The purpose of the Act is to:
This Bill promotes local democracy and economic development, devolving greater power to local government and communities and ensures fairness in construction contracts.
The main elements of the Act are:
- Strengthening local democracy, by passing more power and responsibility to local authorities, communities and citizens, including taking proposals forward from the White Paper: Communities in control: real people, real power.
- Implementing recommendations from the Review of Sub-National Economic Development and Regeneration to strengthen the role of local authorities in economic development and streamline regional decision making.
- Helping to implement one of the recommendations in the Cave Review of social housing regulation (“Every Tenant Matters”) that a National Tenant Voice should be established.
- Removing the electoral commission’s role in electoral boundary matters through the creation of an independent Boundary Committee for England.
- Implementing recommendations from Lord Sharman’s report to give the Audit Commission in England, and the Auditor General for Wales, in Wales, power to appoint an auditor to certain local government entities, and to issue a public interest report about those entities if appropriate.
- Improving cash flow and rights to adjudication in construction contracts.
The main benefits of the Act are:
- Empowering citizens and communities new tools to become active citizens, involved in the design and delivery of local public services and improving their communities.
- Supporting improved economic decision making at every level by bringing together economic and spatial planning in the regions, empowering local authorities to work together on economic development and ensuring that each local area has a strong understanding of their economy.
- A new duty to promote democratic understanding will make local authorities the democrat hub making it easier for people to understand how to influence decisions, stand for office and take up other civic roles.
- A new duty to respond to petitions will give citizens greater power to hold local authorities to account and influence local services.
- Giving all social housing tenants, regardless of whether their landlord is a local authority or housing association, more choice, protection and influence over how their homes are managed. The new social housing regulator will reduce unnecessary regulation for good landlords and put in place a clearer system of standards.
- Increasing transparency and public accountability, and reducing the risk to public money by allowing the Audit Commission to appoint auditors to certain local government.
