PB key message in empowerment white paper

The main aim of the white paper is to "pass power into the hands of local communities....to generate local democracy in every part of the country, and to give real control over local decisions and services to a wider pool of active citizens."

The PB Unit welcomes the white paper and it's aims to devolve real power to local people, so that local people have control over what happens in their neighbourhoods.  This is the spirit of participatory budgeting and an aim the unit supports. 

There is a real shift from the community empowerment action plan from empowerment as an aim in itself to empowerment as a tool to creating improved democracy.  The key theme of the white paper is now democracy and how it can be deepened (empowerment being the main way of achieving this).  This is demonstrated by a new 'duty to promote democracy' by all local authorities through improved understanding and participation. 

Key points for PB are:

• Extended 'duty to involve' to other agencies including police authorities

• New 'duty to respond to petitions' - PB specifically mentioned as something communities could petition for and that councils will have to seriously respond to it

• Publishing of the national strategy for PB in the Autumn (launched at our conference on 15th September)

• Commitment to pilot community safety PB pilots with Home Office and to consider whether money recovered from the proceeds of crime to be redistributed using PB

• Commitment from Regional Improvement & Efficiency Partnerships to ensure empowerment is a key part of improvement and efficiency projects

• Freeing up of Section 106 monies in planning - to enable greater community involvement in their distribution

• Creation of more community/parish and town councils, where they are wanted by the community, and encouragement of a community partnership approach which "lends itself to methods such as participatory budgeting."

• Commitment to working with the Department of Health and Department for Children, Schools and Families to develop PB with them as well.

There is a real shift towards putting more power and more trust in local people and a maturing of the debate between government and citizens which is encouraging to see.  What remains to be seen is how it'll be put into practice.

"We believe that citizens and  communtiies are capable of taking difficult decisions, balancing competing demands and solving complex problems themselves, given the right support and resources."

To download the full white paper document from CLG click here

To download CLG's own summary of the white paper click here