Councils urged to use new powers

A paper published by the New Local Government Network says the legislation gives local authorities wide-ranging new opportunities.

It says, for example, that where a primary care trust is struggling to meet its financial targets and performance objectives, the relevant local authority should be allowed to appoint joint posts on the health body’s senior management team

As another example, it proposes that councils could use earmarked increases in local tax revenues to finance regeneration, capital investment and infrastructure improvements.

The report's author, NLGN researcher Anthony Brand, said: “The Act provides local authorities and the communities they serve with considerable new powers and opportunities and enables councils to do more to drive government policy, particularly powers that extend their ability to tackle local economic, social and environmental sustainability issues”.

“In turn, the Act might help to overcome the perceptions of powerlessness and disengagement that can pervade some neighbourhoods.”

The Act was passed last year.

Have your say

You must sign in to make a comment.