite alleged reservations from many of the party's grassroots' activists.
Concern over the theme could be misplaced though; a poll by ComRes, published today for the Local Government Association, indicates strong backing for localism, despite many in the industry believing the concept remains ill-defined.
Though not necessarily directly related to the planning industry, the poll makes for interesting reading for the sector. It showed that 63 percent of respondents thought decisions about cuts in their local area should be taken by councillors, compared to 17 percent who believed it should be taken by MPs.
On the question of the Big Society, there were also encouraging signs for the prime minister; 38 percent agreed with the proposition that "local spending cuts would make me more likely to volunteer to help with the running and delivery of local services".
The coalition government is currently examining ways that it can ensure small and medium-sized organisations survive the period between the Comprehensive Spending Review (Wednesday 20 October) and early 2011 when many of the Big Society initiatives are due to be launched. This will include the Big Society Bank, funded by dormant bank accounts and private sector investing, and the Communities First fund, both of which have been scheduled for an April launch.
Lord Wei who is driving many of the initiatives for the coalition government said that various policies were being examined to ensure such organisations survival. He said: We are trying to come up with a model that isn't dependent on public sector funding. We need to challenge voluntary sector organisations to change their funding models."
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