
Next in our series of ebriefings on the Government’s Green Paper: Transforming public procurement; looking at the Chapter 4 proposal to change the basis of contract awards.
Although devolution is not about ticking boxes, the proposed West Midlands Combined Authority does seem to meet three “essentials of an ambitious deal” that Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, spelt out in his speech to the Local Government Association conference on 2nd July:
“First, unity. One of the things that has, in my view, held back the decentralisation of power is the fragmentation of local government. Too often differences between neighbours – side by side, upper and lower – have distracted from the shared interests that unite an area. These divisions must be overcome.”
“Second, business participation. In a few short years the LEPs have guaranteed a strong voice for business in local leadership. At their best, business leaders have made an amazing contribution to their local areas – bringing employer knowledge of skill requirements, development opportunities and entrepreneurship to complement the civic leadership of local councils. I would not expect to approve any deal that did not have a clear role for the LEP.”
“Third, ambition. The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill is wide in scope. It allows any power, other than powers to legislate, currently held by a minister or public body to be devolved. The Spending Review provides an unmissable opportunity to show my colleagues in central government how the nation benefits, as well as local people, if things are done differently.”
Greg Clark talks about this being a great time for born-again localists. Speaking as a born-first-time localist, I welcome the Launch Statement’s single phrase: “the third sector will also play a significant role” and I ask that we have the chance to unpack what that could mean in practice. I am curious to know how this sentence will be played out: “All communities will benefit from growth, but not necessarily at the same time or in the same way”. As we move to re-balance the economy locally, we must not leave some people behind. So an examination of how we create collaborative ways of delivering public services, in which those benefitting are as much part of the offer to help as the cause for demand, should be a shared tenet for making life better for even more people than we can now.
As to the Bill, it offers a mix and match menu of options for the shape and form of the enhanced combined authorities and their mayoral forms. So the preferred structure of a mayor plus combined authority is actually only one of a variety of forms that could be adopted in the discussions between relevant councils and central government. Politically, an expectation may be on the first wave to adopt the Government’s preferred model, but there may be scope for other permutations under this Bill. The Bill says much about the combined authorities adopting more local government functions, together with those other bodies that operate at a local or regional level, but the radical rhetoric that accompanies the Bill is not reflected in explicit provisions that actually show Government departments giving up their functions and passing them through to local government. It could be strengthened therefore by an explicit assumption in favour of the “transfer of functions”.
Finally, what’s in a name? There are a few rumbles that “Greater Birmingham” would be a better name than “West Midlands”. Given the reach of the diamond, I’d like to suggest “the Central England Combined Authority”. More people have heard of “England” than “Birmingham”! Discuss.
Contact Mark Cook
Next in our series of ebriefings on the Government’s Green Paper: Transforming public procurement; looking at the Chapter 4 proposal to change the basis of contract awards.
The Academies Financial Handbook is updated annually by the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency; it contains a number of governance requirements for academy trusts.
Supreme Court publishes key decision for those working in the UK’s gig economy.
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The Building Safety Bill (the Bill) is said to be the most significant and wide-ranging change to the regulatory environment for higher risk building (HRBs) for over 45 years.
On 4 November 2020, the Restriction of Public Exit Payments Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) came into force; exit payments for the public sector were capped at £95,000.
The case was brought by the Official Receiver who sought disqualification orders under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA 1986) against the seven trustees of Kids Company and its CEO. It illustrates well the tension between the role of a fulltime paid CEO of a large charity and the role of its board as voluntary trustees/directors.
At the end of 2020, The Charity Governance Code was updated or 'refreshed' as it is termed on its website.
Anthony Collins Solicitors is today (Thursday 11 February) revealing the scale of its social impact during 2020.
In their first podcast of this series, current and future trainees will discuss their journey and route to securing a training contract at Anthony Collins Solicitors.
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