{"id":93520,"date":"2018-07-03T14:50:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-03T14:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=740e23954ad430380cf960eeab0921a0"},"modified":"2018-07-03T14:50:33","modified_gmt":"2018-07-03T14:50:33","slug":"speech-local-government-association-annual-conference-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=93520","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Local Government Association Annual Conference 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Thanks, James [Councillor Jamieson], I\u2019m delighted to be here at my first LGA<\/abbr> Conference.<\/p>\n

When I was appointed to this role, I said that it was a great honour to be representing you all and leading on local government.<\/p>\n

And I meant it.<\/p>\n

Because my passion for local government isn\u2019t just professional. It\u2019s deeply personal.<\/p>\n

I grew up with local government.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m reminded of this every day by a photo hanging in my parliamentary office of my great grand father standing on the back of a cart in rural Cornwall.<\/p>\n

How my dad\u2019s life chances, from growing up in near poverty, were transformed by a Grammar School Education\u2026 and the career opportunity that local government gave him.<\/p>\n

How that helped transform his outlook\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 from starting off working in the town clerk\u2019s office of the then Restormel borough council to ultimately becoming a chief executive of a London borough\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 and, for a period, Controller at the Audit Commission.<\/p>\n

The insight into his work underlined to me the power of local government to be an incredible force for good \u2013 not as a distant, faceless bureaucracy, but, from the biggest unitary to the smallest parish council, as the heartbeat of the communities it serves.<\/p>\n

As the bedrock of our democracy, on which our people can build better lives.<\/p>\n

So I could not be more proud and pleased to be working alongside you.<\/p>\n

You live and breathe the issues affecting your local areas.<\/p>\n

And you\u2019ve been harnessing this knowledge more effectively than ever to lead and deliver over the course of another busy and challenging year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m hugely grateful for all your efforts.<\/p>\n

In saying that, I\u2019m under no illusions about that the challenges that you \u2013 and we as a country \u2013 face.
\nA difficult financial environment.<\/p>\n

Big changes in demographics, lifestyles and technology.<\/p>\n

Growing pressures on services.<\/p>\n

There are no easy answers to these issues.<\/p>\n

But I will listen and respond to what you\u2019re telling me.<\/p>\n

And work with you to really understand the difficulties you face.<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t always agree and I will provide challenge, when needed, to champion high standards and quality services.<\/p>\n

But you can be confident that I will always stand up for you and for local government\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

Funding<\/h2>\n

I know that money has been extremely tight. And that you\u2019ve gone the extra mile to deliver efficiencies and help reduce our country\u2019s debts.<\/p>\n

And that significant financial pressures remain.<\/p>\n

We have listened and responded.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s local government finance settlement provided a boost in funding and extra money for adult social care.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also responded to calls for more control over the money raised through the extension of business rates retention.<\/p>\n

Local authorities estimate they will receive around \u00a32.4 billion in business rates growth in 2018 to 2019 \u2013 a significant sum on top of the settlement.<\/p>\n

And I plan to shortly publish a prospectus for a further round of business rates retention pilots in 2019 to 2020, to help us understand how best to transition to greater retention from 2020 to 2021.<\/p>\n

This will be published alongside our consultation on the approach to next year\u2019s annual settlement.<\/p>\n

But you have told me that we need to do more, particularly when it comes to adult and children\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

I know that the social care system is under significant pressure and we are committed to ensuring it is sustainable for the future. Health and social care are inextricably linked and any reforms must be aligned.<\/p>\n

Which is why – as the Health and Social Care Secretary has announced – we will publish a Social Care Green Paper in the autumn.<\/p>\n

This will include proposals to reform social care, better integrate services and put social care on a long-term, sustainable footing.<\/p>\n

I also know that you, more than most, will appreciate the complexities and the need to get this right.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019m keen to work with you on this, to draw on your frontline insight and intelligence \u2013 as seen, for example, in the LGA<\/abbr>\u2019s recent publication on what drives spend on children\u2019s services<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, we\u2019re also keen to work with you on a whole new approach to distributing funding through the review of relative needs and resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Everyone agrees that the current formula needs fixing. And I want to see a robust, straightforward approach, where the link between local circumstances and resources allocated is clear.<\/p>\n

I know that the final outcome won\u2019t necessarily please everyone. But our overriding priority must be to make the best use of resources available.<\/p>\n

2020 will be a big year for local government.<\/p>\n

It will bring together the outcomes of the Spending Review and the Fair Funding Review. We are also aiming to increase business rates retention to 75% around this time.<\/p>\n

I look forward to working closely with you as we prepare for these changes.<\/p>\n

Changes that present a valuable opportunity to consider what local government in the 21st century can do and can be and the resources it needs to deliver.<\/p>\n

Modernisation<\/h2>\n

This will help inform an important part of my discussion with colleagues across Whitehall \u2013 as will the excellent work you\u2019re doing not just to achieve value for money, but to modernise and rethink the way you deliver services.<\/p>\n

Rochford District council, for example, has become one of the top councils for recycling by sharing a waste service with 3 other councils \u2013 a contract that has freed it up to remodel the service around behaviour change and that demonstrates the rewards to be reaped from greater collaboration on waste services.<\/p>\n

And in Leeds, staff have are taking the lead on delivering social care services via a staff mutual. These services helped secure a good rating and also saved the council money.<\/p>\n

The smarter use of technology is also driving improvements and helping develop more efficient, targeted and responsive services. This has the potential to be genuinely transformative.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m delighted that my colleague Rishi [Sunak], the Minister for Local Government, will be launching the Digital Declaration at this conference tomorrow, setting out how central and local government can learn from best practice in this area and build the public services of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

I know that some of you have also been looking at reorganising the way you operate by for example, combining, in the interests of your communities where there\u2019s a good deal of local support and it involves credible geographies.<\/p>\n

I want to support this work, although I have no intention of forcing reorganisation on local government where it isn\u2019t wanted or needed.<\/p>\n

There is so much impressive work going on out there and so much talent and expertise in the sector.<\/p>\n

And I want to do all I can to help you celebrate and spread this; to increase transparency and share best practice.<\/p>\n

And we want to hear from you about how we can best do this, so that councils can not only make their funding go further, but truly transform services and engage those who use them<\/p>\n

Onward devolution<\/h2>\n

This last point is crucial.<\/p>\n

The days of people passively accepting what\u2019s offered are long gone.<\/p>\n

In our digital age, the ability to feed back, interact with and shape services is the new norm and government \u2013 central and local – needs to reflect that.<\/p>\n

It provides the opportunity to harness community groups, the voluntary sector, and, increasingly, those mobilising online and on social media, and use their hyper-local knowledge to redesign services.<\/p>\n

People want to have a say over what happens in their communities.<\/p>\n

Which is why we\u2019ll be publishing the civil society strategy this summer; setting out our vision for how government can work positively with groups on the ground.<\/p>\n

And why we created the city region mayors, who have got off to such a successful start.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been clear that devolution deals should, wherever possible, include this kind of \u201conward\u201d\u2019 devolution of service delivery, with local communities deciding what outcomes matter most and finding local solutions that suit local circumstances.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pleased to see that some of you are already stepping up to do this and shifting power from the state to the citizen.<\/p>\n

This is true localism in action and a much-needed renewal of our democracy, giving people, particularly from disengaged groups, a real sense of ownership over the places where they live.<\/p>\n

What might be described as an \u201cultra localist\u201d agenda is something that helps create stronger communities.<\/p>\n

Housing<\/h2>\n

It supports a stronger sense of belonging and identity to the place that you live in and is something I will be giving greater thought to in the time ahead.<\/p>\n

This sense of ownership also very much depends on all parts of our community having a decent, affordable, secure home.<\/p>\n

On this count, we have the challenge of a generation on our hands.<\/p>\n

Successive governments, of all stripes, quite simply failed to build enough homes.<\/p>\n

And the consequences are plain to see: ordinary families, young people starting out in life and many others struggling to secure that most basic of human needs – a place to call their own – and being denied the opportunities and security that come with it.<\/p>\n

Which is why fixing our broken housing market is one of this government\u2019s top domestic priorities.<\/p>\n

Councils, of course, have a big role to play in this.<\/p>\n

And thanks to your efforts, we\u2019ve made significant progress, with planning permissions up and 217,000 homes delivered in 2016 to 2017\u2013 the highest level in all but one of the last 30 years.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s further to go.<\/p>\n

Which is why we\u2019re supporting local authorities to do more to deliver new homes – with a focus on affordability and building them where they are most needed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why we\u2019ve responded to your calls for extra financial flexibility and last week invited councils to bid for \u00a31 billion of extra borrowing \u2013 paving the way for a new generation of council housing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why we\u2019re investing \u00a39 billion in a wide range of affordable housing and giving councils and housing associations more certainty over their rental income until 2025.<\/p>\n

And why we\u2019re reforming planning and working with you to combat homelessness and rough sleeping.<\/p>\n

We need to speed up the delivery of new homes and this is not only planning permissions. Today I am announcing a new approach to delivery of the \u00a39 billion Affordable Homes Programme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Homes England will enter into longer term Strategic Partnerships with housing associations to deliver affordable homes.<\/p>\n

These Partnerships will allow housing associations to have a single conversation with Homes England, thereby delivering more homes more quickly.<\/p>\n

I am launching the first 8 Strategic Partnerships today \u2013 one of these is a consortium including Sandwell.<\/p>\n

We are investing \u00a3590 million of the Affordable Homes Programme in this approach to deliver over 14,000 new affordable homes, including for social rent.<\/p>\n

These deals will work across the country and I know you will work closely with the housing associations in these areas to deliver the affordable homes that your residents want and need.<\/p>\n

In addition, we will shortly be publishing our Social Housing Green Paper \u2013 an important part of our wider response to the disaster at Grenfell Tower.<\/p>\n

A year on, the shocking events of 14 June 2017 that triggered this work are still hard to comprehend.<\/p>\n

And I want to thank everyone who supported those affected, helped with recovery efforts and who have been working with us to keep people safe.<\/p>\n

Remediation work has started on more than two-thirds of buildings in the social housing sector and we announced a package of measures last week to speed up the work that councils are carrying out with the owners of high rise blocks in the private sector to make these safe.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re going further \u2013 by publishing guidance<\/a> today on applying for the \u00a3400 million of funding announced by the Prime Minister for the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on social sector buildings.<\/p>\n

This work with communities has been crucial in so many ways, not least in helping rebuild public trust, with local government at the forefront.<\/p>\n

And your role \u2013 in ensuring that all groups in our society feel valued and can succeed – could not be more important as we leave the European Union.<\/p>\n

Brexit and local growth<\/h2>\n

Brexit will, undoubtedly, generate different opportunities and challenges for different areas.<\/p>\n

And I want to thank the LGA<\/abbr> for its valuable work in this area; in identifying the issues at stake and also in recognising the opportunities that will be available.<\/p>\n

I met council leaders earlier today to discuss how we can work together on this issue and I want to hear from more of you over the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s clearly more to do on this issue and today I can announce that I am setting up a delivery board with local government that will support the implementation of changes linked to Brexit within the sector.<\/p>\n

Regardless of our political differences, we all have a duty to ensure that every community can benefit as we build a modern, outward-looking Britain after Brexit.<\/p>\n

In this context, it\u2019s even more essential that we renew our focus on local growth and higher productivity through not just the devolution deals already underway, but the other growth opportunities \u2013 housing deals, local industrial strategies and the LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) review – that are open to local areas.<\/p>\n

These opportunities, of course, include our significant investment in the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine.<\/p>\n

And I couldn\u2019t leave the great city of Birmingham without saying how pleased I am to be Ministerial Champion for the Midlands Engine.<\/p>\n

I look forward to working with Sir John Peace and the other partners across the region to ensure that it can really thrive.<\/p>\n

These efforts \u2013 to invest in skills and infrastructure \u2013 will stand us in good stead as we prepare for Brexit, yes, but also in our ultimate goal of creating, quite simply, great places to live and work.<\/p>\n

Communities<\/h2>\n

This is what everything that we\u2019re doing \u2013 on local growth, on housing, on quality public services \u2013 comes down to \u2013 building the strong, vibrant, well-integrated communities that we all want to see, with local government leading the way.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re supporting these communities to flourish \u2013 to ensure that people of all backgrounds can take advantage of the opportunities that our country offers – through our bold new Integrated Communities Strategy green paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Everyone needs to play their part in this endeavour. And strong local leadership is critical to making sure this message gets through and to driving this agenda.<\/p>\n

Which is why we\u2019re trialling a new localised approached to tackling integration challenges in 5 areas \u2013 Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford, Peterborough, Walsall and Waltham Forest.<\/p>\n

And why we plan to host a Communities Conference in September; to inspire policymakers and showcase the incredible impact that communities can have.<\/p>\n

From my previous roles, I know just how important this work is to creating a strong sense of civic pride and identity and places that people are proud to call home.<\/p>\n

And \u2013 as we saw following last year\u2019s terror attacks in London Bridge, Manchester and Finsbury Park and also, of course, the Grenfell Tower fire \u2013 how there\u2019s nothing more powerful than a community coming together in the darkest of times.<\/p>\n

I want to pay tribute to the way that local authorities worked with their residents and other partners in the aftermath of such loss and suffering.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

This has, without doubt, been a challenging year, but I am full of admiration with how you\u2019ve responded.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m keen to celebrate this work and to see you continue to innovate, aim high and really show what world-class local government looks like.<\/p>\n

This will be vital to help us seize the opportunities and meet the challenges that lie ahead \u2013 on building the homes our county needs, on strengthening our communities, on powering growth and ensuring that, after Brexit, every part of our country can prosper.<\/p>\n

In doing so, I want you to know that I\u2019m on your side.<\/p>\n

In doing so, I want you to know that I believe in local government and what you do. That I want to see a renewal and renaissance in local government.<\/p>\n

And that I\u2019m here for the same reason as you \u2013 to make a difference and deliver for communities who deserve no less.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Secretary of State Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP speaking at the Local Government Association Annual Conference 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}