There are several areas where the Localism Bill meets the Health and Social Care Bill in largely unfamiliar territory that could play a significant role in defining the future of the built environment and its impact on improving population health outcomes.
Dealing with public health is typically one area of cross party consensus, despite the political differences in meeting the challenges. One of the new policies of the Conservative led government is the separation of public health policy from the NHS and in doing so it is promoting a much greater focus on preventing people from needing to access the wider NHS system.
Wildlife and Countryside Link, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Campaign to Protect Rural England, The Country Land and Business Association and Action with Communities in Rural England
Town and Country Planning Association, Planning Officers Society, Royal Town Planning Institute and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
National Association of Local Councils, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, National Association for Voluntary and Community Action and Open Spaces Society.
The Bill was presented to Parliament on 13 December 2010.
Summary of the Bill
The Bill will devolve greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities more control over housing and planning decisions.
Key areas
The provisions relating to councils include:
giving councils a general power of competence
allowing councils to choose to return to the committee system of governance and allowing for referendums for elected mayors in certain authorities
abolishing the Standards Board regime and the model code of conduct, and introducing local accountability and a criminal offence of deliberate failure to declare a personal interest in a matter
giving residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto excessive council tax increases
allowing councils more discretion over business rate relief
providing new powers to help save local facilities and services threatened with closure, and giving voluntary and community groups the right to challenge local authorities over their services.
The housing provisions will:
abolish the requirement to have a Home Improvement Pack
reform the Housing Revenue Account system
provide for a new form of flexible tenure for social housing tenants
allow local authorities to discharge their duties to homeless people by using private rented accommodation
give local authorities the power to limit who can apply for social housing within their areas
abolish the Tenant Services Authority and provides for a transfer of functions to the Homes and Communities Agency
amend the way in which a social tenant can make a complaint about their landlord
improve the ability of social tenants to move to different areas.
The planning and regeneration provisions will:
abolish Regional Spatial Strategies
abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission and return to a position where the Secretary of State takes the final decision on major infrastructure proposals of national importance
amend the Community Infrastructure Levy, which allows councils to charge developers to pay for infrastructure. Some of the revenue will be available for the local community
provide for neighbourhood plans, which would be approved if they received 50% of the votes cast in a referendum
provide for neighbourhood development orders to allow communities to approve development without requiring normal planning consent
give new housing and regeneration powers to the Greater London Authority, while abolishing the London Development Agency.