Government agrees amendments to Localism Bill pressed by Federation
19 July 2011
Behind the scenes lobbying by the Federation has secured Government amendments to the Localism Bill.
Localism
Find out about the Government’s localism agenda and the Federation’s work in this area.
The Government's localism agenda has set out an entirely new vision for how decisions are made locally.
In terms of economic development, this has resulted in a vastly new environment: many regional bodies have been abolished including the Regional Development Agencies and in their place Local Enterprise Partnerships have been established to create new jobs and encourage economic growth in their localities.
In addition, the Government has offered City Deals in order to support private sector growth.
Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs)
LEPs are designed to bring together the private and public sectors to drive growth. They will use their expertise and partnership working to drive economic growth across their localities.
Many LEPs have Enterprise Zones, which have the power to use Tax Increment Financing. Enterprise Zones will have a 100% business rate discount up to £275,000 over a five year period. There will be retention of business rates within the local area for at least 25 years.
Regional Growth Fund will be a key injection of funding, amounting to at least £744m in urban areas. This will support growth, creating 325,000 jobs and, according to the Government, deliver the structural change needed to rebalance the economy. As such the focus will be on areas most dependent on the public sector.
The Growing Places Fund will enable the development of local funds to address infrastructure constraints, promoting economic growth and the delivery of jobs and houses
City Deals
City Deals were announced by the Government in December 2011. The Government sees cities as the motors of economic recovery, best placed to create jobs and having a crucial role to play in local prosperity. City Deals move away from a 'one size fits all' approach to urban policy, offering cities the chance to gain certain powers (such as taxation) in exchange for proposals on how they will support private sector growth and the freedoms they need to achieve this.
As of July 2012, all the Core Cities have agreed their city deals with government. We have produced a briefing on the city deals – what they include and the implications for members.
Localism Act
The Localism Act 2011 provides the legislative framework for the Government's localist agenda. It introduces radical changes to social housing regulation, tenure and planning policy, as well as introducing new community rights.