LGA Councillors’ Forum: Deputy Prime Minister's opening remarks
The Deputy Prime Minister spoke about resetting the relationship between central and local government and encouraging more devolution across England.
I am a creature of local government, so hopefully you’ll find as a Secretary of State, I truly understand what you’re trying to achieve. And I want to help you, and enable you, and recognise the challenges that you face overall. And I’m delighted that my first speech as Deputy Prime Minister, is here with you, as local leaders as you keep our country running.
Having come from local government myself, I know first hand the important work that you do. So the first thing I wanted to say was thank you. Thank you for everything that you’ve done. It’s not been an easy, certainly with the pandemic and everything else, it’s not been an easy time for local government. And I wanted to say thank you.
And this Labour government will start by resetting our relationship with local government and rebuilding its foundations. That means going back to basics and delivering good and reliable services for people across Britain. Being respected for the job that I know you all do. So no more gimmicks and slogans, but the hard yards of governing in the interests of working people. And in my first week in the job, I put local government back where it belongs, at the heart of my department’s name and mission. So I’m proud to stand here as the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
As you know, I’m joined here by our Minister of State for Local Government, Jim McMahon. And Jim has run a council for years, and his experience and will stand him in good stead, hopefully, to help understand the challenges that you face.
And I’m also delighted to congratulate Louise Gittins as the new chair of the LGA, who’s had a huge amount of experience at the heart of local government, and will provide great leadership. I’m absolutely sure of that. And I also want to welcome Kevin Bentley, Bev Craig, Joe Harris and Marianne Overton as Vice Chairs as well. And with Jim and I, and this LGA team, you have a team who believes in local government and local power.
I know the biggest crisis facing local government is financial. I won’t shy away from that. Demand for services are up, and so are your costs. [political content removed]
[political content removed] But it doesn’t have to be like this. You told me you need more stability and certainty to plan for the long-term. And we will provide this through long-term integrated funding settlements.
We will end the Dragon’s Den approach, as I see it, of the bidding wars between local authorities and instead show you some respect with long-term funding giving you the flexibility to spend it where it is needed.
What everyone in this room knows, we must also reform funding for local government and sort out these inefficiencies. We will start by reforming the local audit system to support value for money for the taxpayer.
The Prime Minister was clear from his first speech in Downing Street about the importance of local leaders in our national mission. Our English Devolution Bill will be a touch paper for growth handing local leaders the powers to get growth going, raising living standards and tackle the inequality that’s been holding us back for too long. And we know that we can’t do that without you.
Let me be crystal clear. This is not just about empowering mayors. Local government will always have a seat at the table and a voice in our government. Nothing works without strong local government. That’s why I will bring you into the heart of my department as a true partnership. The local services that you provide keep our country running. And I know this as a constituency MP.
I want to position you at the very heart of our five missions. Your key partners to deliver the 1.5 million homes, as well as the secure affordable council and social homes we will deliver, the key partners in delivering safer streets and bringing our high streets back into life. And of course, you are key partners in delivering that critical frontline social care, [political content removed].
These are the foundations of a good life. And we have to get them right, and work together to rebuild them. But devolution is a huge opportunity for everyone in this room. That’s why I wrote earlier this week, to invite you to join the devolution revolution. This is a historic moment in our country’s history. For too long, a Westminster government has hoarded power and held our country back. That’s meant poor decisions that work against rather than for working people. Elected local leaders have been forced to beg for scraps at the whim of Whitehall.
It’s time to take back control. With a full reset of the relationship between local and central government, we will make it easier for you to come together and form combined authorities. This means access to new powers over skills, transport, housing planning and employment support. And this is how together we will deliver growth in every corner of the country and the housing, and the education and the jobs that will go with it.
Another big area where I hope we can make a breakthrough together is on housing and planning. This is crucial to our ambitions to get Britain building the homes and infrastructure we need, especially when it comes to clean energy to grow our economy.
For the last 14 years, couples have been priced out of owning their own home, renters have been living in damp cold and mouldy homes, and too many people have been living on the streets with nowhere to call home. We know that this is an important issue for you too. We are wasting no time in getting on with the job and taking the tough decisions.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill announced in yesterday’s King’s Speech will speed up the planning system to deliver the homes and the infrastructure your communities need. I know that this will mean asking more from local councils. This is why as part of our package, local planning departments will benefit from a boost in the number of planners and our take back control unit will work with you so that you can once again have a strong negotiating hand with the developers.
We will publish an updated, growth focused, National Planning Policy Framework by the end of this month. This will reintroduce mandatory housing targets, help prioritise brownfield land for development and include a requirement to review greenbelt boundaries where necessary.
As I mentioned, along with a 1.5 million new homes pledge, we also make it a priority to build new affordable homes and review Right to Buy to prevent precious council homes from being sold and not replaced.
Our aim is to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. The best way to prevent and tackle homelessness alongside our commitments finally abolishing the Section 21 no-fault evictions.
As council leaders, one of the biggest pressures you face is the issue of homelessness. You’re stuck in a doom loop with soaring temporary accommodation costs, crippling council budgets preventing you from fixing the long-term problems. There is now a record number of children in temporary accommodation. This is a stain on our society. I know that we all want to do everything we can to put this right, which means learning the lessons from the past and working with local leaders like yourself to take action on all forms of homelessness.
Yes, this means building more homes. But I’m determined to work across government, in partnership with you to develop a strategy to get us back on track on ending homelessness. So whether we’re getting to grips with homelessness, building the homes we need, handing powers to local leaders or giving you the long-term funding certainty you need. It all comes back to local government.
Under this government of service, local government will once again become a service that people can rely on. It’s not always going to be easy. But you have from me today, an absolute commitment to reset the relationship between local and central government. I know how hard you all work. And the last decade has brought greater challenges to you. And you have rose to that challenge. And to your credit and determination, you have continued to provide for your constituents.
I believe together we can build on the foundations on which good lives are built, decent work, secure homes and a strong community. A true partnership that works in the interests of working people. A government that is on your side.
Thank you.