The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley*
With talk of wholesale Local Government reorganisation subsiding, the policy agenda seems to be moving towards Council’s roles in place shaping. District Councils have the largest role in this process and yet are responsible for as little as five per cent of public sector spending within towns. Reading local newspapers, however, you’d think that District Councils were responsible for all public spending within their towns. Herein lies a problem. Local residents rely on local newspapers for information about public bodies. Local newspapers concentrate on their local District Council and often ignore higher spending Government organisations, the County Council and regional organisations. Local people often then think that the District Council is the public sector in their town.
Not only does this have an impact on the reputation of District Councils, it also generates a large workload for Councillors. Research has indicated that on average a District Councillor spends about 400 hours on constituency work a year. This is in addition to the time spent in meetings at the Council.
A Councillor has to know a lot about a lot of things (or know where to find out about them), many of which are not actually associated with services provided by the Council. Allowances paid to Councillors vary considerably but are often less than those paid to the non executive Directors of public sector Boards, such as National Health Service Trusts operating within towns.
The changing face of political party membership, coupled with the large demands on an individual’s time and public accountability, increasingly mean that parties find it difficult to field candidates in local elections. This has prompted concerns about the capacity of Councils to deliver for their communities.
People become Councillors for a range of reasons. The common theme in these reasons is a commitment to contribute to the wellbeing of their communities. If Councils are to attract and retain the people they need as Councillors serious consideration needs to be given to the status of Councillors within the public sector. This starts with them having at least parity with the other parts of the public sector in terms of reward. Reward, however, is only part of the issue. People will be encouraged to think about becoming a Councillor if they believe that they will have a real opportunity of contributing to their communities.
They need to see that Councils have the ability to respond to local needs and priorities and are not just the delivery agents for Government. They need to see that they can influence the agendas of their own Council and the investment of other public sector bodies within the towns they represent.
There is much talk about the devolution of responsibilities from Government and the empowerment of local communities. This needs to start with the devolution of authority, responsibility and resources to District Councils. Councils need to re-evalulate the roles of Councillors and the support given to them. Community engagement and local responsiveness depend upon Councillors being able to play a full role in community leadership and the evolution of their Councils.
*Malcolm Morley is Chief Executive of Harlow District Council and can be contacted via the Editor, email info@lgfocus.com.au The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of his employer.
