LGIU response to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill
Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, LGIU said: “Our concern about the Levelling Up White Paper was that it didn’t envisage a sufficiently strategic or wide ranging leadership role for local government. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill as published reinforces those concerns.
It only really engages with one new vision for local government: combined county authorities with elected mayors and with one local government function: planning. These are both important but there’s so much more that local authorities can be and so much more they can do. If we want to achieve the important levelling up missions that this Bill passes in to law, we will need a more imaginative and transformational approach to local leadership and the role of local government.
At more than three hundred pages long, the Bill is a very thick document but its vision for local government is rather thin.”
ENDS
Our latest report digests LGIU’s extensive research and analysis around levelling up and looks at the opportunities it offers and the risks it poses. On the level outlines the key principles that should underpin the forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper: clarity, scope, partnership, transparency, flexibility and accountability.
Everything you need to know about levelling up, all in one place.
The LGIU has, over the last two years, published a series of briefings and research papers for our members to try and clarify what levelling up will entail, whether it is a coherent policy and how local government can respond. This bundle brings together our extensive collection of materials around levelling up.
Still unequal: dealing with health inequalities through the pandemic and beyond
This long read examines the issues of health inequalities as we understood them before the pandemic, the impact of Covid-19 and what steps we can take to address inequity now.
You have access to our briefings service for free. Our team of expert associates produce over 300 briefings each year on topics ranging from children’s services and planning to local economic growth and Brexit. They are written in an easily digestible format for councillors and council staff. We also have an archive of 2,000+ briefings here if you’re looking for further background on any specific local government-related issues.
About the Local Democracy Research Centre
The Local Democracy Research Centre brings together experts from local government and academia to do practical research on some of the key challenges for local democracy around the world. Our research is guided and supported by LGIU’s global members. Through the Local Democracy Research Centre, we are developing a broad, international programme that engages universities and local authorities to develop new ideas and approaches for governance, municipalism and citizen participation. The projects are rooted in practice but draw on insights and ideas from academia.
LGIU (Local Government Information Unit) was established in 1983 as an independent, not-for-profit local authority membership organisation and think tank. Now as LGIU England & Wales, LGIU Scotland, LGIU Ireland and LGIU Australia we work for and with local authorities around the world, helping them to serve their citizens more effectively. Our members are councils and other organisations with an interest in local government.
